Moyer Finds Spot in Race for Cy Young

Seattle left-hander Jamie Moyer is the anti-Rocket, a pitcher whose hardest fastball would rival New York Yankee ace Roger Clemens’ changeup for velocity, but Moyer has tiptoed into a Cy Young Award race that many have already conceded to Clemens.

Moyer, who beats opponents softly with a variety of off-speed pitches in the 75-mph range, improved to 16-5 with a 3.57 earned-run average after holding Tampa Bay to one run on three hits in seven innings of a 5-2 victory Wednesday night.

The Mariner craftsman went 5-0 with a 1.66 ERA in August. He lost his first start after the All-Star break to the Giants but in 10 starts since is 7-0 with a 1.90 ERA. Seattle’s Freddy Garcia, Oakland’s Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson and Chicago’s Mark Buehrle will challenge Clemens for the Cy Young, but Moyer, who at 38 is having one of his best seasons, should not be overlooked.

“When Moyer goes like this, he reminds me of Tom Glavine,” Mariner second baseman Bret Boone said. “People think facing soft-tossers is easy. But when they have their stuff and hit their spots, they’re tougher than hard throwers. I wouldn’t want to face Jamie right now.”

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Yes, that familiar name on the transaction wire was the Randy Myers, the former Nasty Boy and million-dollar Padre washout, who signed a triple-A contract with the Mariners last week.

San Diego claimed Myers, now 39, off waivers from Toronto in 1998 to keep him away from Atlanta. The reliever went 1-3 with a 6.28 ERA in 21 games for the pennant-winning Padres in ‘98, but shoulder surgery sidelined the left-hander for the next two seasons, with San Diego swallowing the remaining $12.25 million on his contract.

Myers, a native of Vancouver, Wash., told Seattle Manager Lou Piniella last season he’d like to try a comeback. Myers, Mariner reliever Norm Charlton and current broadcaster Rob Dibble formed the relief trio known as the “Nasty Boys” for Piniella’s Cincinnati Red teams in 1990-91.

Seattle signed Myers after an impressive workout last Sunday, and there’s a chance he’ll be called up this month. Now that the Mariners have two of the Nasty Boys, can Dibble be far behind?

“If Dibble comes back,” Charlton said, “I’m retiring.”

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Amid the gloom of a miserable season in Detroit comes this heart-warmer: When Dennie Taft, Tiger strength coach, walked onto the field to lead the daily stretching exercises Wednesday, he found his car, a 1989 Chevrolet, freshly spray-painted with graffiti.

While pitcher Jose Lima kept Taft’s attention on the car, another vehicle rolled in slowly from the right-field corner. When Taft turned and saw it, someone flipped him the key to his new set of wheels: a sport utility vehicle, a gift paid for by several veteran Tiger players.

“I got tired of seeing him drive to the park in that [car],” outfielder Bobby Higginson said. “He doesn’t make a whole lot of money for what he does. He’s a hard worker. He’s always available to every guy for whatever they need.”

Taft’s response: “I’m speechless.”

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Although the White Sox will give David Wells a $1.25-million buyout rather than exercise his $9-million option for next season, there’s still a chance the left-hander will pitch for Chicago in 2002. “I’d like to stay in Chicago,” said Wells, who was 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA before back surgery ended his season in July. “It was fun in the beginning.... I owe them about eight or nine complete games.”

Wells, 38, has talked about retiring but wants to go out on a happy note. He is open to renegotiating his contract for 2002, making his salary largely dependent on incentives for starts and innings pitched. General Manager Ken Williams and Manager Jerry Manuel are intrigued by the idea. “Sure, I think he can still pitch,” Manuel said. “This guy can pitch until he gets tired of pitching. I think he can wake up at any time and throw strikes.”

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Cal Ripken Jr.’s final home game for the Orioles, on Sept. 23 in Camden Yards, will probably be rescheduled as a night game and will be televised as part of an ESPN doubleheader that will include Tony Gwynn’s last home game in San Diego. If everything works out as planned, it also will cap a unique doubleheader for Ripken, who will serve that afternoon as an official for a NASCAR race in Dover, Del., that bears his name and then fly by helicopter to Baltimore for his home finale.