Jamie Moyer was not offered arbitration by the Phillies, which suddenly makes him a lot more interesting. It would be hard to give up a first round pick for one year of an aging veteran (and the proper adjective is probably aged, not aging). But if the Twins want to do their annual we-need-a-veteran-in-the-rotation thing, they could do a lot worse. He's still effective. He's someone a young pitcher really could learn from. Wiley veterans who frustrate better athletes with guile are fun to watch. And while he's older than many rocks,  since he doesn't rely on velocity anyway, does that even matter? 

This very interesting article by Josh Calk in the Hardball Times got my attention and convinced me that he has a good chance to keep confounding hitters:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/being-jamie-moyer/

And check out his stats last year: 123 strikeouts, 62 walks, and an ERA of 3.71. Sure it's the NL, so there'd be some dropoff. And he had an ERA of 5.01 the year before (basically the same Ks and BBs but he gave up ten more HRs). So homers are an issue. Could he keep the ball in the park in the Metrodome? I'm not sure. But he's no Livan Hernandez. The two years before 2007 his ERA was in the low fours. He can still get people out on a regular basis and there's no sign of collapse. He won game 3 of the World Series. Playoff experience might be a plus on a young team.

If you hate watching young, undisciplined Twins' hitters get outsmarted by crafty veterans, maybe having Moyer around would take away some of the sting. We could watch the other team's arrogant young athletes make fools of themselves instead.

I have always loved watching control pitchers work, especially ones with good movement. This guy has superb control and just drives hitters crazy with his tantalizing stuff. Wouldn't you love to have him around for Slowey and Baker and all the other youngsters to chat with? And if the Twins want to trade a young arm for a bat, having a guy like Moyer would make that loss much easier to absorb.

I don't know that the Metrodome is the right park for him, but hell, he managed a 4.5 ERA in Fenway one year (in, ahem, 1996). I don't know how much he would cost, or whether it would take more than one year to land him. But if he could be had for 4-5 million per year, fine, give him two. That's still less than one year of Michael Cuddyer.

Okay, I admit it. I just like the guy, always have. He's the one guy I almost enjoyed watching the Twins lose to. But his stats are pretty solid too, and now there's no draft pick penalty. Maybe it only makes sense if they're trading a young pitcher. But if that's the case, and they want a veteran arm, I hope it's him.