IS STOCKPILING DEFENSEMEN
Most everybody assumed Cole Hamels would be the Phillies' Opening Day starter.
Not quite.
The Phillies announced yesterday that Brett Myers would start March 31 agaisnt the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Cole Hamels will start April 2 against the Nationals. Myers considered the news a surprise, but in terms of surprises it's not the biggest in the world. Myers started Opening Day last year, so he's been there before. He also has been in the big leagues since 2002, while Hamels has been here since 2006. So he has seniority over Hamels. Sometimes that plays a role. But while those reasons might have played a small role in the decision, they certainly were not the two biggest reasons the Phillies chose Myers over Hamels:
1) They want Myers to concentrate on being a starter, and not think about the possibility he could return return to the bullpen this season. We asked him about that possibility the other day, when we learned that Brad Lidge needed arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The question made sense because the Phillies moved Myers from the rotation to the bullpen last year. Myers has made it clear that he loves to close, so he said he'd be open to the move if asked. But the Phillies have no plans -- none, zero, nada, zilch -- to move Myers to the bullpen this season, even if Lidge misses an extended period of time. So why even let Myers think about it? By making him the Opening Day starter, they pump him up a bit and get him thinking about winning 18 games -- not saving 40.
2) It's a reward for moving from the rotation to the bullpen last season. Had Myers been selfish, he could have told the Phillies to kiss off. But he didn't, and it's hard to think the Phillies make the playoffs last year without him anhcoring the back of the bullpen.
Read about the story in today's Inquirer HERE.
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Last night's exhibition against Florida State got rained out.
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Jamie Moyer starts today against the Cincinnati Reds in the Grapefruit League opener at Bright House Field.
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Jim Salisbury takes a good look at the big difference between Phillies athletic trainer Scott Sheridan and HGH-injector Brian McNamee.
And there's a big difference.
Read the story HERE.
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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