So Brett Myers has pretty much been the most disappointing player on the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies. I had very high hopes for him coming into the season after a very strong Spring Training and his being named Opening Day starter by Manager Charlie Manuel. In the course of the first 2.5 months of the season, Brett has pretty much managed to shatter all of those hopes and destroy any remaining reputation he had of being a legit starter in the Majors. Harsh words yes but true nonetheless. Myers has had a truly dismal start to his season and after 14 starts its getting to the point where it is quite obvious that this is not a slump or bad stretch. He is no longer the pitcher he was earlier in his career or even last season in the bullpen. If you look at his numbers, you would assume that he has been completely ineffective this year and you would also probably question the sanity of the Phillies Front Office that keeps sending him out there every 5th day to pitch. However, if you dig slightly deeper, you'll see a very odd and unexplainable trend. Simply put, Brett Myers cannot pitch effectively outside Citizens Bank Park. His Home/Road splits are phenomenal. At home, he appears to be the top of the rotation starter that he is billed as. On the road, he looks as if he wandered out of the stands before the start of the game and was given a uniform and told to pitch that night.
Home: 7 GS, 3.66 ERA, 3-2 record, 46.2 IPs, 37 H, 22 R, 19 ER, 8 HR, 18 BB, 50 K, .215 BAA
Road: 7 GS,. 7.32 ERA, 0-6 record, 39.1 IPs, 59 H, 33 R, 32 ER, 10 HR, 20 BB, 26 K, .353 BAA
As you can see, the splits aren't even close. His ERA is 3.7 runs higher on the road and the opposing team turns into a bunch of Ty Cobbs batting .353 against him. Myers has done better at home for 3 straight seasons now despite playing in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in all of baseball, but the split has never been this extreme. For instance if you look at 2006 and 2007, you'll see similar splits in his ERA but not nearly as large a gap:
2006
Home: 3.73 ERA, .233 BAA
Road: 4.06 ERA, .277 BAA
2007
Home: 3.76 ERA, .209 BAA
Road: 5.04 ERA, .262 BAA
Again, there is no real explanation for the splits due to any type of park effect. Its clearly a mental issue with him. He simply pitches much better at home than on the road. A lot of players do better at home and Brett is hardly unusual for being one of them. He is unique, however, in the huge gap of his splits.
So what could it be? Is it mental? Does he simply feel comfortable on the mound at CBP? Does he get more pumped by the home fans? Whatever the explanation, he is absolutely killing the Phillies when he starts on the road this year and they cannot continue to pitch him every 5 days if he's gonna give up 7 or 8 runs in a road game. They won't win many of his starts doing that.
Myers has to figure out what is wrong with him and figure it out fast or the Phillies will not be able to make a run into the playoffs.
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4 comments:
He seemed to love being a closer anf fed off the fans excitement at the end of close games.
I guess home games give him some of that "juice" and away games do not.
We need him as a starter, but if it's not going to work out then maybe switch spots between he and Durbin . Flash can't last all season in the set-up role. Brett could be used there, and as a back up closer to Lidge.
That's if he can keep his head together.
Durbin isn't the answer for the rotation...he's perfect where he is. Brett needs to find it or the Phillies won't be doing much in October. You can't win in the playoffs with only one shutdown pitcher.
Myers has been a real enigma this season - are his struggles because he is bummed out by not being in the bullpen? If so, should the Phillies move him back to the bullpen (if they can find a viable replacement via trade since none of the minor league arms seem ready to step in)to see if he can regain his mojo?
I think the Phillies need to make a decision about Myers' worth, since he would be likely to return to closing if Lidge doesn't re-up
- Jeff
Myers has a couple of issues going against him this season.
1. Dip in Velocity: His velocity is way down and this is effected his other pitches...particularly his cut fastball. Throwing an 88 mph 4 seamer and a 86 mph cutter doesn't really help and his cutter gets killed in these situations.
2. Mentality: For whatever reason, Brett doesn't like gameplans and doesnt look at the game as a whole. Mentally, he goes from to pitch to pitch with no apparent plan against the hitter.
Moving him to the bullpen: If a major injury were to occur (say Gordon) then moving him might help but we'd lose a starter out of the rotation that we cannot replace internally (unless Benson ever proves healthy). The only option in the system is JA Happ who has been so-so in AAA. (He currently has a 3.99 ERA but with a high K rate) After that, the cupboard is pretty bare. Prospects like Carlos Carrasco and Josh Outman haven't developed as hoped. Basically we're stuck hoping Myers finds his groove or it will be a long season.
On Lidge: The Phillies almost HAVE to resign Lidge as his presence has completely revamped the bullpen. Moving Myers back there (where he was effective but not lights out like Lidge) wouldn't be the same. The major issue with Myers is that he will officially be very expensive as of next season where his salary jumps to $12 million and because of that he is almost untradable for anything of value. His perceived drop off in ability and poor atitude do not help at all.
I could see the Phillies making a splash by getting a middle of the rotation guy after the All-Star break and then moving Myers to long relief or possibly a setup role to spell Gordon especially if he continues to struggle. A rotation in the playoffs of Hamels, Mystery Guy, and Moyer as a top 3 is pretty decent against most NL opponents...especially with their bullpen as good as it is.
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