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Friday, May 9, 2008
Finding Myers

This could be a problem.

Brett Myers is 2-3 with a 5.33 ERA. He has pitched more than five innings just four times in his first eight starts. He has just three quality starts. He hasn't given his team enough of a chance to win when he has been on the mound, including yesterday's 8-3 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

"I can't put together back-to-back good starts," Myers said. "I don't know what the problem is. It's frustrating."

Everybody knew Myers' problem earlier this season. He wouldn't throw his fastball because he had no velocity on his fastball. He tried to fool hitters with his off-speed pitches, but that didn't work. He rediscovered his fastball for his May 3 start against the Giants at Citizens Bank Park, where he allowed six hits and two runs and struck out 10 in seven innings. He appeared to have decent velocity yesterday, too. His fastball hit 92 mph on a few occasions.

So what happened yesterday?

"I wouldn't change anything because I felt I had good stuff today," Myers said. "I just got hit around."

"I hope he doesn't try to reinvent something because the stuff he had today easily could have been one run or two runs," said Chris Coste, who caught Myers his last two starts. "There was such a fine line between success and failure today."

Cole Hamels is 3-3 with a 3.10 ERA, Jamie Moyer is 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA, Kyle Kendrick is 2-2 with a 4.93 ERA and Adam Eaton is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA. The Phillies have three starters with a 4.93 ERA or higher. Moyer has pitched well after seven starts, but he was 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA after his first seven starts last season. He went 10-10 with a 5.65 ERA the rest of the way. That's not to say that will happen again, but that the Phillies shouldn't have to rely on Moyer to be their second-best starter in the rotation.

That should be Myers.

If Myers doesn't straighten out soon, you have to wonder if the starting pitching will catch up to them. They need that 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, which is what everybody expected when the Phillies returned Myers to the rotation and made him their opening day starter.

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In the Phillies Notebook: Jimmy Rollins will be at AT&T Park today, Charlie Manuel felt the Phillies gave too much respect to Brandon Webb and more.

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Pitching match ups for this weekend's series against the Giants.

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JoeSportsFan has the Mr. Redlegs Remix. I probably enjoyed Mr. Redlegs falling and losing his head more than most people. Not sure why, but I've always enjoyed a good fall. I've fallen myself, obviously. Many times. When I trip over things I typically blurt out, "Have that removed." (Extra credit for those who know where that line comes from.) But I loved how the man inside the costume tried to cover his head to not break the illusion that he's actually -- a freakin' human being!

Posted by Todd Zolecki @ 11:55 AM  Permalink | 11 comments
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Comments
Posted by Casey 01:00 PM, 05/09/2008
Like Crash Davis said, "Let's see that million dollar arm, becasue I got a pretty good idea of that 5 cent head of yours." Myers has a "Closer's Mentality." He is too emmotional to be a starting pitcher, he needs to go back to the bullpen after this season.
Posted by MrPhillie 01:08 PM, 05/09/2008
Again, Brett Myers is not a dominant pitcher. Yes, he's better than average, but that is a long way from being a #1-type guy. I'm not sure that EVERYONE expected Myers to be the top-of-the-rotation pitcher as Todd suggests. Did we expect him to be a pitcher who consistently gives his team a chance to win? Personally speaking, yes. Beginning the season, I thought a 15-win season with a 3.50-4.00 ERA could be expected from Brett, and maybe that can still be the case. As of now he is severly under-achieving just like Ryan Howard. When you think about it, it is remarkable the Phillies have as good a record as they do considering they've received little or no production from several key players (Rollins, Howard, Jenkins, Feliz, Victorino... although Feliz and Victorino are slowly coming around.) Even the marginal players (Kendrick, Eaton, Madson, Ruiz) have performed below the modest expectations of them. And while it may be a bit harsh to say, Cole Hamels hasn't been quite the pitcher we hoped for. With all of that said, we're still near the top of the division. I guess I'd rather the team win than have good stats. And not to belabor the point, but the excuses made for some of the underachieving Phillies "stars" are wearing a bit thin. For instance, when I hear people say "When it's all said and done, Ryan will have his numbers" it makes me want to scream! Having good stats is great (especially at contract time), but almost 25% of the season is over and no matter what he does, he can never help the team win games that have already been played. I understand that organizational people have to spin negatives into positives, but at what point will these multimillion dollar athletes be held accountable? Sorry, I sound very negative myself. I really do love the Phils and I'm happy they're holding their own until key players begin producing, it's just very frustrating to know where the team would be if certain players held up their end of the bargain.
Posted by Rhode Island Richard 01:40 PM, 05/09/2008
The number one ace has not been pitching much better than the number two ace. Could be a long season. It'll be fun filled because the Phillies can score, but hitting comes and goes and pitching is forever. To Mr. Philly, why get on multimillionaire athletes when multi-millionaire owners don't make a play for top of the line pitchers? We are talking about two sets of multi-millionaires. Why give the owners a free pass.
Posted by bobby 01:58 PM, 05/09/2008
MrPhilly, I am right there with you on Ryan Howard and the "he'll get his numbers" attitude. Besides the fact that every game that passes it becomes less and less likely that he will "get his numbers," a baseball season is made up of games, and I think it's safe to say that the Phils would have several more wins than they do right now if Howard were anything close to his normal self. Those wins may very well come back to haunt them, and you can't get them back. As for Myers, same deal really. We probably need him to win 15 at least, and the longer he goes without demonstrating an ability to string together strong starts, the less likely that will be.
Posted by bobby 02:03 PM, 05/09/2008
Oh, and Todd, regarding "Have that removed!" That's from the bonehead commanding officer in Stripes when he trips over the fire hydrant. Just as funny is the reaction of the little enlisted guy he says it to.
Posted by topwonk 02:03 PM, 05/09/2008
Maybe most people thought that Myers and Hamels would be a good 1-2 punch, but I don't know why. Myers has never been consistent as a starter, and outside of a couple of nice little streaks, has not shown he has the mentality or character to be a consistent starter. He is absolutely better suited for the relief role, and now that Lidge has proven to be solid, should be dealt for a middle-of-the-rotation starter and a strong young prospect. Maybe we can get someone similar to Gavin Floyd?...
Posted by Leron 02:18 PM, 05/09/2008
Myers is a bum and a wannabe Padilla. Vicente Padilla rules all!
Posted by Norma 02:38 PM, 05/09/2008
What the heck? The Mr. Redlegs video "is no longer available"!
Posted by jimmymack 02:49 PM, 05/09/2008
Based on what we have seen from the starters so far, we should be worried about the bullpen holding up. These guys will be toast by August if we keep up this 4 and 5 inning routine. And before we award Gavin Floyd his Cy Young award, maybe we should wait another month or so and see where he is then.
Posted by MrPhillie 03:28 PM, 05/09/2008
I don't think I'm giving the owners a free pass at all. Sure, I get frustrated at the Phils' lack of quality pitching, but then again, there is only so much quality pitching to go around in MLB. What do players have to do to earn huge contracts? They must be very good at their sport, put up good numbers, and (in a perfect world) help their team to win. What do the owners have to do to put themselves into a position where they can indeed own a team? They have to be very successful at their business and make wise financial decisions. Once they own a team, they must continue to be successful in business or chances are they will no longer be able to afford to run a team. A return on investment is not guaranteed to an owner (unless, of course you own the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets..). Once a player gets his contract, he is guaranteed that money no matter how he plays throughout the life of the contract. My original comment was only to say that organizations tend to tread lightly in regard to criticizing their players and that it would be nice to hear Charlie say "Howard is killing us out there!" I'm not singling out Ryan, because many players across baseball are not living up to their contract (Barry Zito, anyone?) I'm simply saying that as more and more games go by where players do not produce, opportunities to help your team win get fewer and fewer...regardless if you end up with 40 HR's and 110 RBI. For every game played while not producing is another game lost to help your team.
Posted by MrPhillie 08:32 PM, 05/09/2008
By the way, the officer wanting the hydrant removed was played by John Larroquete.
11 comments
About Todd Zolecki
Todd Zolecki is in his sixth season covering the Phillies. Born and raised in Milwaukee – he suffered through the Packers’ crushing loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field in January – he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a journalism degree.