Posted on Sat, Jul. 5, 2008
It might matter little to Allentown's newest celebrity, Brett Myers, but former teammate Billy Wagner remembers when another slumping starter packed his big-league bags.
Before Shane Victorino singled to give the Phillies a 3-2 rain-soaked victory over the New York Mets last night, Wagner, New York's closer and former Phillie, spoke of his then-Astros teammate Darryl Kile.
It was 1995.
Kile's record, like Myers', was 3-9. The Astros sent Kile to Tucson, their triple-A affiliate, for three starts. Myers has made one start for the Phils' triple-A squad in Lehigh Valley: He pitched five innings, allowing five hits and three runs. Myers is scheduled to pitch again on Monday.
"By the end of that year, [Kile] was pitching in one of the biggest games we had," Wagner remembered. "It had playoff implications."
After 1995, Kile won 93 more games until he died of a heart attack during the 2002 season.
Just as that brief shake-up helped Kile, Wagner said, it's possible Myers' hiatus could do the same.
The Phillies, Wagner said, made the right move.
"I don't think they were doing it to say, 'Hey, we're tired of your act.' " Wagner said. "They're saying 'Hey, we need you. Go down there to get better, so that you can really help us.' "
Myers began last season as a starting pitcher, finished the season as a closer, and returned this April as the club's opening-day starter.
Because of that, Wagner said, "a lot of things may not have caught up to where they need to be." Things such as velocity and overall crispness with pitches.
Wagner said he has not spoken to Myers "since he went down."
Last year, when Myers moved to the bullpen, Wagner said he believed the move best suited Myers' talents. On Wednesday, Myers also said he believed his long-term future was as a reliever.
"He's got such a talent," Wagner said. "It's hard when you're not doing well in a city like [Philadelphia] or New York. You get a lot of bad publicity, and it's hard to deal with."
Added Wagner: "They did the right thing by sending him down and saying, 'Take a deep breath, relax, get back to where you were, and come back and help us out.' "
Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.
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