Braves Bushwhack Myers; Lead Remains
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Thu, September 25, 2008 06:13 AM | Comments: 118
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Brett Myers didn’t step up in his biggest start of the year; instead, Brett Myers is looking eerily like the pitcher who failed to the point of a minor league demotion. The Phillies lost, 10-4, to the Braves, but remained 1.5 games ahead of the Mets in the NL East, as they lost an extra-inning contest to the Cubs.
Myers was hit hard in the first inning, then in the third. In the fifth he allowed four more runs before being pulled for Chad Durbin, who let another two score. Myers was missing with his curveball and throwing soft fastballs. The game echoed Myers’ last start. Suddenly, the starter who was mowing down offenses regularly is almost gone from sight. This is not good news for now, and for what could occur soon.
Of course, the Phillies pulled the game to a tie, thanks to a Ryan Howard home run, his league-leading 47th. Chase Utley also hit a homer, his 33rd. But the rest of the offense was absent. Jayson Werth had another 0-fer; Jimmy Rollins had no hits despite getting on base twice; Chris Coste left three on base. The latter is coming up tremendously short when he’s playing — not only is his offense suffering, but Coste, as Myers’ personal catcher, is part of two horrendous consecutive starts.
There’s not too much to say about this game other than what’s been said. The Braves railed Myers, the offense couldn’t catch up, too many parts shriveled in the spotlight. That’s the Phils’ Achilles heel: They can’t build a big lead in the standings; once they grab the lead, they die. Luckily for them, the Mets couldn’t seize the light. The rivals have a game in hand tomorrow, and will turn to their Myers — Pedro Martinez — to give his best start of the season. He’ll face Rich Harden. It is possible, with three games to play, the Phils could have a two-game lead in the NL East.
Associated Press photo
Posts: 0 lilgartrn
I went to the game last night. Had to leave after the 5th because I just couldn’t take the stress, but mostly couldn’t take the fans booing the phils coming off the field. I know it was a backbreaking game, and Myers was not even close to pitching an adequate game, and there were a few defensive missteps. But, come on – We need to cheer them on, through the good and the bad – no excuses. This roller-coaster ride is what baseball is all about, and I can’t accept fans that are going to boo them obnoxiously when they lose, and act like a super fan when they win. So, for the last homestand – GO PHILS!!!!!!!!!
Posted: 08:26 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 RiVLez
Did I mention David Wright is the biggest piece of garbage known to man kind?
Posted: 08:39 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
Lucky… If the Mets loose tonight it’s pretty much in the bag go Rich Harden!
Too many Phils fans give the best of us a bad name… Damn shame
Posted: 08:41 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
aren’t you a Mets fan RiVLez?
Posted: 08:42 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
Yea, hes a Mets fan but Wright struck out in the 9th with a guy on third, no one out.
Posted: 08:50 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
Sorry lilgartrn but thats Bullshit! The whole team wasn’t getting BOOed it was the pitchers who came up very small last night….it was the stupid double switches by our poor excuse for a manager….it was the fact that this team doesn’t seem to want to take control of this division. This is it! 3 games to play and now is not the time to take a dip on the roller coaster. They need to wake up, take care of their own business, and not have to rely on the god damn Mets losing every night! We are playing the worst team in baseball this weekend. No excuses, no ifs, ands, or buts, JUST WIN!!!
Posted: 08:56 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 LH
I saw the game to its futile end – Myer’d in muck. Later, my hearing was acute trying to listen to the static of 660 AM and the Mets who only got one in the eighth and wanting the Cubs to break the tie in the top of the ninth. I arrived home in time to watch the fireworks with the Met fans on TV going nuts while Murphy sat on third base in the bottom of the ninth, then the Cubs two-out pounding of the ball in the 10th. At least their game was interesting but I’ll take the loss. I just hate to move along in the season with no movement by the Phils in their standings other then the default loss by the Mets. Let’s shut down the Nats on Friday!
Posted: 08:57 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Geoff
That was totally disgraceful. I cant deal with this guy anymore. Seriously, I dont care if hes hot sometimes because when he isnt hes not even a 5th starter. That was terrible last night. Lets see how he does in teh playoffs if they even get there. If they cant beat the nats and win this division, I dont want to see like half these guys back here again. Disgraceful. Real teams put it away, seal the deal. The phillies always waiver until the last day or two. They better get it done on saturday when i go to the game. PERIOD. Clinch on saturday, rest hamels on sunday. no excuses. you have to win tomorrow and saturday and hope the mets lose tongiht.
Posted: 09:11 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NC Jason
I think the Muts and Phils have a daily coin-flip to see who wants the division less. On nights like last night the coin actually lands on its side and both teams lose.
Posted: 09:11 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
Come on Dennis thats pure front runner talk! Yes there were times in the year they needed to take care of business and were failing putting the season in jepordy but they’ve one 3/4 of the games in Sept when it looked all but over. No player on that team should be booed tonight and its ridiculous its a regular occurance.
Posted: 09:13 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Gabriel
anyone else worried about the possibility of a double header on sunday? or do you think they’d push the game to monday… or if (somehow) the game is meaningless will they just let us skip it? (fingers crossed)…
a quote from the players ball (chappelle show) comes to mind here…
“what can i say about the [phillies] that hasn’t already been said about afghanistan? [they] look bombed out and depleted”
i’ll take the muts collapsing again but if FO thinks this can happen every year then they need to be replaced ASAP. we wont make it out of the first round if we cant get wins with our 1-2 pitchers…
Posted: 09:14 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
We all feel they should seal the deal and it’s tough especially when you’ve one so many games recently losses are innevitable. Geoff man what your saying is disgraceful, sure Myers has been lit up in his last two starts but prior to that he was the third most dominant pitcher in the NL after the all-star break.
I swear some of you guys are so stuck in your own opinions you forget what the games about. No team has the right to win and we’re lucky the Phils are so close to it.
Posted: 09:18 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 rk
Utley being my favorite Philly in a long time has been getting a break all year from me and alot of other people.
Last night in the 7th with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd he made a very stupid and costly mistake when we needed runs the most. On that shot down the 1st base line that Kotchman made a great play for Utley did not get out of the box until Kotchman dove for it, I guess he thought it was foul but this time of year he has to be huslting to 1st. Then we have bases loaded one out for Werth.
Posted: 09:21 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 rk
This weather can cause big problems this weekend. The Phils should have wrapped it up by Saturday but I do not think that will be the case now. Monday is the day designated for the 1 game playoff. (if necessary)
Posted: 09:23 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 PhillyGirlinMichigan
Looking at the boxscore after the game, I noticed Durbin’s 2 runs allowed in the 5th were unearned due to the error but Eyre’s 1 run charged to him on that 3-run homer he gave up was earned?
Wouldn’t all of them be unearned because Durbin got a ground ball (oooopppsss…. Ryan..) and a then a strikeout which would have ended the innning? Just curious… That inning just killed them.
Tomorrow’s another day. A better day :)
Posted: 09:26 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Mikeb
Did anyone catch the Interview with Davey Lopes during last nights game. He said something I thought was interesting. When asked about the off season..
He said they can pick up a center fielder they would like to move Vic to right and Werth to left. It sounds like there’s a good chance Pat the Bat isn’t coming back.
Posted: 09:27 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 RiVLez
How about both of our teams suck so bad and have so many holes that we should just give the division to the Marlins. We both suck, seriously.
Posted: 09:29 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 lilgartrn
Dennis, I’m not arguing that they didn’t play on their A-game last night, but find me a great team in any AL/NL division that hasn’t lost a few tough ones in the last few weeks (even the Cubs got rocked with Zambrano against the Cards 2 wks ago, and I’m sure the Wrigley fans didn’t give him the caustic reception Myers received). He truly pitched a bad game, and the pen was not stellar, but I have to support them in good and bad and have confidence in their ability to reach the post, which I think we can do!
Posted: 09:31 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
Come on NJ! I’m a front-runner? Stop drinking the Kool-Aid buddy and wake the f*ck up!
Posted: 09:31 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 RiVLez
Both the Mets and the Phillies don’t deserve to even go to the playoffs. The Phillies offense is so terrible at times and then the Mets bullpen is absolutely horrendous and blew 29 saves this year. We both are garbage. We sit here and argue over which piece of garbage is better than the other. In the end we are all just garbage.
Posted: 09:35 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
And enough with comparing us to other fans(Wrigley…). This is Philadelphia, that’s the way it is, What are we suppose to do stand up and cheer when we let up 6 runs in an inning to a team that is dead in the water in the biggest game of the year. We pay good money to watch pampered million dollar athletes perform and we expect them to play their absolute best.
Posted: 09:35 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
And shut up RiVLez! We are going to surpass 90 wins, we have more of a right to be in the playoffs then the Dodgers in that poor excuse for a division and the Brewers with their 7-15 September record.
Posted: 09:37 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
RiVLez, speak for your own team. I don’t find the Phillies garbage at all. Do I think they’re a championship teamm? No. But definitely not garbage. I’ve seen garbage baseball from the Phils in the 90′s, that was garbage.
Posted: 09:38 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Fran
shane woulda kicked some ass last night given the chance
Posted: 09:38 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
And yes, I used the word garbage 4 times in that post.
Posted: 09:39 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 PhillyGirlinMichigan
Geezzz….such whining…. look at the White Sox and their incredibly weak division. My other team, the Tigers, just solidifyed last place in it last night. (Bet no one wants Leyland now..)
The Phils and, em, Mets are both solid teams compared to most in MLB.
Posted: 09:41 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
Am awake dude, sure would like to win every game and it’s tough when the top of the rotation isn’t dominating but you have to live with it, this team has won 10 out of the last 13 so cut them a break. On a 10 game loosing streak maybe you boo but I don’t get why there’s this kneejerk boo every time a players on a cold streak or a pitcher gives up a run and for some Phills fans it seems 162 wins wouldn’t be enough.
Posted: 09:43 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
nicely put NEPA yet still so many fans here expect nothing short of what is not the best team in baseball dominating.
Posted: 09:46 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Fran
yeah idk why everyone is bitching, were gonna win 90 games this year. since when is that bad?
Posted: 09:49 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
10 out of 13 is very good, of course it was 10 out of 11 but thats a different story. Look it’s my right to Boo, I’m also one of the loudest people cheering during good times too. I don’t wanna argue with other Phils fans but I just can’t stand when people get angry at booing….It happens everywhere, GET OVER IT!
Posted: 09:54 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
Hey, if your ass is in the stadium seats, your fan enough for me. Boo all you want.
Posted: 09:56 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
Thank you NEPA! And my ass has been in them stadium seats for more than 30 games this year. I’ve seen some great times and some not so great times and it’s been fun. NOW LET’S WIN THIS THING!!!
Posted: 09:57 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
Yea, I don’t make a big deal out of the booing. If players are playing bad they get booed. If they hit a big HR they’re met with 40,000 people cheering and going crazy with their rally towels. A season with 162 games has a ton of ups and downs, this season has had more ups.
Posted: 10:01 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Ben
You guys who complain about the booing are ridiculous. Were you not watching the same game as everyone else? In a situation where you need to win and you lose that is not called championship baseball and anything short of a championship just isn’t gonna cut it in this town these days. Most Phillies fans are so desperate for the team to win a championship. We all see how other teams win championships and know that is not how the Phillies like to do it. We are all still excited to see the Phillies in the position they are now and of course would rather be a team like this than a bad team, but the eye of most fans is on that ultimate prize.
Posted: 10:02 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Geoff
Crowds boo. Theyve booed and heckled LONG before there ever were sports for the general public to watch.
Posted: 10:06 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
instead of commenting on all these other posts.. im just throwing this out there… two weeks ago we were trailing and did’t know if we’d make the playoffs, we just won like 10 of 11 or something before this recent two game slide… everyone CHILL out.. obviously the team wants to make the playoffs.. and yes we can all question Manuel’s moves when they dont work, but its the players on the field that make him look good or not.. when he pinch-runs for Burrell and people complain… but then you see what Golson can do on the bases, … its way too easy to bitch and complain about the Phillies.. lets try to be positive for the remaining 3 games.. I’m a HUGE Cubs fan for the next few days!!
I think Myers is gone after this season, same with Burrell.. these guys can’t be counted on, and they seem to have the biggest peaks and valleys on the entire roster…meanwhile, they are suppossed to be the leaders of this team..
I like Vic in center, but they don’t get to use his arm strength enough out there, if they can add a legit CF, we would have a GREAT defensive outfield, cutting off extra-base hits, keeping runners from going 1st-to-3rd, etc.. but lets wait for the offseason for all that talk
Posted: 10:07 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Manny
No. 1 priority for 2009: A TOP STARTING PITCHER
Posted: 10:07 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
My point is there’s too much booing, the players are critisized for pressing but the fans are pressing for a championship. Who knows what effect the fans really have on the players but the level and regularity of booing at CBP just seems to much for the teams good and at the end of the day a more confident teams more likely to go deep.
I’m not saying don’t boo just make sure it’s for the right reasons at the right time.
Posted: 10:09 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Ben
I have been to 6 games so far this year including last night. The Phillies are 1-5 in those games. The teams I saw them play this year were garbage. The Nats on Opening Day, Giants, Reds, Braves. The only game they won was the Pirates and that was an ugly game. I’ve gone to many Opening Days including the last 3 years and have yet to see them win one. Went to the Division Game 1 last year. I swear I am one of the most cursed fans. All I want when I go to a game is to cheer my team on and see them win a good game. I know it can’t happen all the time, but man I’d like to see it happen in person every once and a while. I got tickets to Division Game 1 this year if they go to the playoffs. Should I even show up?
Posted: 10:10 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
Yea, it doesn’t feel right talking about the offseason right now, but Davey Lopes made it sound last night like the Phils are definitely not bringing Burrell back. He almost blatantly said it.
Posted: 10:10 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
I think complaining about the guys that complain about everyone else booing is a joke..
Hamels, Victorino, Werth, Durbin, etc. . these guys that we all want them to keep here for a while.. you think they like playing on pins-and-needles every inning not wanting to hear 40,000+ people BOOOOO if they make an error..
Was last night a “MUST WIN GAME” ?? NO… It would have been awesome if they won, but they didn’t and we got lucky that the Muts lost too…
If you want to BOO, to a haunted house or hayride or something, cause they need a homefield advantage down there for these next three games.. not a bunch of half-fans… somebody made a great call “fans boo obnoxiously when they lose, and act like super-fan when they win” … it doesn’t get any more true than that
Posted: 10:11 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
Ben… sell them on StubHUb.. and make a small fortune.. you can make enough money to buy yourself an big screen HDTV to watch the game on, if you don’t have one already.. Last year my buddy got 3 nosebleed seats in 3b-LF area, sold them for like $200 each
Posted: 10:14 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
Ladies and Gentlemen! Don M!!! Surprisingly no relation to Amaro, Giles, or Gillick….
Posted: 10:17 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Ben
Damn 200 bucks, that does sound tempting, but yeah I can’t do that I’m too much of a fan not to go to the game. I wanna be there when they win. I don’t care if I could be a curse.
Posted: 10:22 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
Nicely said Don
Posted: 10:22 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Richie Allen
Boy I thought our starting pitching problems were over(at least as far as the top 2)
….but the last 2 starts by Myers have me wondering..Whats really wrong with this guy?..Wild Thing says he’s opening up too soon and letting the hitter see the ball too good..
But I have to thing its between the ears..Man what a dissapointment.
Posted: 10:23 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NEPA
Well we care Ben, sit your ass home.
Posted: 10:24 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
I think we can al agree Myers is never going to sustain his potential, with 1 year left on his deal and no-one really on the market worth throwing more money than someone else will offer with Myers around we can wait to see what’s going to be on the market next year or via trade.
Posted: 10:29 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
I think we got extremely lucky that Myers responded the way he did coming back from the minors.. boosted his value a TON.. and helped get this team where we are right now.. but seriously with Myers, Burrell.. we’ve counted on these guys to be All-Star, MVP, 20-game winner, Cy Young types.. and I just dont see that ever happening in a Phillies uniform.
Hamels needs to have the ball in any big game, whether it be this Sunday, or after that…. Moyer should get the #2… Myers, Blanton, Happ somehow make up the rest of the rotation.
That MYERS OPENING UP TOO SOON is the problem he had before he was sent down.. last night, he had 12 baserunners, and recorded 13 outs… that is horrible.. 10 hits from the Braves doesn’t usually happen in 14 innings, let alone 4.1
Posted: 10:29 AM on September 25, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
Nobody thinks Myers is a CY-Young candidate. But he has the capability to keep this team in games and his last two starts he hasn’t. We are not asking him to be the ace, just not let up 10 runs a game.
Posted: 10:33 AM on September 25, 2008