Where'd Myers' Fastball Go?
Brett Myers has lost his fastball, and he feels lost without it. This is a concern.
Where'd Myers' Fastball Go?
Todd Zolecki
Brett Myers is lost.
He can't seem to break 89 mph with his fastball, which is a shock for somebody who always has been able to throw much harder. So he has abandoned his fastball early in games and has tried to fool hitters with his cutter and other offspeed pitches. It hasn't worked. He is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA after six starts this season.
Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee are concerned.
Dubee sounds even more frustrated.
"I think it's as simple as him throwing more fastballs and him getting out there and playing some more long toss," Dubee said. "He's not a real big believer in long toss, and I am. I think that's one way you develop arm strength. It gives you some elasticity in your arm, and I think it's something he has to buy into a little more. He doesn't do much at all. Game day, he throws five balls at a long distance and that's it."
Myers said he doesn't throw his fastball because the separation in speeds between the fastball (88 mph) and his cutter (84 mph) isn't enough. So he has thrown the cutter, hoping the extra movement on the ball might fool hitters.
"He wasn't going to throw the cutter today," Dubee said. "See how long that lasted? We were going to throw more curveballs. He threw them to the first couple hitters, and then he put it in his back pocket for whatever reason. We talked about getting away from the cutter and throwing more fastballs and throwing more curveballs because of the separation between the speeds. But he got away from that game plan for whatever reason."
Myers said he is open to doing anything that might pump up the mph on his fastball, and that means more long tossing in between starts.
We'll see what happens.
But it's obvious this is a very real concern. The Phillies expected Myers and Cole Hamels to be their 1-2 punch atop their rotation. If that doesn't happen, it's going to be very tough to hang in the National League East all season.
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In the Phillies Notebook, the Phillies gave Paul Maholm credit, but they weren't amazed by his two-hitter yesterday in a 5-1 loss to the Pirates.
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The Phillies today released triple-A Lehigh Valley outfielder Valentino Pascucci.
Gary, a drop in velocity, tremendous weight(muscle fat we don't know)gain beating his wife in public kicking her and pulling her hair and slapping her in front of teammates. Is probably more than alcohol "rage". Generally those cowards beat there wives behind closd doors. You must not defend the obvious. That makes you an accomplice like the Phillies...— Truth- I'm not defending his actions, I am saying that the link to steroids is, at this point, 100% speculation by guys on a blog, and that his past off the field behavior could be that he has anger issues. You know, there are people who hit their wives who aren't on something.— Gary Varsho
- The drug speculation might be going a bit too far. We don't know it's drugs, and so this is more an indictment of MLB. Allowing abuse for years has created a situation where a player who loses velocity or sees their power numbers go down get instantly labeled as a former juicer. Sad, sad, sad. Just skip a Myers start or drop him to 4th starter status. That should get his attention.— JeffA
- If Brett Myers was using steriods then where was the muscle? For the last 3 to 4 years the only think he looks to be a customer for is booze and food, not drugs. Brett's problem is not that he is no longer using steriods , his problem is he can't control his wieght and is lazy in the off season.— PJM20
- I dont buy the steroids argument. There is no real evidence of it. I am more concered about the arm injury that he sustained last August. Between the injury and starting again for the first time in almost a year, I think there are plenty of more obvious reasons for his issues. If he cant top 90 as the weather starts to get warmer, I'd really start to worry that it is all over.— freebistat
- We'll see if my speculation is purely that or something else as the next month unfolds. If Brett is made to long toss by Dubee and shoulder pain starts, then we need to look at the injury he suffered last year and possibly now a worsening of the condition, like a labral tear or some other pathology that is slowly evolving over time. A ppitchers arm is forever evolvinhg over their career. If he gets a clean bill of health, well then, we all have our doubts and suspicions, don't we?— Mark1npt
- BTW, why are so many people surprised that pitchers are just as big offenders with HGH and steroids as the HR hitters are? Pitchers were fighting fire with fire. Not just little guys like Paul Byrd but the big boys like Clemens too, and every mediocre pitcher in between, except for possibly our own Jamie Moyer who shows no effects of this stuff except for the fact that he takes the ball every 5th day at the age of 45 when most guys couldn't play with their kids every 5th day. Jamie seems to be incredibly fit, a location pithcer and doesn't throw hard enough to break a paper bag...that's how he does it. If he tried to throw only 4-5 mph more, his arm probably would've fallen off by now, and he would have been faced with that difficult decision of "do I do it or not" to prolong my career?— Mark1npt
Comment removed.- Look at people like Giambi and Clemens, they were muscular and fit. Look at Brett Myers, all I see is a beer belly and a confused right arm. Steroids are not the problem, lack of coaching and work ethic is.— PJM20
- Gagne is the most eggregious example of steroid abuse, anybody see Billy Wagner hit 100 mph lately? Anyone remember Darren Dreifort? Look no further than Mike Hampton, he of the slightly less aquare headed pitchers these days. How many starts/years has he missed since getting off the juice? I could go on and on.....yes I agree Myers has a nice old beer belly, and the steroids are pure speculation, but it's clear he just never will be a pitcher, just a thrower. You can't legislate intelligence, no matter how much Dubee and the Phillies brass might try.— Mark1npt
- Come on! I don't buy Brett Myers as a steroid junkie. A 7 MPH drop in velocity a juicer does not make. One thing Phillies pitchers have always had a problem with is fitness. (Cole, cover your ears and keep doing whatever it is you do) Let's go down the list of semi-rotund hurlers of the recent past: Double Chin Lieber, Pot Belly Padilla, Lazy Ice-cream guzzling Lidle, Gigantic Alfonseca... It isn't exactly a who's who of Men's Fitness Covers. There needs to be a culture of fitness on the pitching staff which Dubee has never sponsored. He may be frustrated by Myers... so DO something about it. Knock him down in the rotation. Piss him off. It's called COACHING. It actually works.— Frank Lloyd Wrong
- Mark1npt - I don't disagree that pitchers were(are) as likely to use steroids as hitters and that its obvious with some of them, due to their downfall. But as far as Myers, we're talking about one bad month, and he came off injury last season. And towards the end of last year, I don't remember what his velocity was, but he was more dangerous as a closer with his curveball - so its possible the injury is partly to blame for the decreased velocity. Other than a bad temper, and a fastball that seems off in the first month of this year, there aren't any other indications that he was a steroid or HGH user. Although, if the story ever broke that he was, I wouldn't be 100% surprised. Unlike David Bell, who must have gotten a bad batch!!— Gary Varsho
- Terry Harmon...no way, is that you? QVC/2nd Base/blogger?— dksurf
- Agreed Gary.....what did it do? Take him from 6 to 15 HRs in a year? Just enough to make an extra $15 mil or so...should be no surprise as to why players do it....all I'm saying is that barring a torn labrum that is degenerating further, isn't the possibility there that Brett was a user and that 5-8 mph missing is because he isn't doing the stuff anymore and what was in his body has worn off?— Mark1npt
- There is one easy way to answer the question with Myers. Find out what his velocity was before he gained 30-40lbs in that one off-season. Was he consistently a 92-95 mph guy in college, minors and with the Phillies until this year? I assume so. The reality is that Myers is not a 'roid user. He is injured, the Phillies didn't diagnose or treat him properly last season. In the heat of the pennant race they may have rushed him back and he didn't have the judgement to rest the injury like Hamels. I didn't miss anything! This one as everything else is on the short sighted Philadelphia Phillies.— Truth
