Myers continues
to struggle on the hill

In the Batter’s Box
By Matt Godfrey

Before Opening Day, when the Phillies were gearing up for the 2008 season, there were a lot of questions about the assembled squad.
How would the new guys — Geoff Jenkins, Brad Lidge and Pedro Feliz — mesh with the rest of the 2007 NL East champs?
How would the departure of centerfielder Aaron Rowand affect the team’s energy and outlook?
How would the team’s starting pitching — after Cole Hamels and Brett Myers — fare once the games started to matter?
Now, about two and a half months into the season, most of those questions are being answered for the Phillies.
Jenkins and Feliz seem to have acclimated seamlessly with the rest of the team, while Lidge has been incredible coming out of the bullpen.
Shane Victorino’s speed and tenacity have made Rowand’s hard-nosed attacks on the outfield wall seem like a distant memory.
The pitching staff is actually among the best in baseball, both the starters and the relievers. Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton have pitched above average to this point, and have helped lead this team to one of the best records in baseball.
Teamed with Hamels, the four have combined for 21 wins over 56 starts, not including games that were won after they were pulled from the game. (All numbers are prior to the Red Sox series that started on Monday night.)
The new question, actually, is Myers.
The guy just does not have “it” anymore.
Whatever “it” is that people keep referring to, he’s lost it. Whether the reference is to confidence, composure or focus — or all of the above — he doesn’t seem to have it.
Hamels leads the way for the Phils with an ERA of 3.27. Then it’s Moyer (4.12), Kendrick (4.54) and Eaton (4.57). Myers has an atrocious 5.58.
Hamels and Kendrick have six wins each; Moyer has seven. Myers’ three wins put him just one ahead of Eaton.
If you’ve watched his last few games, the inconsistency is easy to see.
On May 30 he pitched eight strong innings, giving up three runs in a win over the Florida Marlins. His next game out, he pitched seven-plus innings, giving up one run in a close loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Over his next two games he gave up 11 runs and looked nothing like the pitcher in those previous two games.
His tendency to flip from one extreme to the other is making him a liability on the mound for this team.
Rumors of his unwillingness to throw long toss, a workout aimed at strengthening the core of a pitcher, and his ease in losing focus only add to the speculation about Myers’ vanishing act. His taste of the closer’s life last season — a role he came to enjoy — probably hasn’t helped him this season.
Even though Eaton is pitching reasonably well at the moment — a relief after last year’s awful performance — many fans rightly believe that he still isn’t earning the $24 million he’s getting over three seasons.
It’s a big chunk of money.
Myers has a similar big payday, with the same expectations to perform.
He’s making $8.5 million this season, according to ESPN.
Maybe we shouldn’t be expecting — or waiting for — Myers to be the pitcher we keep hearing he’ll be. Maybe he’s meant to be a reliever.
It seems that it’s his lack of desire and focus — and not his pitch selection — that is influencing his career path.
So when Dave Montgomery came out and issued a proclamation about the Phillies doing whatever must be done to accomplish a championship season, my vote would be to replace Brett Myers in the rotation. Perhaps it means moving him to the bullpen. Perhaps it means moving him to another team.
If packaging him with a prospect or two can land the Phils a true ace and a trip to the World Series, Brett Myers will have shown that he does have some value after all. ••