Brett Myers... ohhhh dear.

by WholeCamels on Jun 28, 2008 7:38 AM EDT Comment 11 comments

Okay, something has to be done. This team just isn't good enough to keep throwing a struggling turd out there every fifth day.

Every other starter is by and large keeping this team in games except Myers right now.

Promote J.A. Happ, and move Myers back to some late inning role? Do a Dontrelle and send him back to the minors to straighten his biz out?

I'm just at a loss here. The offense finally comes through and Myers didn't even give them a chance.

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My day off and lots to get done and the first thing I tackle is the Myers situation. Looking at the Phillie recent 4-12 freefall I see Myers is 0-3 8.57 with 9 bombs allowed. Yesterdays ND by BB rules saved his ass from going to 3-10 but in all reality he deserved the loss after happy Pete made it 5-1 with his GS. Myers (for those not watching), faced 5 batters in the third without recording an out, a tough situation for Condrey (who got the loss).

My take on Myers is it’s mental, physical or a combination of both. My answer for the FO is put him on the DL with shoulder inflamation and ship his ass to Florida for a vacation. Get him away from the team. My gut says he’s kind of a cancer in the best of times and this ain’t the best of times.

Alternatives. Durbin has been mentioned but he fits his role and has been such a positive addition to the pen. His starter numbers are reminiscent of Paul Abbott. Not good at 19-33 5.83. With Myers now sucky fastball I don’t think a switch in roles is a good option.

Carrasco has also been mentioned and he ‘projects’ to be a big league power starter some day but his numbers in reading are 5-7 4.18 and he gave up 7 in three innings yesterday. He is not ready IMO.

Benson is pie in the sky. Who knows if he’ll be able to do it or not. He’s not close now and we need somebody now.

J.A. Happ might be the answer. I don’t know.

Something has to be done BEFORE the trade deadline. We shall see.

by Steve-O- on Jun 28, 2008 12:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Whether he’s injured or not, I DL him and give Happ two starts to show what he can do.

That said, I think he’s injured. The pitches just don’t look sharp. FB is slower, curve doesn’t break the way it used to, less action on the split… he has to luck into recording outs at the moment.

by dajafi on Jun 28, 2008 2:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree wholeheartedly with the suggestion to put him on the DL and suggested as much almost two months ago.

Right now, Happ is my #1 choice. What about Brian Mazone? He was supposed to make a spot start last year, I believe, and never got that opportunity. He’s having a fairly decent season in AAA.

What’s up with Joe Bisenius? It looks like he hasn’t pitched much this year but I can’t find any information as to exactly why that is. My first thought is an injury but my Google searching has yielded nothing relevant.

I still think the Phillies need to pick up at least one Kyle Lohse-like starting pitcher and kick Adam Eaton to the curb, or just give him Clay Condrey’s job.

http://crashburnalley.com/

by Crashburn Alley on Jun 28, 2008 3:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Carrasco

Don’t know if you saw this note in Jayson Stark’s ESPN column last Thursday:

The Carlos Carrasco Watch: Carlos Carrasco is no household name to most fans. But among the scouting community, he’s the most-watched pitcher in the entire Phillies system—a 21-year-old right-handed rocket-launcher the Phillies would have to agonize over seriously before trading. One scout’s review: “Why is this guy still in Double-A? He’s a big-time arm with quality stuff who could eventually be a top-of-the-rotation guy. I don’t see them trading him. I really don’t.”

Those minor league numbers might be less than anticipated, but I seem to remember that Kyle Kendrick had some pretty ordinary numbers last year in the minors, and he developed nicely as a fill-in starter. Carrasco might be worth giving a shot, like Kendrick got, and if he doesn’t have a decent outcome, then going to Happ might be the best Plan B.

by phillyinportland on Jun 30, 2008 10:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Phils website posted that Myers is going to miss his next start. I think a promotion from Happ is the most plausible scenario, and a stint on the DL is coming for somebody, otherwise, they have to shift the 40 man and DFA somebody, which I don’t think they want to do, and seeing as how Condrey just had a kid, that’s really insensitve to do (but hey – it’s business…).
I predict Happ gets a call up, a marginal reliever goes on the DL (Madson or Gordon) and if all goes well, Myers goes to the pen as a setup guy. There’ll be some growing pains there, but Myers was mostly effective last year out of the pen, and he seemed to like the job.

by Bilzo on Jul 1, 2008 12:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

he like the job out of the pen as a closer… this won’t go over so well… honestly, he’s the one that needs some DL time…

by foos05 on Jul 1, 2008 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I totally agree that he’s pitched like crap this year. The flip-side to that is that it’s so hard to find effective bullpen people, you have to move him there before you give up on him altogether. Given the following options:
1) Myers pitches effectivley as a starter.
2) Myers pitches ineffectively as a starter.
3) Myers pitches effectively as a reliever.
4) Myers pitches ineffectively as a reliever.
5) Myers doesn’t pitch.
I’d go 1-3-5-4-2 in order or preference. He’s at the bottom of the list right now. If you suck as a starter, your team has to play catchup. If you suck as a reliever, you usually get pulled before a game has gotten out of hand, or you’re in when it doesn’t matter. He might blow a couple 1 or 2 run leads now and then, but that’d be better than putting the team in a 5-0 hole every time he touches a baseball.

Before giving up on him, it makes sense to try him where he was last effective.

by Bilzo on Jul 1, 2008 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not totally saying give up yet… I’m saying maybe he’s actually hurt and needs some DL time. If not then throw him in the pen. If he’s got more sense than a box of rocks he knows it’s coming, so hopefully it won’t be such a shocker.

by foos05 on Jul 1, 2008 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If nobody knows why he’s hurt (and I’m guessing they don’t), then I’m not sure a stint on the DL accomplishes anything other than keeping him away from the mound and giving up more runs.

If you don’t know how or why he’s hurt, a DL stint really doesn’t help him.

by Bilzo on Jul 1, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs