IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
Sometimes when you say nothing you say everything.
Brett Myers left Rangers Ballpark quickly and without a word to reporters after last night's 8-7 loss to the Rangers. He had thrown just two-plus innings and allowed five hits, five runs and four walks. It was the shortest start of his career, and just another poor start in a season that held such promise. Myers is 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA. The Phillies are 4-13 when he pitches.
How much longer can this last?
"Can I say his job is secure?" Charlie Manuel said. "I don't know what to say, if you want to know the truth. We'd have to find somebody to do his job first, I guess."
There aren't many options internally.
Double-A righthander Carlos Carrasco seems to be the team's best option at the minor-league level, but he allowed seven hits and eight runs (seven earned) in three innings last night in a loss to Akron. He is 5-7 with a 4.18 ERA for Reading. Righthander Chad Durbin is 2-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 30 appearances, so Manuel is reluctant to move him. Durbin also is just 19-33 with a 5.83 ERA as a starter, so there's no guarantee he could translate his bullpen success into starter success. Righthander Kris Benson is making his first start for triple-A Lehigh Valley tomorrow, but he needs to show much more than he has before he becomes an option.
There are others, too. But those seem to be the most obvious candidates.
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Vicente Padilla is pitching very well for the Rangers this season, but the Phillies have no regrets about trading him a couple years ago.
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This week's Q&A: Clay Condrey.
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Mike Jensen has a very interesting look at StubHub's relationship with the Phillies and MLB.
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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