Charlie Manuel said this week that he moved Brett Myers into the bullpen and Jon Lieber into the rotation because it made his team stronger. So we asked him after last night's killer 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in 10 innings: Why not take that a step further?
Why not make Brett Myers the closer in light of Tom Gordon's early season struggles?
Gordon is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA in six appearances this season. He has blown two saves in five opportunities. In 6 1/3 innings, he has allowed 10 hits, four runs, four walks, one hit batter and two home runs. He has not thrown a clean inning yet, and said last night that he is still trying to feel strong on the mound. "I've been able to get a lot better strength-wise," Gordon said. "I'm still battling it a little bit, but not as much as I thought I would be. I'll get there eventually. I'm just hoping that it happens very soon."
"Right now, Gordon is our closer," Manuel said. "He's been a closer. We signed him to be a closer. . . . That's something we haven't even discussed, and in some ways there's no need to discuss it. We've got to get him sharp. The stuff is there."
In my opinion, one of the reasons the Phillies moved Myers into the bullpen is because they are concerned about Gordon. They nursed him through the spring and so far he hasn't looked sharp. It would not surprise me if they eventually make Myers the closer, if Gordon continues to struggle. Gordon said last night he had trouble with his breaking ball, which has been a problem this season.
So how much longer will Manuel let this last?
"I don't even have to answer that because I haven't even thought about that," Manuel said. "We're not even close to that."
Manuel said he did not consider having Myers, who pitched a scoreless eighth, pitch the eighth and ninth innings because he felt Gordon -- who was up in the bullpen three times Wednesday and pitched Thursday -- was rested and ready to go.
"Flash said he was fine," Manuel said. "I wouldn't have put him out there if I didn't think he could do it."
*
Lieber says this team is a little snake bit.
Just a little.
Comments (1)
You would think Manuel made this move to "win at all costs." And that that would mean overusing Myers' arm for a few weeks, just to play a few games like they're the playoffs and spark a winning streak and get team's confidence back. From the tone of your blog entry, I can see that your meaning isn't far off of the same mark.
Posted by Charlie | April 21, 2007 3:45 PM
Posted on April 21, 2007 15:45