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Myers Improves On First Start In Allentown

Brett Myers pitched into the eighth inning last night in Allentown, getting a win with the AAA IronPigs while clearly improving on his first start. The line:

7.1 IP
7 H
2 ER
6 K
2 BB
1 HBP

He threw 114 pitches (73 strikes) and struck out the side in the seventh. Rod Nichols, the IronPigs pitching coach and longtime mentor of Myers’, said, “I definitely saw some swagger, some presence.”

Commentary: Myers said he was having more fun out there, a word he loves throwing around during this “rehab” stint. He’s “getting the fun back.” Not to sound like I’m stirring something up here, but this talk about fun is starting to become bothersome. Aren’t all baseball players supposed to just love playing baseball? Am I wrong?

I wouldn’t say the start was amazing or anything. Translate it to the Majors and you’re looking at four earned runs or so. I mean, the best player Myers faced was Rob Mackowiak. (Note: Homer Bailey went for Louisville and gave up four earned over six.) He threw more fastballs than before (about 60-70 percent), and the fastballs were hitting about 88 on the radar gun. Meh. Fun or not, I’m not totally confident in him coming back and contributing.

Most troubling was his comments after the game. He was asked if he would rather close somewhere else, a “change of pace,” and he sort of dodged the question, joking instead that being in Allentown was a “change of pace.” He said it didn’t matter whether he was starting or closing, but come on, we know what he wants. It’s not hard to read the writing.

That brings me back to his harping on about having fun â€” his main concern is about getting into some ridiculous mood, into making the game mean something for him again. This is a guy who was given a special job, did well in it, yet was brought back to the ground level afterward. He got a great taste of glamour, of “fun,” then was spurned. Not only that, but the guy who took over his spot has been wildly embraced and is now on board for three years. So now Myers is trying to recapture that glamour, that “fun.” We know what he wants. It’s time to explore trading this joker and giving him some fun in Detroit, Denver, or somewhere else that needs a closer.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.