Time May Be Running Out for Moyer

Is it time for Jamie Moyer to hang up his glove and call it a career? 

The lefty out of Souderton Area High School when he returned from a 2010 elbow injury to make the pitching staff of the Colorado Rockies at age 49. Through his first four starts for the Rockies, Moyer had a stellar 2.28 earned run average. On April 17, he became the oldest pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to be credited with a win.

Unfortunately, the age-defying wonder hasn't been very wondrous since then. Following a rough outing against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, Moyer had allowed 28 runs in his past 30 innings. That led ESPN's Matt Meyers to suggest that it might be time for Moyer to make room for someone more capable (and much younger). In Meyers's view, Moyer has been more lucky than good for the last several years and is unlikely to turn things around at age 49.

SB Nation's Rob Neyer agrees that Moyer has been pretty terrible, but says "the jury is still out" on whether the Rockies would be better off without him.

Moyer has earned about $70 million during his playing career and surely doesn't need the money. His wife and eight children―two of whom were adopted from Guatemala―would probably enjoy seeing more of him during the summer. But as Moyer told CBS News in February, he still wants to play baseball because he still believes he can. 

The Rockies, though, are in the business of trying to win baseball games. As appealing a story as Moyer is, particularly for those of us who are starting to feel Father Time's fingers tickling our joints, they're not going to keep him on the team if he continues to allow an average of six runs per game. Should the Rockies cut him loose, another team might take a chance on him, but that's something neither Moyer nor his legion of grey-templed fans should count on.

"If you have the chance to watch Jamie Moyer this week, do it. Because you might not get another," Neyer writes. 

Good advice.