One positive thing from the Jays getting thrashed 10-3 by the Phillies Friday night was this: Three of the four walks issued by David Purcey in the second and third inning were tacked onto his ERA–only Shane Victorino being caught stealing saved him from all four cashing in. It’s a good lesson for a young pitcher–throw strikes and let the other team beat you. Under no circumstances are you to help the opposing team out.

Purcey seemed to me to be throwing like a man scared. In the second inning he timidly walked Ryan Howard then he meekly put Pat Burrell on and Jayson Werth made him pay. In the third inning with men on first and third and a full count, he chose not to challenge Burrell and loaded the bases. Forced to pitch defensively he again offered a meatball to Werth that he gratefully devoured.

That’s the price for asking to be rolled in the Colonel’s secret blend of herbs and spices.

This is the big leagues junior–if you haven’t got the nads to throw your A-material for strikes you won’t last long. Hopefully the lesson has been learned. Make the other team knock you out of the box–don’t give them free base runners and don’t continually put yourself into hitter’s counts or major league hitters will chew you up and spit you out.

We know Purcey can throw strikes–since the opening of 2007 he has a BB/9 of 2.7 with a whiff per inning. He just has to maintain his minor league mindset when pitching to major league hitters. Like Dustin McGowan up until the first part of last season he needs to realize his stuff is capable of getting big leaguers out and to ram it down their throats instead of acting like the opposition is sending up nine 2001 edition Barry Bonds clones to face him.

Just remember David–when it comes time where the next pitch might get you to ball three then ask yourself “Do I want a low ERA or not?” Be aggressive–take your cues from Roy Halladay and Shaun Marcum or better still, watch Jesse Litsch … he’s not overpowering but he manages to survive in the big leagues by not beating himself. He gives up a lot of hits and home runs but when they do go yard nobody is on base. Litsch has given up 23 HR as big leaguer and 19 of them were with the bases empty. His BB/9 of 2.4 with Toronto isn’t much lower that your minor league totals since the beginning of 2007 … get the picture?

As you no doubt know, my NL rooting interest is the Phillies. Obviously my Blue Jays’ fandom runs much deeper since I’m a recent convert to Phillie-dom due to my soon-to-be three years as a weekly guest on the Mike Gill show on ESPN 1450 in Atlantic City. I described my falling to the dark side as a simple case of “Stockholm syndrome” courtesy of the aforementioned Mr. Gill.    

Therefore, I did get one moment of happiness from the Phillies win on Friday in that I have become a huge fan of Jamie Moyer over the last decade or so. You see, Moyer could not even find a job in 1992 and he looked like he may be done as a big leaguer. At that point, he was 34-54, 4.56 ERA (when a 4.56 ERA was nasty and not league average). He was signed by the Orioles in 1993 at age 30. I want to see Moyer get at least four wins in 2008 and Friday’s victory was No. 3 of the season. Moyer’s next win will give him 200 since the year he turned 30 years of age.

Do you have any idea how rare that is?

It has been done 13 times in major league history and Moyer stands to be the fourteenth. Of note, Greg Maddux’s 350th win was also his 200th since the year he turned 30 years old. Here’s the complete list…

AGE >= 30

  WINS                               W   1    Cy Young                    316   2    Phil Niekro                 287   3    Warren Spahn                277   4    Gaylord Perry               238   5    Early Wynn                  217   T6   Randy Johnson               216   T6   Eddie Plank                 216   T8   Grover C Alexander          213   T8   Lefty Grove                 213   10   Jack Quinn                  203   T11  Nolan Ryan                  202   T11  Roger Clemens               202   13   Greg Maddux                 200   14   Jamie Moyer                 199 

 (Courtesy of Lee Sinins’ always awesome Complete Baseball Encyclopedia)

We see that Maddux and Moyer may be top 10 in this category before the season is out. Other than Quinn (and possibly Clemens due to alleged PED use–although he certainly belongs) all are, or will be, in the Hall of Fame. Moyer is fifth all time in wins in this category among southpaws.

It gives you an idea of how awesome Moyer has been since the Orioles picked him up for 1993. Since he turned 30 he was won 15 or more games in a season four times with twice over 20 (in 2001 and 2003) and between age 33-40 went 126-56, 3.77 ERA (lg. ERA 4.67). Moyer was sixth in MLB in wins over that span and averaged over 200 IP.

Like Moyer, David Purcey is left handed; at 26 years old he has a pretty good head start on Jamie Moyer both in age and raw stuff. What made Moyer so successful after he returned to the big leagues in 1993 is that he’s thrown 2900 innings from 1993-present and sports a BB/9 of 2.3. I hope a little bit of Jamie Moyer’s mojo rubbed off on Purcey and he realizes what kind of career you can have when you learn not to beat yourself.

Best Regards

John

Eric Reed has a .291/.341/.379 in seven seasons of the minors.  The Mets
just signed him to a minor league contract. (zamoraography/flickr)

Boston    

Coco Crisp - Missed 1 game (headache).
Julio Lugo - Missed 4 games (mild concussion).
    
Chicago White Sox    

Juan Uribe - Hamstring, day-to-day.
    
Cleveland    

Jeremy Sowers - Optioned to Buffalo (AAA).
Michael Aubrey - Contract purchased from Buffalo (AAA).
    
Colorado    

Glendon Rusch - Signed by the Colorado Rockies to a minor league contract.
Matt Holliday - Missed 1 game (back injury).
    
Florida    

Hanley Ramirez - Signed by the Florida Marlins to a six-year contract extension.
    
Los Angeles Dodgers   

Blake DeWitt - Missed 2 games (back injury).
    
Milwaukee    

Joakim Soria - Signed by the Kansas City Royals to a three-year contract extension.
    
Minnesota    

Carlos Gomez - Wrist injury, day-to-day.
    
NY Mets    

Eric Reed - Signed by the New York Mets to a minor league contract.
    
Seattle    

Jose Vidro - Sore back, day-to-day.
    
Toronto    

Kevin Mench - Bruised right knee, day-to-day.
David Purcey - Optioned to Syracuse (AAA).
Hector Luna - Contract purchased from Syracuse (AAA).

• David Wright went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBI, and Carlos Beltran added 3 hits of his own as the Mets hung on to beat the Yankees, 7-4. Derek Jeter singled, doubled, homered and drove in 2 for the Bombers.
• Aaron Miles went 4-for-5, Albert Pujols had 2 hits, a home run, and 2 RBI, and Ryan Ludwick blasted 2 homers, including a walk-off shot in the bottom of the 10th inning, to give the Cardinals a 9-8 win over the Rays. Jason Bartlett had 4 hits, and B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford had 3 hits apiece for Tampa Bay.
• Blake DeWitt doubled, homered, and drove in 2 runs, and Russell Martin picked up 3 hits and a walk as the Dodgers doubled up the Angels, 6-3. Garret Anderson had 3 hits for the club from Anaheim.
• Rich Harden struck out 8 and allowed just one run over 7 innings, and Ryan Sweeney reached base 3 times, homered, and drove in 3 runs as the A's edged the Braves, 5-4.
• Rod Barajas hit a solo home run and smashed a grand slam, and A.J. Burnett struck out 8 over 6 1/3 strong innings as the Blue Jays defeated the Phillies, 6-3. Jimmy Rollins singled, doubled twice, and drove in 2 runs for Philadelphia.
• Mike Jacobs tripled, homered, and drove in 3, and Wes Helms hit a 3-run home run to lead a 5-run 7th inning as the Marlins knocked off the Royals, 7-3. Mark Grudzielanek has 3 hits for Kansas City.
• Armando Galarraga gave up just 2 runs on one hit in 6 innings, and Carlos Guillen reached base twice and drove in 2 runs to lead the Tigers to a 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
• Mark Buehrle allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings, and Jermaine Dye and Toby Hall contributed 3 hits apiece as the White Sox clipped the Giants, 3-1.
• Freddy Sanchez went 3-for-5 and scored twice, and Nate McLouth singled twice and hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 9th inning to put Pittsburgh ahead for good as the Pirates held on to beat the Cubs, 7-6. Alfonso Soriano was 5-for-5 with a double, 2 home runs and 3 RBI for Chicago in defeat.
• Aaron Harang tossed 7 strong innings, allowing just one run, and Adam Dunn hit a mammoth 3-run home run in the last of the 9th inning to give the Reds a 4-2 walk-off victory over the Indians. Ben Francisco went 3-for-5 with a home run and a stolen base for Cleveland.
• Marlon Byrd was 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI, and Milton Bradley reached base 3 times, homered, and knocked in 2 as the Rangers cruised past the Astros, 6-2. Vicente Padilla yielded just 2 runs while striking out 6 in 7 innings of work for Texas.
• Alex Cintron went 4-for-4, Nick Markakis had 2 hits, homered, and drove in 3, and Jay Payton added a 2-run blast as the Orioles nipped the Nationals, 6-5. Aaron Boone had 2 hits and 2 RBI for Washington.
• Rookie Greg Reynolds tossed 6 scoreless innings, and Jeff Baker doubled and scored twice to help the Rockies get by the Twins, 3-2.
• Erik Bedard struck out 10 while allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits in 8 innings, and Adrian Beltre hit a 2-run home run as the Mariners dropped the Padres, 4-2.
• David Ortiz reached base 4 times, hit a 3-run homer, and scored twice, and Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed just 2 unearned runs over 6 2/3 innings as the Red Sox took game one of their doubleheader against the Brewers, 5-3. Ryan Braun had 3 hits, including a solo homer off Jonathan Papelbon, for Milwaukee.
• In the second of two at Fenway Park, Mike Lowell doubled, homered, and drove in 4 runs to lead the Red Sox to a sweep over the Brewers, 7-6. Corey Hart reached base 3 times and homered for Milwaukee.

Saturday's Scoreboard