There was news last night

Christine questioned if I was neglectful of my blogging duties last night. When I drafted last night's post, I told her there was no SoxandPhils news for the day. And there wasn't. But by the time she had a minute to edit my post, David Murphy had this sad news about Jamie Moyer:

Dionisio Soldevila, a journalist in the Dominican Republic, reported via Twitter that Moyer left a game today with pain in the elbow. Moyer has been pitching for Escogido in winter league ball in the Dominican in an attempt at preparing himself for spring training, when he hopes to compete for a starting job somewhere in the majors. Moyer, who joined the Phillies midway through the 2006 season, was unlikely to return as a free agent.

Soldevila said that Escogido general manager Moises Alou told him that Moyer's injury is probably career-ending. Soldevila also said that Moyer is scheduled to visit Dr. Lewis Yocum in California. That's all the information I have at the moment. Moyer turns 48 on Nov. 18.

I wish there really weren't any news last night because this is a downer.

I have nothing to add, other than this irony first noted by Christine: The guy giving the prognosis on the end of J-Moy's remarkable career debuted four years after Moyer and had a solid 17-year career before retiring in 2008 at the age of 41.

Hands off the trophy, pee boy

I couldn't believe what I read this morning - the Phillies are getting impatient waiting for a decision from Nomar Garciaparra, so they are pursuing 42-year-old Moises Alou "pretty hard." I'm not thrilled with the prospects of the old and often injured Alou joining the team, but I can live with it if he accepts a very limited role and doesn't soil the World Series trophy with his pee hands.

Other fallbacks for the right-handed pinch-hitter role include former Red Sox Kevin Millar, Rich Aurilla and Mark Grudzielanek. I don't like any of these. Grudzielanek's not so bad, but I don't want to learn how to spell his name. Besides, it's not a good omen when just the other night Christine saw his name on the MLB ticker as a notable remaining free agent:

"I didn't know he was still playing, let alone a notable free agent," she said.

Bullpen: Tom Gordon wants to come back to the Phillies. The team said it ain't happening. Unfortunately, that same tidbit said one of Christine's favorites, fattie Mike Zagurski, had some snag in his recovery.

Another one bites the dust: Another reputable journalist, Todd Zolecki, has sold out and will be working for the institution he once covered:

Hi, everybody - Yes, I'm joining MLB.com next month. Fortunately, I'm not going
far because I'll still be covering the Phillies on a daily basis. It'll just be for a different company. I want to say thanks to everybody who checks out the Phillies Zone regularly. I think you know you have helped make this one of the top blogs at Philly.com. It's been an absolute blast. Don't worry, the Phillies Zone will continue. It'll just be somebody else at the helm. But like I said, I'm not going far. So feel free to stop by and say hello at my new address. And if you see me in Clearwater or at the ballpark during the season, make sure to say hello. I'll try to post something more later!

We'll miss reading him online at the Inky, but we're glad that he'll still be around and covering the Phils.