SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Drew Pomeranz and Juan Nicasio are all but assured of winning the Nos. 3 and 4 starters jobs for the Rockies in a competition mostly between kids. That leaves one spot for the taking for 49-year-old Jamie Moyer, who's the story of the spring in any camp.
Moyer can write a happy ending Wednesday against the White Sox at Salt River Fields. If he pitches well and recovers quickly, the fifth spot will very likely be his, completing an improbable spring journey for the man who is only months away from earning his AARP card.
The others in the competition have been impressive 23-year-old Tyler Chatwood and Guillermo Moscoso. The top two pitchers in the Rockies' rotation are Jeremy Guthrie, who's having a nice spring, and Jhoulys Chacin.
As one Rockies person put it about Moyer, "He needs to perform, then recover like a 25-year-old.''
Not easy, but then, Moyer is the Miracle Man. Overall, he has a 1.00 ERA this spring, with no walks and seven strikeouts in nine innings. Two other Rockies people suggested he has a very good shot, adding the caveat that this game is key to his chances.
Moyer threw four hitless innings against the Giants in his last start, and he recovered quite nicely that time. But if a hint of disbelief about Moyer, well, that's understandable. What he does truly is unreal.
Pomeranz, the lefty acquired in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, looks like a future star. And Nicasio is the one who overcame being hit on the head by a batted ball last season to return with gusto. His is really quite an amazing story.
But in Rockies camp, everyone knows what the most amazing story is.
