Moyer's magic mix is lethal to batters

After Ty Wigginton swung and missed at a fastball that looked as large as a pumpkin and hung just off the outside corner of the plate, he staggered into the left-hand batter's box, spun around and hopped on one foot as if he were the Lord of the Dance.

That's what Jamie Moyer does to you.

Wigginton walked back to the dugout, thwacked his bat hard against the concrete wall and sprayed splinters into the air like confetti.

That's how irritating it is to face Jamie Moyer. That's how deep under the skin of hitters he nestles.

"Oh man, me and Travis Lee were talking about it on the bench today," Tampa Bay right fielder Damon Hollins said after winning 1-0. "We were saying that Jamie Moyer's probably out there just laughing at everybody, watching us take these healthy hacks and missing the ball by about 3 or 4 feet. He was just out there carving people up today."

On a slumberous Wednesday afternoon at the ballpark, when the Mariners were shut out for the fifth time this season, the Tampa Bay hitters were as hapless as Seattle's. They had no chance against Moyer's magical mix of fastballs, sliders and changeups.

It took a balk, Moyer's first since 2000 and only the 11th of his career, for the Devil Rays to score the game's only run. Moyer went eight innings and allowed only four hits and didn't walk a batter. After the balk he retired the last 10 batters he faced.

"He doesn't make you uncomfortable," D-Rays left fielder Carl Crawford said. "You just can't hit him."

Joey Gathright struck out flailing in the third inning. Tomas Perez was so far out in front of Moyer's 73 mph changeup in the fifth inning, he could have swung and missed, recoiled and swung and missed again.

Moyer is the artful dodger. He's the surprising left uppercut that comes after a weak jab. He's a hardball shell game. Now you see the slider. Now you don't.

"He just keeps you off balance. Even when he throws 80, he can still jam you to death," Lee said. "He's got seven different changeups. And he's got three different sliders and four different curveballs. He's the master of the deception. And he's been doing it so long, he knows how to hit those spots. Just knows how to pitch.

"He must look across and see [Tampa Bay starter] Scott Kazmir throwing 94 and wonder what he might be able to do with that. But I think he's content with doing it the way he does and what's crazy about it, he's been doing it for so long, you'd think people could make adjustments. But you know what it is? He's got 20 different pitches and he can throw them all for strikes. It's like he's mastered the art of pitching."

With any sort of run support, 43-year-old Moyer could have four or five wins. Instead he is 1-3 with a 3.29 earned-run average. He has pitched at least six innings in seven of his eight starts. He is pitching as effectively as he has ever pitched.

"It's real impressive to watch him go to work," Hollins said. "As a hitter you tell yourself all kinds of different hitter's slogans, like, 'Hit the ball the other way,' but it's tough because he throws so slow and he keeps you off balance."

Even now, in 2006, 20 years after he made his major-league debut, we still are witnessing the prime of Jamie Moyer.

What if he keeps doing this until he's 50?

What if he keeps throwing it where they can't hit it, throwing 81 mph brushstrokes on the outsides edges of the plate? What if he continues making hitters look as off balance as rookie tightrope walkers?

What if his age-defying arm takes him into the next decade?

"As long as he keeps finding the corners and keeps people off balance, he can pitch forever," Lee said. "You don't have to throw hard, obviously. I mean, look at what he does. It's like he's found the secret."

Moyer hasn't found the fountain of youth. He's found the fountain of knowledge.

"To me he's one of the toughest pitchers I've ever faced," Wigginton said. "He just knows how to pitch. It's frustrating. You always feel like you're going to get a pitch to hit, but you don't get it. He pretty much just outpitches you."

That's what Jamie Moyer does. Every fifth day, into his mid-40s, he just outpitches you.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/stevekelley