I’m not sure that word means what you think it means
So Pedro Martinez is taking his spot in the rotation, and Jamie Moyer is not pleased, saying that he is “disheartened,” and feels like he was “misled” by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
Naturally, Amaro had to respond, so he issued the following statement. “When we signed Jamie Moyer in December it was under the pretense of being a starter. But right now circumstances have changed and that’s why we’re moving him to the bullpen.”
Now apparently Amaro does not quite understand the meaning of the word “pretense”, because if he did, he would realize that in his statement he appears to be flat-out admitting that he deliberately misled Moyer.
According to the dictionary, a “pretense” is “a false appearance or action intended to deceive.”
Then again, it might not be Amaro’s fault, as the statement is reported to have been “issued by his office.” Perhaps the entire Phillies front offices is also a bit challenged by basic English vocabulary?
August 11th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Yeah, Rube probably mislead him, but Moyer mislead the Phillies into thinking he was still decent. You pitch like crap, you get demoted. End of story.
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August 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I’m not exactly sure how a GM could mislead Moyer in a case like this. Sure, if Amaro had said “you’re going to be in the rotation in April” and then backed out on that, then yeah, that may be unfair. But it’s August. No GM will ever say “I don’t care how awful you are and how negatively you could affect our chances at a World Series. You can take the money and know that unlike anybody else in this world, you have total job security.”
I want to understand Moyer’s mindset – that after so many years in the league, he’s earned that security. But with sports, it’s the exact opposite. The longer you’re in the game, the more likely you are to be replaced.
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August 12th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I wonder if Moyer is more upset about the money he’s not going to make because he’s not going to reach 31 starts, or whatever he needs to reach for the extra $4MM to kick in.
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August 12th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
The Phillies should put him on waivers. I’m sure there’s an assisted living facility somewhere that would claim him.
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