Sept. 10 -- MOYER ON THURSDAY; KENDRICK ON SUNDAY?

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Jamie Moyer will, in fact, start on short rest tomorrow night in the series-opener against the Brewers. But, really, any suspense about that decision was erased when J.A. Happ walked to the mound in the second inning last night.

The decision now, it seems, is who will start Sunday's finale against the Brewers, after Cole Hamels goes Friday and Joe Blanton on Saturday. Charlie Manuel allowed for the possibility that Brett Myers could come back on short rest for only the second time in his career (he allowed three earned runs in five innings on Oct. 3, 2004), depending, of course, on how arduously he labors today. I have no doubt that Myers, if asked, will take the ball. As I've written here before, you can say a lot about Myers, but you can't question his resolve or desire to win.

But if Manuel and Rich Dubee believe Myers won't be able to come back Sunday, my guess -- and it's strictly a guess -- is that you'll see Kyle Kendrick on the mound. A few weeks ago, Manuel said the stretch run is no time to "experiment" with the lineup or rotation, and last week, I asked Manuel if giving Happ a start would be too much of an experiment. He wouldn't answer the question at that point, but reading between the lines last night, it certainly sounds like he's not willing to do it. "This is the stretch drive, and [Happ] is kind of inexperienced with where you're going to put him," Manuel said. "I'm not saying he can't do the job because I've seen him pitch a good game, and he's going to be a good big-league pitcher."

So, it's sounding more like Myers or Kendrick on Sunday. Stay tuned, though, for more.

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Also, Geoff Jenkins (hip flexor strain) has been activated from the disabled list, and Andy Tracy (broken hand) is done for the season. Tracy was hit by a line drive in batting practice yesterday, which probably partially explains why Manuel didn't pinch-run for Matt Stairs in the sixth inning last night.