Get down tonight

The chatter around the ballpark today has been for closer Brett Myers to settle on appropriate enterance music before the ninth inning. Apparently, Myers was upset that KC & the Sunshine Band’s “Shake Your Booty” was played as he came into last night’s game. Frankly, as I have written in earlier posts, this is pure silliness. Firstly, if Myers had an inch of ironic humor in his ever-expanding body he’s leave the KC & the Sunshine song.

Better yet, instead of some pretend phony toughness delivered through the majesty of song, maybe it would be more of a mind scramble if Myers entered the game to Lesley Gore's "Sunshine and Lollipops?"

In the same vein, I have always believed that if a player was going to take the time to select a song in which to choreograph his appearance in a baseball game, that player should also perform an interpretive dance or performance art piece using the song on their way to the batters’ box or mound.

If the song is “Shake Your Booty,” by all means, shake your booty.

Regardless of any of this, Myers should just worry about getting outs. If he continues to do that people will be writing songs about him.

***
The Phillies announced that they had traded for veteran slugger Russell Branyan this afternoon.

Nope, I didn’t get it either.

Either way, skipper Charlie Manuel said that the team has long had an interest in Branyan, a power-hitting lefty with a bad batting average and a lot of strikeouts. Nevertheless, Manuel wanted an extra slugger for the bench and that’s exactly what Branyan is.

“We just felt that at the moment we have 13 pitchers and only 12 position players so we’d like to have another bat,” general manager Pat Gillick said. “Consequently, Russell is a guy with tremendous power and gives Charlie another alternative is we have a pinch hitting situation.”

The Phillies had hoped that Branyan would be in the park for tonight’s game against the Marlins, but (surprise!) he flight was delayed heading to Philadelphia. When Branyan makes it to Philly, the team will have to adjust its 25-man and 40-man rosters and the early speculation is on option-ready reliever Geoff Geary heading to Triple-A Ottawa.

***
Rugby and triathlon legend Bill Boben was seen in the crowd for tonight’s game.

***
Thirty-three years ago today (“…effective at noon…”) Richard Nixon resigned as president of the United States.

***
Tadahito Iguchi has a hit in 11 of the 12 games he’s played in since joining the Phillies. In fact, Iguchi has filled in quite nicely for All-Star second baseman Chase Utley. But when Utley is healthy and returns to action, don’t expect Iguchi to move over to third base in order to remain in the lineup.

According to Gillick, the budding Iguchi situation is something for Manuel to figure out.

“Right now, Iguchi is either going to play second base primarily or his secondary position is shortstop so we’ll see how that goes,” Gillick explained. “When Chase comes back, that’s a problem Charlie is going to have to work out. Right now, when Chase gets backs he’ll be in the lineup.”

Yeah, but what about third base?

“I would say it’s a very remote, remote possibility. It’s a different position third base in that you have longer to read the ball at shortstop and second base as opposed to third base which is a reaction position,” Gillick said. “A lot of times people that can play the middle of the diamond have a tough time moving to the corners.”

So before it could even begin, the Iguchi to third base experiment has been scrapped.

Back from a break

Hola amigos! I was busy procrastinating and managing my time poorly so I didn’t get a chance to post anything substantive here over the past few days. Because of that, I won’t try to overwhelm everyone all at once. Instead, here’s a few recent stories, trends, etc. that I thought were interesting.

Let’s go:

Ryan Howard finding a seat on the bench with Greg Dobbs, Rod Barajas, Jayson Werth and Michael Bourn for last night’s game against the Diamondbacks’ Randy Johnson was something that raised eyebrows and caused a few to say to no one in particular, “Hmmph.”

Cosmetically, I suppose, it makes sense in that it was left-hander Randy Johnson pitching and Howard is a left-handed hitter. Add the fact that Howard got a cramp in his hamstring during the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s loss and perhaps manager Charlie Manuel was just being safe than sorry.

“(Howard's) played five days and Randy is pitching,” the skipper said before the game. “I figured from a conditioning standpoint, everything kind of points to me giving him a day off. He'll rest tomorrow although he is available to pinch-hit. He had a cramp and once he got over it he was fine.”

But from another point of view – namely Howard’s – that explanation was just silly. Though Howard is hitting .133 in just 45 at-bats against lefties this season, he hit .279 with 16 homers against southpaws in his 2006 MVP season. Interestingly, Howard has never faced Johnson during his career, though Johnson has faced such notable Phillies as Ruben Amaro, Mike Schmidt, Bob Dernier and Floyd Youmans.

How does Randy Johnson get to face Floyd Youmans but not Ryan Howard?

Regardless, the notion of sitting Howard against Johnson doesn’t work anymore. Sure, Johnson can still pitch and he showed that by holding the Phillies to just one hit and no walks on just 61 pitches through six innings. But that famous fastball, apparently, isn’t what it once was and in sticking it to the Phillies last night Johnson relied on a slider that got in on the right-handers as well as the overzealousness of the hitters.

How overzealous were they? Well, the Phillies were so anxious that even with Johnson out of the game the Phillies went down in order in the seventh inning against reliever Doug Slaten on 10 pitches.

Anyway, in regard to sitting against Johnson, Howard said:

"It is what it is. It's fine. It's done. It's good.

“I told them I was alright. It was my hamstring. I told them it was alright. I'm sure when I grabbed my left leg, which is the one where I had the quad injury, everyone thought it was that. My quad is fine.”

The Phillies, however, are not in the best shape. After all, it’s quite reasonable that “The Team to Beat” could be up to a dozen games behind the New York Mets in the NL East before the first full week of June.

What did Jimmy Rollins, the author of the “team to beat” quote have to say about getting swept by the Diamondbacks and falling below .500.

“Unfortunately everything that went right for us in Atlanta went wrong for us here,” he said. “We get tomorrow off. Regroup, come back and get some wins against San Francisco.

“The losing record is only one game below .500 fortunately but we do have to play better ball. Things we did in Atlanta we have to do the rest of the season.”

With 109 games to go in the season, the Phillies’ best chance rests with the wild card. But if it will take 95 victories to win the wild card, the Phillies have to go 69-40 the rest of the way. That’s .633 ball, which is about what the Red Sox and Mets are doing these days.

Can the Phillies do that too?

***
No one asked me, but I think the Arizona Snakes would be a much more menacing nickname than Diamondbacks. I don’t like snakes, in fact, I’m probably afraid of them. A Diamondback does nothing for me. Snakes and Bugs would be a better team name… the Arizona Flyin’ Bugs? That has a nice ring to it.

***
If you are like me and a fan/participant of endurance sports, it’s worth noting that Martin Dugard has a blog. I just discovered it yesterday after hearing him interviewed on The Competitors radio show from San Diego.

Speaking of cycling (wasn’t I), the 2007 Men's Pro Cycling Tour hits the area starting this Sunday with a race through downtown Lancaster. It culminates on Sunday, June 10 with the U.S. championship in Philadelphia.

Interestingly, folks in Lancaster complain about some of the top cyclists riding through their downtown streets, while in Philadelphia they turn the event into an all day party.

Yes, in that regard I believe the people in Philadelphia are smarter than the people in Lancaster.

***
Back to baseball…

The Phillies, the very minor flap with John Smoltz was fascinating not because of what Smoltz said regarding Brett Myers’ move from the rotation to the bullpen, but because of the way the Phillies reacted to it.

You know, because the Phillies go to the playoffs every year and the Braves have just one World Series title in their 124 seasons in the Major Leagues… wait, I think I got those mixed up.

Anyway, from the way I read the stories from the long-forgotten sweep in Atlanta last weekend, it sounded as if the Phillies reacted as though Smoltz offered his sage opinion regarding Myers’ move to the bullpen instead of simply answering a question posed to him by a writer.

Come on… baseball players don’t go around offering their opinions to anyone who will listen.

Oh wait… I forgot about this guy.

Digressing again, assistant GM told writers last weekend that Smoltz really ought to just butt out.

“The Phillies have a great deal of respect for John Smoltz and what he's represented to the Braves and to this division. He's a Hall of Fame pitcher. At the same time, I'm not sure it's appropriate for him to be making comments about personnel decisions that we've made as an organization.”

The entire thing could be a matter of poor reading comprehension on my part, but I don’t understand why the Phillies chose to comment at all, nor why they would be so dismissive of John Smoltz. In fact, I remember talking to him back when he was closing games for the Braves and asked him about the move from the rotation to the bullpen and how it affected his golf game.

Big time, is my many years removed paraphrasing of the conversation.

Back then Smoltz said that the training regime for a reliever was much more intricate than that of a starter. As a reliever, Smoltz had to be ready every single day and he had to train for that during the off-season. As a starter, he could pace himself a little more.

Certainly, in regard to Myers, I don’t think he injured himself because he wasn’t strong enough, stretched out or couldn’t handle the work load, but the everyday-ness of relieving could have caused a slight muscle weakness. Myers will definitely work all of those issues out if he has a long-term future as a reliever/closer.

***
Hey... Barry Bonds comes to town tomorrow. I bet he gets booed.

That was something

Yeah, well that happened.

Perhaps some day when Charlie Manuel is no longer the manager of the Phillies – say he gets fired or his contract is allowed to expire or something like that – the bottom of the ninth of last night’s inexplicable victory over the Florida Marlins will be shown over and over on a virtual loop.

Yes, it was that odd.

Where do we start? With Brett Myers starting another ninth inning with a four-run lead? With Greg Dobbs’ throw to the plate on a bunt? On Rod Barajas’ “For who, for what?” moment where Hanley Ramirez scored by going five-hole on him? On Myers’ injury? The comebacker that Clay Condrey snagged? Or how about how Condrey bounced back from his previous outing… that was something, huh?

Anyway, everyone seems to be talking about the Phillies’ crazy ninth inning from last night, so there is no sense in rehashing it here. However, I had been asked quite frequently today if I had ever seen the Phillies cough up a lead in such a manner.

Yes. Yes I have.

It was Sept. 3, 2001 at the Vet. A warm, Labor Day afternoon. The Phillies, in the thick of a race for the NL East with the Braves lost to the New York Mets, 10-7, by allowing five runs in the top of the ninth. Jose Mesa was credited with a blown save and the loss though his role in the loss was merely cosmetic. He simply blew it.

The real goat on that Labor Day was the reliever who followed Mesa, Jose Santiago. Santiago, as some remember, pitched in 95 games for the Phillies during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, compiling a 4.94 ERA, including a poor 6.70 ERA in 42 games during 2002.

But to me Jose Santiago will always be the pitcher who allowed the go-ahead run to score when missed the throw back from the catcher.

Let that sink in for a second…

Yes, he missed the throw from the catcher.

It wasn’t a wild throw or a hard one. He didn’t have to lunge for it or stretch with a little leap for it. He missed it. The catcher threw the ball to him and Santiago missed it.

He simply missed it.

As the ball trickled away from Santiago, Todd Zeile – not particularly the most fleet afoot – took off from second to third base and then scored when shortstop Jimmy Rollins’ wild throw skipped past Scott Rolen at third base. Jay Payton ended up going from first to third before scoring an insurance run.

The only thing missing was the circus music.

So when people ask about the ninth inning in Miami from May 23, 2007, tell them about the ninth inning at the Vet on Sept. 3, 2001 where the pitcher allowed the winning run to score when he missed the throw back from the catcher.

Just missed it.

***
Otherwise, waiting for the final prognosis on Myers’ strained shoulder must have a few folks at 1 Citizens Park Way feeling more than a little tense. Frankly, if Myers has a major injury, that could be all she wrote for 2007, folks.

***
From here the Phillies head to Atlanta for a weekend series against the Braves. Fortunately for the Phillies Ryan Howard will return to the lineup on Friday night. Even better for the scribes on the beat, The Vortex is in Atlanta, which, as they claim, is the place to go for burgers. From looking at the menu, it appears as if the joint is veggie friendly, too.

Not that anyone is interested in any of that silliness.

***
Today is Bob Dylan's 66th birthday. Could Bob be the most notable person ever to attend the University of Minnesota? I say, "Yes. Yes he is."

Happy birthday, Bob.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BDIs9gyYW4]

***
Special thanks to the good folks at The Mike Gill Show on 1450 AM in Atlantic City.

Keep on dancing

Since the first time I went to a Major League Baseball game in 1976, I’ll guess that I’ve been to over 1,000 games. Add in little league games, legion games, high school and college to go with a bunch of minor league games and it could be another thousand ballgames.

Whatever the actual total is, it’s a lot of games.

Yet of all those games I’ve seen exactly one – ONE – no-hitter. I watched a few on TV, but as far as being in the park to witness a no-hitter that honor goes to Kevin Millwood when he blanked the Giants at the Vet in 2003. I saw Eric Milton get to within three outs of getting one and Vicente Padilla come four outs away. I also saw one-hitters from Jim Gott/Roy Lee Jackson in 1982 and Randy Wolf at the Vet against the Reds in 2001.

I’ve seen more cycles at the Bank (David Bell and Brad Wilkerson) than no-hitters, ever.

Nevertheless, I thought I was going to witness one last night, though in the end it really didn’t get that close.

Cole Hamels, of course, carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and came within nine outs of finishing the no-hitter. That’s close, but still an inning away from it really getting interesting. Regardless, in facing one of the better hitting teams in the Majors (the Brewers lead all of MLB with 51 homers) Hamels seemed like he was the Harlem Globetrotters with the bucket of confetti and the ball on the string against the Washington Generals.

Quite simply, Hamels can pitch the way most people breathe, eat or go into out-of-control credit debt.

But what’s most interesting about this fact is that Hamels knows he is very, very good and doesn’t mind saying so. Better yet, he does this without arrogance or coming off as too overbearingly cocky. Instead, he’s just refreshingly confident and candid. In the clubhouse after the game last night, Hamels was asked if he thought he was going to get the no-hitter and if he believes he will get one in sometime soon in the future and he didn’t even hesitate with the answer.

“Oh course,” he said. “I try to think that every night… ”

Or:

“Of course. Every year I go out there and try to get at least one.”

It doesn’t sound outlandish that Hamels will someday toss a no-hitter, but then again people used to say it was just a matter of time before Steve Carlton threw one, too. When his career had ended, Carlton had six one-hitters to his credit and zero no-hitters.

***
Last night Brett Myers pitched in the third game in a row and his fifth of the last seven despite the Phillies holding a comfortable four-run lead and a bullpen full of relievers waiting to get a little work in. Manager Charlie Manuel has always maintained that he views four-run leads as save situations in cozy Citizens Bank Park, but even so using Myers in such a situation was a little curious.

Sure, Myers is stretched out and pitched around 200 innings for the last few seasons, but there has to be a delicate balance for how much a reliever can pitch…

Right?

Nevertheless, when asked if he would be ready to go today if he got another call in the ninth, Myers was succinct.

“Yep,” he said.

Meanwhile, much has been made about Myers’ choice of entrance music that is played over the PA as he makes the jog from the bullpen to the mound for the ninth inning; though it wasn’t queued up for last night’s outing because no one thought he’d get into the game.

Anyway, Myers wants “Children of the Grave,” the White Zombie version of the Black Sabbath song, to be played as he comes into the game. Apparently, in some sort of faux machismo, Myers believes Rob Zombie and the gang get the crowd “pumped up.”

“Doesn't it have that aura about it?” Myers asked.

Uh, no. No it doesn’t.

If you're going with Sabbath, it has to be "War Pigs."

However, here’s an idea – instead of some pretend phony toughness delivered through the majesty of song, maybe it would be more of a mind scramble if Myers entered the game to Lesley Gore's "Sunshine and Lollipops?"

Better yet, I have always believed that if a player was going to take the time to select a song in which to choreograph his appearance in a baseball game, that player should also perform an interpretive dance or performance art piece using the song on their way to the batters’ box or mound.

Hey, it’s a game, right? Let’s have some fun.

Here we are now, entertain us.

More: Lesley Gore – Sunshine and Lollipops

The new closer

For the second straight time in a victory, the Phillies got a 1-2-3 ninth inning from their closer. Interestingly though, one of those was from the closer who went to the All-Star Game in 2006 and saved 34 games. The other, on Thursday night, came from the team’s 2007 Opening Day starter who has pitched nearly 200 innings for the past four seasons and signed a three-year, $26 million deal during the winter.

The closer, Tom Gordon, as we all know, is gone for the time being. The timeline for his return is unknown after it was reported that he had another dose of cortisone injected to his injured shoulder and will be unable to attempt to throw a baseball for at least a week. From a strictly knee-jerk point-of-view it seems rather unlikely that Gordon will return as the closer this season. It seems more apt that Brett Myers, the new closer who is 1-for-1 in save chances for his entire career, will keep the job as long as he wants it.

Who knows, perhaps the closer role is one that Myers destined for all along? When Larry Bowa was manager of the Phillies there was talk of how Myers was the “closer-of-the-future.” His demeanor and repertoire of pitches, it was said, could be better suited for that role. Those ideas resurfaced during spring training when one intrepid scribe broached the subject with the Phillies’ brass. Before anyone could say, “great beard of Bedrosian!” talk of such a move was all over the television, papers, and the Internets.

Here’s what I’m wondering: based on the way Gordon ended the 2006 season, was the plan always to turn Myers into the closer? And secondly, when was the last time an Opening Day starter had a save before he had a win? Has there ever been an Opening Day starter that turned into the teams' closer by the 28th game?

Anyone have the number for Elias?

Just some baseball stuff

According to some reports, Cole Hamels had 160 strikeouts in his first 25 starts (in 145 1/3 innings or 9.91 per nine innings), which is the second most by a left-hander over that span behind Fernando Valenzuela. Of course this doesn’t include his 15-strikeout performance against the Reds last week, or the six strikeouts he had last night in grinding out the win over the Braves.

Speaking of which, the win over the Braves was interesting for a couple of reasons, but mostly because of the way Hamels bounced back after the first and second innings. In those opening frames Hamels gave up seven hits to the first 11 hitters and, more importantly, three runs in the first inning. From watching on my TV (a set that is both falling apart, but artfully decorated with the post-modern crayon musings by a three-year old boy) and based on conversations from folks in the know, it was clear that Hamels had become a bit unhinged after giving up a home run to Chipper Jones in the three-run first.

Hamels also was a little beside himself during last Thursday’s loss to the Washington Nationals at the Bank when he struggled through 5 1/3 innings for his first loss of the season. Yet according to reports, Hamels was put back on track thanks to a visit to the mound by pitching coach Rich Dubee, who asked the lefty if he was on anything.

Yeah?

“He asked me if I was on anything,” Hamels told the writers. “I wasn't, I just get that way sometimes with my adrenaline.”

As far as the strikeouts go, Hamels only got his first one in the fourth inning in the win over the Braves. He finished with six to give him 43 in his six starts (40 2/3 innings). Only the Padres’ Jake Peavy has more.

***
Also at the top of the strikeout-leaders list is Dodgers’ lefty Randy Wolf, who has 36 strikeouts in six starts and 35 2/3 innings. At 3-3 and riding a two-game losing streak, Wolf has worked into the sixth inning of all his starts, which puts him on pace for 210 innings this season. Wolf needs to pitch 180 innings to have a $9 million option for 2008 kick in.

Speaking of former Phillies, the Dodgers are considering using Mike Lieberthal at third base because of some injuries, poor play and few other options. Lieberthal, of course, has caught more games than any other Phillie in franchise history and hasn’t done anything on the diamond other than squat behind the plate since his junior year of high school.

Whether or not it comes to Lieberthal getting a new glove and standing upright on the field remains to be seen. At this point it seems that the ex-longest tenured Philadelphia athlete is struggling to get used to his new role as a backup catcher. Listen to Lieby tell the Los Angeles Times about the adjustment.

“I miss playing,” Lieberthal said. “That's the best part of the day.”

***
Brett Myers threw nine of his 11 pitches for strikes in his two-thirds of an inning last night.

In his eight relief outings covering 8 1/3 innings, Myers has thrown 154 pitches, compared to 283 pitches in three games and 15 1/3 innings as a starter. I don’t know what any of this means, though manager Charlie Manuel and Dubee believe that Myers is still easing into his new role.

“He's using up a lot of adrenaline right now because it's so new to him,” Dubee told Courier-Post raconteur, Mike Radano.

For some reason it still makes sense to me to have Myers go for a four, five or six-out save on occasion even though Manuel seems to be locked in to using his players in well-defined roles. Until it’s proven to me that Myers can’t be like old-school closers like Bruce Sutter and pitch more than one inning, I’m always going to think it should be an option from time to time.

***
Phil Sheridan of the Inquirer columnized about the death of Josh Hancock and Tony La Russa’s “agenda.” According to reports it appears that Hancock might have been impaired while driving at the time of his accident. Meanwhile, La Russa was arrested for DUI during spring training and still awaits misdemeanor charges.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, La Russa “has declined questions about his arrest since making a brief statement to media hours after being released.” Asked about whether his manager should be more aggressive when dealing with such issues since his DUI arrest, Cardinals’ GM Walt Jocketty told the paper, no.

“Personally, I don't think so. I see how he deals with things. I think he would tell a player, ‘Look, it could happen to anybody. It happened to me. You've got to be careful how you conduct yourself.’”

Either way, it seems to that this would be a good chance for Major League Baseball to do something bold or Tony La Russa to take a stand… or both.

Closing time for Gordon?

There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned freakout/team meeting to get things rolling for Charlie Manuel’s team. Currently riding a season-best three-game winning streak, the Phillies have gone from the worst record in the Majors to the current second-best winning streak in baseball.

Last season, as everyone recalls, Manuel wigged out in the dugout between innings of a game in Florida and the Phillies promptly won nine in a row and 13 of 14. At 7-11, the Phillies are one game behind where they were last season at this time.

So the Phillies – with the wins and hits finally rolling in and three games against the lowly Washington Nationals coming up – are on the way. Right?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Instead, the question now is who is the closer? Does Tom Gordon hold onto the role by default or is it there for Brett Myers to snatch away? Before yesterday’s game Manuel didn’t really clear that up.

Or did he?

“It depends on how quick Brett (Myers) can come along," Manuel said. “Gordon is our closer and we're committed to him until Brett becomes better or whatever and we'll just have to see from there. Gordon still has good stuff. I think the fact he's gotten hit is the location of the pitches he's thrown.

“At the same time, we have to get Myers out there in a save situation to see how things go.”

As offered in a previous post, Gordon’s fastball still has its velocity but is struggling with the command with his curve. Plus, at 39, Gordon has a lot of miles on his arm over the last 19 seasons in the Majors. By all accounts Gordon should be able to handle the closer’s role for the foreseeable future though his success will depend on how often he’s used.

Gordon was used pretty heavily last season and responded with an All-Star season until coming up with a tired arm in August. He also missed some time during spring training to have his right arm checked out, which is nothing new. He missed the same amount of time during spring training of 2006 and bounced back fairly well.

Regardless, it appears as if Manuel is going to give Gordon every chance to hold onto the closer’s role. If he can’t do it, well, it appears as if there is a substitute waiting in for the call in the lower bullpen just beyond the center field fence.

“I don't know if it's a competition but let me put it this way I hope it's a good setting for both of them because then we can have a strong bullpen,” Manuel said.

Thinking inside the box

Nobody likes a second-guesser or a Monday morning quarterback. Those types swoop in after the fact and offer a told-you-so type of opinion that really is quite gutless. Where were they on the first guess, is what I want to know. For those of us struggling with the first guess, we need all the help we can get. If the second-guessers are so smart, jump in and help out the first time.

Second guessing is unoriginal and boring. But sports-type people have dined out on it for decades. That said, let’s dish a little on the eighth and ninth innings of the Phillies’ inexplicable, 2-1 loss to the Reds, shall we?

What, you think we’re too good for second-guessing Charlie Manuel.

Ha!

Actually, my second guess is very simple and uncomplicated. I am, at heart, a simpleton – maybe even a little naïve, but that’s a different story. If something is broken, fix it. Otherwise, leave it alone. Simple.

But with Brett Myers, a starter for his entire career until two days ago, the manager Charlie Manuel was victimized by some compartmental thinking on Friday night in Cincinnati. By compartmental thinking we mean the set-up man pitches the eighth inning and the so-called closer pitches the ninth inning and never shall the two overlap. On Friday that thinking cost the Phillies the game.

Brett Myers should have pitched the eighth and the ninth innings on Friday. It’s as simple as that. Tom Gordon, the closer for now, has struggled all season long and admits that he is a bit behind because he took a week off during spring training to have his shoulder checked out. He also seems to rely much more on his fastball as opposed to his go-to curve.

Plus, Gordon struggled to get a save against the Nationals just the day before and since Manuel said he was reluctant to use the so-called closer on back-to-back days after he struggled during the second-half of 2006 because of overuse, it seemed like using Myers for two innings was logical.

Besides, who says a closer can only pitch the ninth? Under Manuel, Gordon pitched 59 1/3 innings in 59 games in 2006, while Billy Wagner worked 77 2/3 innings in 75 appearances. Clearly that shows that closers work just one inning for Manuel.

Brett Myers doesn’t have to be so limited. He was a workhorse starter just this week who averaged close to seven innings per outing during his career. So what does it hurt if he closes out a game by going two innings? Gordon’s ego, perhaps? Please. At 4-11 the Phillies are long past worrying about such trivialities. The point is if Myers is going to be moved to the bullpen to pacify Jon Lieber (who pitched rather well as a starter on Friday night – looks like he was “comfortable” after pouting his way back into the rotation), he should be used as a weapon instead of just a cog in the machine.

Asked about it after the loss to the Reds, Manuel told reporters: “Right now, Gordon is our closer. He's been a closer. We signed him to be a closer. . . . That's something we haven't even discussed, and in some ways there's no need to discuss it. We've got to get him sharp. The stuff is there.”

Joe Torre uses Mariano Rivera for two-inning saves from time to time. Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, Rich Gossage and Kent Tekulve (among others) pitched multiple innings as a matter of course during their work closing out games.

So why couldn’t Brett Myers do that on Friday night?

Deep thoughts...

Here’s an idea that will probably make a few people hold their heads as if they have a really bad migraine – you know, the kind where it pounds at the temples and feels as if someone or thing is shooting a low frequency wave through the skull that emits a shrill buzz in the inner ear – and question my sanity for such “unconventional” thinking.

I’m throwing it out there any way…

Maybe the Phillies should keep all of their starting pitchers. Yeah, that’s right, all Six. Before anyone goes crazy, here’s what I’d do – Cole Hamels, Freddy Garcia and Brett Myers would pitch every five days just like they customarily would in the square-boxed thinking that guides such things. Meanwhile, I’d try to figure out how to work it so that Jamie Moyer, Adam Eaton and Jon Lieber started at least one game a week and if there were too long of a lull between outings, I’m sure there would be some relief work available, too.

What?

Exactly. My guess is that Moyer, Eaton and Lieber would be perfect compliments to the top three starters and would be much more effective if they were used like a dash of seasoning instead of as a main course. Better yet, if the trio made one start per week over a 26-week season then they would be that much fresher when the stretch run approached. Besides, it seems to me that good baseball teams treat the season like a chess match or a golf game where the importance of a move or shot is to put one in position to have an even better move or shot the next time.

Hey, I’m not kidding myself by believing that any manager or team would go for something like this, but what the hell? It certainly isn't convention thinking, but ideas have to come from somewhere. Right?

***
Meanwhile, it looks as if Tom Gordon’s achy shoulder is aching again.

Last season, as everyone remembers, Gordon broke down a bit and went on the disabled list in August despite a first half in which he earned a trip to the All-Star Game. At 39, the Phillies are concerned about over working their starter as evidenced by the fact that he’s appeared in just two Grapefruit League games and by the fact that they sent him back to Philadelphia for a checkup with team doctor Michael Ciccotti.

Before anyone jumps to any conclusions (how could they?), the team says the trip is simply for a routine checkup and it’s something that occurred last year at this time, too. But before anyone can say Mike Jackson, perhaps the Phillies ought to get another arm for the ‘pen to go along with Ryan Madson and Antonio Alfonseca.

Until that happens, be sure that Charlie Manuel sticks to his guns and allows Gordon just one inning per outing no back-to-back work early in the season.

Myers talks about new deal

Brett Myers talks to the Philadelphia media about his new contract.

Myers Trim, Wallet Fat After New Pact
There was a time – not too long ago – when Brett Myers was a workout fiend. Before he had made the climb through the Phillies’ system to the big leagues, Myers would no sooner finish a workout before he’d start the whole process over again. In fact, during his early spring training days it wasn’t uncommon to see Myers in a darkened ballpark running lap after lap around the warning track and stands long after everyone had gone home.

Actually, Myers was downright arrogant about his training regime and the amount of time he put into it. Once, following a late-season start during his rookie campaign in 2002, Myers was asked when he planned on diving back into his off-season routine, the not-so big (at the time) right-hander responded with a dismissive, “two weeks.” When told that two weeks didn’t sound like a lot of time to allow his body to rest and heal after a long season of baseball, Myers curtly responded with, “That’s all I need.”

But somewhere between the 2003 season and the close of the 2006 season, Myers decided he didn’t need to work out much. Actually, from the clearly superficial view, it seemed as if Myers’ in-season exercise program occurred every five days when he took the mound. That’s not likely the case, but for a professional athlete to be listed modestly at 240 pounds (he admits to being 250 at the end of last season and over 260 at the end of the '05 season), something must have slipped through the cracks.

Maybe Myers was burned out from the sometimes tedious nature of day-in and day-out regimentation? Or maybe he was following the lead of Kevin Millwood and Jon Lieber – two big righties that Myers followed around like a lost puppy who didn’t exactly conjure images of the buff dudes on the early-morning workout shows.

Either way, for a kid who grew up as a boxer and around athletics, it was quite out of character for Myers to get away from what got him to the big leagues.

But things are a little different now… that is to say things are the same as they were. What got away from Myers has returned – maybe not with the ardor as before – and the righty is leaner, maybe meaner, and ready for another crack at the playoffs with the Phillies.

“The weight doesn't bother me when I pitch. I just felt that I owe it to myself and the guys in Spring Training this year to work a little bit harder,” the pitcher said, in town to meet the press after agreeing to a three-year, $26.75 million contract extension. “If we missed it by 12 games, then I need to lose 12 more pounds. I think everybody left last year with a bad taste in their mouths.”

Myers heads into camp next week at a more athletic 218 pounds, which, by his rationale means the Phillies should finish ahead of the pack by 20 games. Nevertheless, Myers said the difference this winter was watching what he ate, resisting his wife’s tempting offers of nachos and ice cream and getting on his program much earlier than usual.

“I started (working out) a little earlier this year and I haven’t been able to fit into this suit in two years now and I finally made my way back into it,” Myers said, sporting a figure-flattering single-breasted design. “I just kept working and the weight just kept coming off. I really had fun doing it and it didn’t get boring so I hope I can keep at it during the season.”

Be that as it may, Myers could be correct when he says that the excess weight didn’t bother him when he pitched. After all, he has been rather durable. He nearly pitched 200 innings last season even though he missed a bunch of starts stemming from his well-publicized arrest in Boston last June. Nor has Myers ever been injured… yet. Being back at his old fighting weight should only help in that regard.

Then there is the other stuff… off-the-field stuff that made many wonder if the Phillies and Myers would ever be in this position. Sometimes irascible with a reputation amongst teammates, coaches and media for being immature and difficult to work with, some have wondered if Myers was worth the trouble.

If Myers were any other pitcher, no one would have any concerns about the deal he just signed. In fact, most people probably don't have any trouble with it. The stats on the page speak for themselves. Per 162 games, Myers averages almost 207 innings, 166 strikeouts, and for the past two seasons his ERA was well below the league average. Somewhere, beneath all of that baggage, a 20-game winner lurks.

It seems as if Brett Myers' biggest problem is being Brett Myers. But since he's now closer to 30 than 20, maybe the years and experience will help. Hey, some people mature later than others, and there always seems to be certain types of behavior that the talented and gifted possess. Maybe Myers’ impudent behavior has been tempered by experience?

“I think every year as you get older you get a little more mature, but that’s just over time and being in this world and learning the people around you and who to trust,” he said. “Obviously, family is a big part of my life and if they weren’t there than none of this would be possible.”

So about that incident in Boston where Myers was arrested for allegedly punching his wife on a street corner after leaving a bar (charges were later dropped), which resulted in his leave of absence?

“Things are great,” Myers revealed. “I think what it came down to, we had trouble communicating. I'm gone half the time and when I'm home, I get home at midnight and everybody's in bed and I see you for an hour a day and it was one of those things where most of our communication is done by phone. I think it really benefitted us, not saying that the incident helped, but it was kind of an eye opener toward that. We just needed to talk a little more and be more supportive of each other.

“Coming from never being in trouble before to being in trouble, it's definitely a humbling experience. I'm probably more humbled by it than anything.”

Myers was also quick to point out how supportive the Phillies were in coming to the aid of him and his wife.

“They were (supportive) from the beginning,” Myers said. “I felt terrible for the organization and my family that it had to come about, and it did come about. It was one of those things where everybody makes mistakes and we learn from them. None of these mistakes can ever happen again.”

The support he heard from the fans in his return from his leave also weighed in his decision for wanting to stay in Philadelphia.

“Just you asking me about it is giving me goose bumps. I really appreciated that,” he said. “Hopefully the support can keep coming in because this team really needs it. I grew a lot of respect for the fans after that day.

“I like pitching here. I relate the fans to my dad when I was a kid. If I didn't play well, he was all over me. When the fans boo you, we already know we're not playing up to our capabilities. I kind of need that tough love sometimes.”

That’s something he’ll get plenty of for the next three seasons.

Myers talked baseball, too
Brett Myers talked about a bunch of baseball-related topics during Tuesday’s press conference to announce his three-year, $26.75 contract extension.

Did he think he would be traded after the Phillies acquired Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton?
"No, because we didn't have contact with the Phillies. They didn't call us or anything like that. I was excited that we could add two more guys to our rotation, and at that point in time, I really wasn't concerned about it. Then we started negotiating and I started thinking about it a little bit."

On general manager Pat Gillick's off-season visit with Myers in Jacksonville, Fla.:
"It was real cordial. It was fun. We watched the Jaguars game together and sat around and just talked about life. Nothing really about baseball came up. I think he was trying to appease me by rooting for the Jaguars – I wasn’t quite sure."

On the Phillies as the team to beat in the NL East:
"Whatever Jimmy (Rollins) says I agree with.

"I think with the guys we had last year we kind of want to be that team that has that necessary arrogance about us that we should be the team even though we realized it late in the season. I think this year we know we can compete with the Mets and we know we can compete with the Braves, so we have pretty much the same guys as last year and we’ve played together for an extra year. I think it’s going to be a lot more fun for us this year competing against those teams when we know we can beat them."

On Cole Hamels:
"It's going to be hard keeping up with Cole this year. Hopefully, everybody can stay healthy also. He's the young guy coming up. When I came up, I didn't really have anybody to talk to until we got Kevin Millwood, and he taught me as he could before he left. Since then, I feel like I need to take that role for Cole, and hopefully Freddy will. We're not left-handed... maybe Jamie Moyer will play a bigger factor for Hamels."

On potentially being the opening-day starter:
There's so much emphasis on being the No. 1 starter and all it really means is that first game. My philosophy is, whoever starts [on any given] day is the ace.

Locked down

First reaction to the news that Brett Myers signed a three-year, $26.75 million deal (contingent on him passing a physical) on Thursday night? "They didn't give him a no-trade clause, did they?"

Second reaction? "That seems like a fair deal. What, he was going to get about $5 million-plus in arbitration and much more if he were to become a free agent at the end of the season. Instead, it looks as if the Phillies gave him the going rate for youngish pitchers."

Third? "Despite serious questions about his fitness, Myers has been fairly durable. He nearly pitched 200 innings last season even though he missed a bunch of starts stemming from his arrest. Nor has he been injured… yet."

Fourth? "Three more years of that guy."

Fifth? "Let's hope the maturity that many in the Phillies organization say escapes him is found and locked down."

Sixth? "He is pretty good."

If Myers were any other pitcher, no one would have any concerns about the deal he just signed. In fact, most people probably don't have any trouble with it. The stats on the page speak for themselves. Per 162 games, Myers averages almost 207 innings, 166 strikeouts, and for the past two seasons his ERA was well below the league average. There is a 20-game winner lurking beneath all of that baggage.

It seems as if Brett Myers' biggest problem is being Brett Myers. But since he's now closer to 30 than 20, maybe the years and experience will help. Hey, some of us mature later than others, and there always seems to be certain types of behavior that the talented and gifted possess. Let's hope that impudent behavior has been tempered by experience.

BREAKING...

Brett Myers and the Phillies agreed to a 3-year, $25.75 million deal.

Details to come...

And you are?

It's definitely been too long since I updated this thing. Far too long, in fact. I guess the popular excuse is that I've been busy with going to Baltimore, the Myers/Phillies fiasco, regular old life as a parent of a wild 2-year-old boy, more marathon training, and all of those losing baseball games. But since we're all about debunking myths and not suffering fools, let's deconstruct those silly excuses: for starters, Baltimore is much closer to my house than Citizens Bank Park. Plus, the drive to Camden Yards is much more interesting, enjoyable, and smooth.

I have no more comments on the Schuylkill Expressway.

Better yet, the press box at Camden Yards is my favorite one of all the ballparks. Coors is pretty good, and there's something about that sky-high box at Fenway that I like, too. But as far as building ballparks go, they really did it right in Baltimore. Nevertheless, as soon as I empty out the contents of my camera onto this computer (more procrastination), I will definitely post my behind-the-scenes photos of Fenway Park.

As far as the other stuff goes, everyone is busy, lots of people have kids, tons of people run marathons, and I knew that Brett Myers was a ticking time bomb. No, no one expected this alleged crime, but most people who have been around him suspected something.

Here's a story written in my small, local paper about Myers... if the author only knew.

As far as the running stuff goes, I have come to a revelation that the Arthur Lydiard method of training should be embraced. I was kind of on board back when I was younger and faster, but in retrospect, I listened to the wrong people. Those people always told me to run fast, fast, fast, which is correct if you are a middle-distance runner. For the long distance guys, it should be long, long, long. That's where the Lydiard school of thought comes in.

Now I understand why all those guys I used to listen to were always injured.

Yep, like baseball, I could yap about running all day long.

As for the Phillies... oh my.

Yes, we all knew that the Phillies were not going to run away with the NL East and would probably have some difficulties with the pitching staff, but no one suspected that at the halfway point the team would be 37-44 and six games off the pace in the wild-card race. But aside from the 2-7 road trip and the three-week stretch where the Phils have gone just 5-17, there have been a handful of positives.

Really?

Of course. Ryan Howard is on pace to hit 56 home runs to shatter Mike Schmidt's single-season franchise record of 48 (1980). Howard should also threaten the 140-RBI plateau. The most RBIs Schmidt ever had in a season was the 121 he drove in during his MVP season in 1980.

As an aside, should Howard be talked about as an MVP candidate?

Meanwhile, Chase Utley has become a solid partner with Howard in the lineup. Should the powers that be decide to "blow up" the team, Howard and Utley will be the base (along with Cole Hamels) for the future. Then again, Utley and Howard are closer to being 30 than 20... is it possible that the Phillies waited too long before giving those two a shot?

Tom Gordon has pitched admirably, earning an All-Star bid with his 21 saves and 2.12 ERA. With 41 strikeouts in 34 innings, he has certainly made everyone forget about whatshisname.

As for the recent spate of games, David Dellucci has been a pleasant surprise. In the last five games, the lefty has three homers and is 9-for-20. While in his last 10 games he is 14-for-32. In June, Dellucci hit .388 with four homers and 1.047 OPS, but in just 47 at-bats.

Maybe it's time to showcase the veteran lefty before the trade deadline because it doesn't seem as if the Phillies will need Dellucci for the playoffs.

Myers departs

BALTIMORE – When longtime baseball player Wil Cordero was arrested for domestic violence in 1997, the Boston Red Sox immediately sent the ballplayer home. Cordero had more important things to worry about rather than playing baseball, the Red Sox reasoned. So for eight days the Red Sox went on with their business without Cordero. He wasn’t a distraction to the team because he wasn’t there nor was there any fodder for columnists or the talk shows about the Red Sox’s sensitivity toward women’s issues or domestic abuse, because the team jumped in and took care of the troubled employee immediately.

Ultimately, Cordero returned to the Red Sox for a little while and was eventually released. But not before the player did some work in Boston for abuse awareness and then plead guilty to the charges and received a 90-day sentence, suspended for two years.

Last weekend, the Phillies had a chance to be proactive in regard to one of their ballplayers up on charges of domestic abuse in Boston. Instead, the team allowed Brett Myers to pitch on national television against his idol, Curt Schilling, just a day after he was released on $200 bail. Additionally, the team issued a terse statement reading that the team was going to respect the privacy of Myers, and the alleged victim, his wife, Kim, and chose not to do anything.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. The Phillies chose to allow Myers to pitch.

Four days later, when Myers decided it might be the correct course of action to leave the team until after the All-Star Break, the Phillies finally did something. They allowed the pitcher to do what he wanted.

Again.

Perhaps this is the proper action. After all, unlike the Cordero case there are several witnesses that saw Myers’ alleged violence against a young mother of two small children. But the popular sentiment coming from Camden Yards on Tuesday afternoon was that the Phillies, once again, reacted instead of acted.

Not so say the Phillies. In team president David Montgomery’s statement issued through the club’s public relations staff on Tuesday, the club acted in the only way that it could:

“After last Friday, the Phillies did not comment further on the events surrounding the arrest of Brett Myers out of respect for the Myers’ privacy and because there is a criminal prosecution pending,” Montgomery wrote. “Likewise, the Phillies did not summarily suspend Brett Myers immediately upon his arrest, prior to any judicial determination of guilt or complete evaluation of the entire matter. Such a decision, unfortunately, has been portrayed or interpreted as the Phillies indifference to problems of spousal abuse. Nothing could be further from the truth. We abhor such violence and recognize that it is a very serious problem affecting a substantial number of victims, particularly women, across the country.

“If we have been guilty of delay in expressing these sentiments, we are sorry. We have been engaged in a difficult balancing of concerns for the rights of our employee, the presumption of innocence, the rights of his spouse, and the legitimate public concern about allegations of spousal abuse by a Phillies ballplayer. We believe that the present status, including a public apology by Brett Myers, time off from baseball, professional assistance for Brett and Kim Myers, and this statement achieves the appropriate balance for now.”

That’s all well and good, says Julie Cousler Emig of the Philadelphia Domestic Violence Collaborative, one of four organizations in Philadelphia that fights domestic violence and supports victims, but the Phillies are missing the ball once again. Cousler Emig wrote a letter to Montgomery indicating that she would like to see one of the large market Major League clubs like the Phillies take a bold stance on something as serious as domestic abuse.

“I think we'd like to see some further action taken by the Phillies,” said Cousler Emig. “It seems like Brett Myers offered a convenient out for the team to deal with this in a minimal way. We would like to see, in the meantime, the Phillies take us on our offer to join us in an anti-domestic violence complaint. This is really a chance for them to right some wrongs.”

The charges against Myers would be a good place to start. After all, it seems as if this recent arrest of a Phillies player is just the latest on a long list of some questionable behavior. For instance:

* Ugueth Urbina, the relief pitcher who spent most of 2005 with the Phillies, is currently in jail in Venezuela awaiting a trial for attempted murder. Urbina and three friends are accused of beating, hacking and torturing six workers in a dispute allegedly about the disappearance of a pistol from Urbina's ranch. The workers said Urbina told his friends to splash paint thinner and gasoline on them before setting them afire.At the time of his arrest, Urbina was technically a free agent.

* Jason Michaels was arrested around 3 a.m. on July 3, 2005, after allegedly punching Philadelphia police officer Timothy Taylor as he left the "32 Degrees" nightclub in the Olde City. “He punched a Philadelphia police officer and wrestled him to the ground, in the process ripping the police officer's shirt,” Philadelphia police spokesperson Jim Pauley said.It reportedly took four Philadelphia police officers to subdue Michaels, who spent nine hours in detention. However, Michaels reported on time and was in uniform for that night’s game against the Braves.

* Cole Hamels broke his pitching hand in a bar fight before the season began in 2005. The injury cost him most of the season and a potential chance to join the Phillies for the stretch drive. Hamels was not charged in the incident.

* Terry Adams was arrested during the 2003 season and charged with hitting his wife during a fight in his New York City hotel room before a game against the Mets. Adams was charged with an assault misdemeanor.

* Marlon Byrd was arrested in 2002 for an alleged assault on his girlfriend outside of the team bus when he was playing for Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. The charges eventually were dropped.

* Robert Person was arrested in Clearwater, Fla. before spring training in 2002 on charges of obstructing or opposing an officer without violence, and giving a false name, after failing to walk away from a fight when ordered. Person was hogtied by police after he smashed the back window of a police car.

The Phillies response after all of these incidents has been consistent – issue a statement through the PR staff and hope people get distracted by something else. No such luck in this case.

There is still time for the Phillies to be proactive this time. Perhaps the club can take Cousler Emig up on her offer and do something meaningful in combating the scourge of domestic abuse. Better yet, the Phillies and Myers could get involved in some behind-the-scenes work at a shelter without fanfare, press releases or TV cameras.

According to the Centers for Disease Control domestic violence is a serious, public health problem affecting more than 32 million Americans, that is more than 10 percent of the U.S. population, and three different Phillies have been in the legal system for alleged domestic abuse since 2002.

That’s three too many.

Official press release from the Phillies

PHILLIES STATEMENT CONCERNING BRETT MYERS The Phillies are aware that Brett Myers was arrested in Boston at about 12:30 a.m. today on charges of assault and battery involving an alleged incident with his wife, Kim. He was released immediately after booking on $200.00 bail and ordered to appear this morning for preliminary arraignment, which he did. A further hearing date was set for August ­4, 2006, which does not require his appearance.

Out of respect for the privacy of both Kim and Brett Myers, the Phillies will not comment on this incident until the matter is resolved by the Court.

Myers will pitch, as scheduled, tomorrow afternoon against Boston.