When Jamie Moyer made his major league debut on June 16, 1986 for the Cubs, he opposed the Phillies -- and Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, and beat him, too.
The last time Moyer pitched in Wrigley Field was almost 18 years ago, the last day of the 1988 season, October 2; he won that one too, over the Pirates.
Today, a young pitcher whose style has been compared to Moyer's will face him. Look below -- they're both so new to their teams that neither has a photo reflecting who they now pitch for. (Moyer's stats are, of course, his numbers with the Mariners.)
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Phillies CF Aaron Rowand, who was helped off the field last night after colliding with Chase Utley, is out 4-6 weeks with a broken ankle. Though Rowand is a good player, the Phillies don't lose much defensively with Shane Victorino in CF, and offensively, David Dellucci will step in the batting order and play RF. Nice to have a bench, isn't it?
Note: the ESPN "vs. Phi" link takes you to Rich Hill's page, because O'Malley isn't even listed on ESPN's drop-down roster list. Not that it matters, since he's only faced Houston. For Moyer, who hasn't faced the Cubs since April 22, 1991, the two key players in tonight's lineup will be Phil Nevin (7-for-24, 1 HR, 5 RBI vs. Moyer) and, oddly, Jacque Jones, who usually doesn't hit lefties but is 5-for-16 (.313) against Moyer.
Also, if you have not yet heard, the Cubs called up Buck Coats from Iowa today, and placed Cesar Izturis on the 15-day DL. I guess this means Ryan Theriot finally gets some playing time!
Coats -- Best. Baseball. Name. Ever. And, he hits lefthanded and can play several IF and OF positions. I think he could be a useful part of the 2007 Cubs bench.
Discuss amongst yourselves.