Phil Sheridan: Brett Myers working to rescue himself

That's what this is for Brett Myers, after all. It's as if the Phillies got an MRI of his psyche, saw a second-degree strain in his S.C. (self-confidence) ligament, and sent him to triple A to pitch his way back into shape.

The shoulder bone, in this case, is connected directly to the head bone.

"My head's fine," Myers said last night after going five innings for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. "It feels good right now, after pitching tonight. I just need to get the fun back in the game. I had it taken away from me because I was getting beat up so much."

Last year, the Phillies gave Ryan Howard a similar mental vacation. A tender hamstring gave Howard a good cover story. Myers doesn't have that luxury. He's just pitching against minor-league hitters to get his confidence back.

"Pitchers slump just like hitters do," Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said. "This is a chance for Brett to clear his head a little bit. It's a chance to come down to a lower level and be successful."

Things will get really sticky if Myers isn't successful on his working vacation. The only thing certain after his first appearance is that this is no baseball Lourdes. There is no miracle cure here. It is going to be a process.

Myers wasn't terrible, but it wasn't as if he dominated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, either. In five innings, he gave up three runs on five hits, struck out six and walked two. He threw 100 pitches, 60 for strikes.

The numbers don't tell the full story, though. Myers did not throw his split-finger fastball with authority or command. He bounced several of them, which suggested he was aiming. Just as he has been doing at the big-league level, Myers relied too heavily on his curveball in key situations.

"I was throwing my split," Myers said. "I couldn't throw that for strikes too much, get guys to swing at it. I threw the curveball for strikeouts. Definitely some improvement. My velocity was better."

Better, but not great. He hit 93 m.p.h. on the radar gun, but most of his pitches were in the 80s.

"There's still a couple of things" to work on, Myers said. "There's a couple of things I have to do to get the power back."

He was enthusiastic about working with Allentown pitching coach Rod Nichols, who helped shape Myers when he was an unproven prospect. Part of the idea is for Myers to work on flaws in his mechanics without dealing with big-league hitters and 45,000 hooting fans reacting to every mistake.

"What we're talking about with his delivery issues are not particularly complicated or difficult for a pitcher to correct," Arbuckle said. "But here you have an environment where everybody is not counting on you to win for the Phillies tonight."

That is, of course, the job description for a major-league pitcher.

Myers seems to have a very clear idea how he got to this point. In theory, that should help him work his way back.

He was just becoming an established starter when the Phillies moved him to the bullpen last year. After he took to that role, the Phils asked him to return to the rotation when they acquired Houston closer Brad Lidge.

At the time, the riskiest part of the gambit seemed to be Lidge - he had been plagued by injuries and ineffectiveness his last couple of seasons with the Astros. Well, Lidge turned out to be a great addition while Myers proved to be the flaw in the plan.

As a starter, "I had plans every time I went out there," Myers said. "I was recognizing swings with hitters and stuff like that. When I was doing well as a starter, I could see pretty much everything that was going on. I think maybe going in the bullpen last year took that away from me, because I didn't have to watch what was going on with hitters. I was just like, 'Here's my stuff, hit it.' "

This year, hitters are doing just that.

"I thought I was going to get by on ability," Myers said, "and I'm not."

So here he is, trying to do in three weeks in Allentown what he should have done in six weeks in Clearwater, Fla. While the Phillies cling to their lead in the National League East, their opening-day starter is trying to earn a promotion to the major leagues.

"Absolutely, I am," Myers said. "I don't expect anything to be handed to me. I don't feel like, if I keep pitching the way I am, that they're just going to throw me back out there."

They can't.