Brett Myers wasn't himself last week.
Ordinarily, Myers is the Phillies' resident clubhouse cut-up. You don't have to look hard to find him laughing, cracking wise, clowning around and generally driving his teammates crazy. His voice tends to rise above the rest. But, after another ineffective start last Sunday in Pittsburgh that drew the ire of Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee, he spent the week long-tossing, watching video of his two previous solid starts to try to rediscover his fastball and quietly playing with his 3-year-old son, Kolt.
Last night, Myers found his mojo.
The Phillies lost to the Giants, 3-2 in 10 innings, but Myers overcame a first-inning quagmire and tossed seven solid innings. His fastball, which had dipped into the mid-80s, often rose into the low-90s. But, most importantly, he stuck with his fastball rather than leaning too heavily on his cutter. He mixed in a good curveball and struck out a season-high 10 batters.
Ran out of real-estate in the 50-center before I really could get into this, but it may not be a coincidence that Myers pitched well with Chris Coste behind the plate. Myers' last good start, April 17 against Houston, came with Coste doing the catching. In two starts pitching to Coste, Myers has a 1.93 ERA (three earned runs in 14 innings). In five starts pitching to Carlos Ruiz, Myers has a 6.00 ERA (20 earned runs in 30 innings).
Ordinarily, Myers is the Phillies' resident clubhouse cut-up. You don't have to look hard to find him laughing, cracking wise, clowning around and generally driving his teammates crazy. His voice tends to rise above the rest. But, after another ineffective start last Sunday in Pittsburgh that drew the ire of Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee, he spent the week long-tossing, watching video of his two previous solid starts to try to rediscover his fastball and quietly playing with his 3-year-old son, Kolt.
Last night, Myers found his mojo.
The Phillies lost to the Giants, 3-2 in 10 innings, but Myers overcame a first-inning quagmire and tossed seven solid innings. His fastball, which had dipped into the mid-80s, often rose into the low-90s. But, most importantly, he stuck with his fastball rather than leaning too heavily on his cutter. He mixed in a good curveball and struck out a season-high 10 batters.
Ran out of real-estate in the 50-center before I really could get into this, but it may not be a coincidence that Myers pitched well with Chris Coste behind the plate. Myers' last good start, April 17 against Houston, came with Coste doing the catching. In two starts pitching to Coste, Myers has a 1.93 ERA (three earned runs in 14 innings). In five starts pitching to Carlos Ruiz, Myers has a 6.00 ERA (20 earned runs in 30 innings).
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I asked Manuel yesterday if Pat Burrell's soon-to-expire contract has anything to do with his fast start. "It could have something to do with it," Manuel said. "If that helps, that's good. If [the money] is there, go get it. The better he does, the better I do."
Meanwhile, everyone suddenly wants to know if Burrell will be back in 2009. It wasn't long ago that the Phillies would've done anything to unload him -- and his big contract.
Meanwhile, everyone suddenly wants to know if Burrell will be back in 2009. It wasn't long ago that the Phillies would've done anything to unload him -- and his big contract.
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Finally, twice in the past two nights, the Giants have brought in a lefty reliever to face Ryan Howard. Both times it was Jack Taschner, not Barry Zito. Makes sense. When the Giants put Zito in the bullpen last week, the idea was to let him pitch in low-stress situations until he figures out where his once-dominating stuff has gone. And, within our Sunday MLB notes, we examine why long-term contracts for pitchers -- like the seven-year, $126 million deal that the Giants gave Zito before last season -- are dangerous.
Enjoy your Sunday, everyone.
1 comment:
"Ran out of real-estate in the 50-center". Thanks for the update, cliche-man.
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