Myers speaks about his injury
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Myers speaks about his injury
Andy Martino
A couple of points of analysis:
If he has surgery, he will be one of several big leaguers to have recent hip surgery. Because we don’t know the specifics of his issue and how it compares to other players, we can’t learn too much (plus Myers is a pitcher). But for what it’s worth, Mike Lowell and Chase Utley had their surgeries in October and November, respectively, and both have returned to full strength. Alex Rodriguez’s surgery was in March, and he returned May 8 and has played well since. Carlos Delgado and Alex Gordon have had more recent surgeries and are yet to return.
The speculation about trading for a starting pitcher should now get more serious. Before, though the Phillies were considering all options, the whole discussion had a sensationalistic, talk radio feel. Now, they should go get a guy. This is a team built to win now, with position players in their prime. The rotation was troubled enough to begin with, and the internal options are not satisfying. Kyle Kendrick is still working on his command in Triple-A; Carlos Carrasco is struggling big time; Drew Carpenter, in that spot start against the Nats, did not pitch aggressively enough with a lead, and demonstrated that he is not ready; Chan Ho Park, the team believes, is better suited to the bullpen.
The Phillies style, as you know, has not been to trade for the Jake Peavys of the world, but the Jason Marquis (see Blanton, Joe). That’s not to say they won’t step out of character, but their payroll is already pretty high. My opinion? Mortgage the farm to get a good pitcher, if that is possible. This is an organization built to win now, and the rotation is the only thing holding them back from dominating the division. It was the biggest issue before Myers' injury, and now is huge. He had been inconsistent this season, but was improving. It is imperative that, should they lose him, the Phils replace Myers with a quality big league arm. There is no minor leaguer who should be untouchable in a deal.
What do you think?
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The only pitcher out there who could be available I would give top-notch prospects (Michael Taylor, Dominic Brown, Kyle Drabeck) is Halladay. Peavy is not coming here and he is not as good out of SD as somebody already stated. Oswalt was very good a couple of years ago, but the last 3 years his ERA has increase from below 3.00 to over 4.00. I saw him pitched in the Classic, and he wasn't the same Oswalt. He also makes a ton of money. Maybe there is a problem.— EL Zorro- Andy is absolutely right about this. Championship windows are narrow and you have to take advantage....reason I love this team is they really do remind me of Big Red Machine offensively...and that team only won twice...with a bunch of near misses. Phillies best prospects are in A and AA anyway. The AAA guys we all know about don't make other teams drool, and agree trading Marson, Donald, Kendrick, etc. should now be considered. We can buy a major league third baseman in the off season. These next 3 years should be really fun.— bigredmachinefan
- Kyle Kendrick and Antonio Bast•rdo are possibilities for the time being. Both will pitch again around Brett Myers turn and both won their last outings. But, I don't know if the Phillies are satisfied with Kendrick’s progress in AAA, - you know the other pitch he is supposed to develop to complement his sinker and Bast•rdo is a LH pitcher. I don’t think it will be a good idea to have 4 lefties in the rotation, especially when two of them are rookies and the other is struggling. Don’t be surprised if they call Vance Worley instead. The 3rd round pick from 2008 out of Long Beach State is pitching pretty well in Reading (4-2, 2.84 ERA and overall since being drafted is 7-4 with a 2.64 ERA). He could be the most ready for the ML of all the pitching prospects. In the meantime Amaro can work the phones to get another pitcher.— EL Zorro
- Funny how most people are keen on trading Marson and not Donald. We have depth at catcher in the minors but a lot hinges on the fact that you don't know when you're gonna need it. Ruiz could get hurt again tonight and Coste is old, probably gone after this year, too. Suddenly we'd need Marson and D'Arnaud up here, even if they're not ready. I guess that's why we have Bako?....hooray.....Donald is the tradeable one. We have Bruntlett, Cairo, Ozuna waiting in the wings. Feliz is your 3rd baseman for next year folks whether you realize it or not. He ain't going anywhere, not with his new ability to get on base thanks to his healthy back, his Gold Glove Defense and his very affordable $5 mil option for next year.....Donald and some pitching is what gets us Halladay....or Peavy. I'm just not sure the brass will go for the long extension and the amount of money left on the deal with Peavy. It's very scary and very risky. The one thing the Phils are NOT and that's cheap. Whoever makes that claim is just plain stupid or ignorant or both. All of the pitching we have in the minors except for KK is still a few seasons away from helping us now. What to do? If you want to replace Myers with a clone, you go get Arroyo or Marquis. Anyone else is an upgrade. How many prospects do you want to part with? I say, not many....we obviously won the whole thing last year without a CY winner on the staff, so why not, again?— Mark1npt
- I'll go back to my original idea: hit from a tee. And for Mr. Martino.. that was a joke. Because you're not allowed to hit from a tee, see? So it won't happen and it's just meant for amusement, get it? Consider this moment explained, Mr Matino, so you don't have to ask for an explanation. K?— BudSelig_isthenext_MrBurns
I say give Carrasco a shot. He's more than likely burnt out facing the same stiffs in AAA ball for the third year in a row. The big league challenge might do him good. It's not like this would be unheard of here in Philly. Recall we were scratching our heads about the Kendrick call up from Reading in 2007. He then went on to win 21 games over the next two seasons.— RAS- They should count on Myers coming back so a trade is essential. If they make a trade and he comes back,all the better for starting pitching depth for the stretch run and (hopefully) playoffs. The trade should be to replace Myers LONG TERM (remember, he's a FA after this season). So they spend some extra money this year on someone who's salary structure can to met by Myers salary ($14M) slot plus the budget amount for the final installment of Thome's salary. Believe me if we keep going through the turnstiles at CBP at this current rate, they'll be able to shell out the xta $$$ this year. My opinion is if you need a long term # 2, find out what Cleveland would want for Cliff Lee and lock him into a contract extension (he's only a $6m for this year and a club option $9 mil for '10). Yea he's another lefthander, but so what? If not him, start looking for top line pitcher at other bottom teams (Oswalt, Haran, Bedard). Other than Marson, no farm hand (or Happ) should be considered untradeable as long as they get someone they can ink for 2-4 years.— jcovello
- Cliff Lee? Cliff fr****ng Lee? For whom, for what? (Sorry Mr. Watters)The guy had one good year and has reverted to form. He's not a #1 or #2 long term. Besides, he's lefthanded....ditto the oft injured Bedard. We think Hamels is soft? You haven't seen anything until you've seen Bedard, like a marshmallow with extra mallow....Oswalt is a question mark. Peavy has lots of baggage with location, money, years, etc. Halladay is the guy you elevate your staff with. You sign him for the big bucks for a couple more years, then you schedule your parade. Go get him, Rube.— Mark1npt
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- RAS - The only people Carrasco is facing for the third year in a row are guys on the same track to the bigs as him...He's only been in AAA since the end of last season. The thing about Myers is that no matter what he says the guys recommends, it's going to be his decision. If they give him even a glimmer of hope that he can make it through the season without surgery, he may go for it. The price he thinks he can demand in the offseason might factor in as well - but if he goes under the knife now and pitches like trash in the fall, who's going to take a big risk on him for multiple years and mega-millions???— B in DC
- Tank: Working on it right now.— Andy Martino
- Just heard Dr. Craig Morton, an ortho doc, tell Miscinelli on AM 950 that Myers' injury could easily be treated with a cortisone injection and other infammaotories -IF- he doesn't have major bony impingement causing the inflamation.— RAS
