Myers wants to 'stick it' to Phillies

I go back and forth on Brett Myers. I've met the guy a couple of times, and he was decent, cordial, and didn't come off as a prick -- which he certainly can sometimes in the media. He can be a tough pitcher when he's healthy and focused, but he has had injury issues the past few years and, at times, it appears his emotions get in the way of his talent. When the Phillies decided to let him walk in free agency, it didn't really register with me. And I certainly didn't have much of a desire to see him end up with the Mets.

But after the Astros made it official yesterday and before I saw his comments as reported by The AP, I had one pang of regret that the Mets didn't consider him: I had a hunch that he was pissed at the Phillies and would be gunning for them when he faces them. As reported by The AP:

"I wanted to go back to Philadelphia, but they didn't show an interest, they had other obligations, which is fine with me," Myers said. He then promised to "stick it" to the Phillies every time he faces them.

With the Astros, he'll get just two chances (the clubs play April 9-11 in Houston and Aug. 23-26 in Philly), and if he's in the top three slots in the rotation, which it sounds like he will be, he won't pitch against them in that April series -- the second of the season -- in Houston. But with the Mets, he would've had perhaps four or five chances to "stick it" to the Phillies over the course of the season in the NL East.

For the heck of it, I went back into the archives -- literally, the brown accordion folder kept in a cabinet -- and dug up a short piece I wrote on Myers when I was working at the Asbury Park Press and he was with Double-A Reading. I didn't come up with the headline (it was a narrow two columns in a big font), but here it is:

Making major minor strides

Pitcher Brett Myers, a year removed from Greg Legg and the Sally League, has his sights set on the Phillies.

This time last year, Brett Myers was riding buses around the South Atlantic League with his Piedmont Boll Weevils teammates and manager Greg Legg.

Now with the Reading Phillies of the Eastern League, Myers is on a fast track through the Philadelphia system, with Veterans Stadium that much closer.

But heading into spring training, the 6-4, 215-pound, hard-throwing right-hander was just looking to make a little progress.

"I had no clue," Myers said last week at Mercer County Waterfront Park before a game against the Trenton Thunder. "I was hoping to move up at least one level. Of course, I would've liked to be here (with Reading). That's what I was shooting for, but I was hoping for at least another level."

He took two steps from low-Class A Piedmont to Class AA Reading, and now stands just two steps from replacing the "R" on his cap with a "P." But Myers did not realize he would be this close to Broad Street until spring training was nearly over.

"About a week before we broke camp, when they put up the rosters," Myers said, he realized he had a good chance of playing for Reading. "But even then it wasn't set. I guess it didn't really hit me until I got on the plane."

The move has paid off for both the Phillies and the 20-year-old Floridian. Through Wednesday's 7-2 win over Akron, Myers is 5-1 with a 2.57 ERA in nine starts. He's struck out 50 in 56 innings, allowing 54 hits for a .250 average against. The numbers are good for 10th in the league in ERA, second in wins, ninth in innings pitched and 10th in strikeouts.

"It's still the same game," Myers said. "It never changes. The people around you change. They get better. And hopefully I do too, or get better than them and stay ahead. Hopefully I can keep it up."

Drafted in the first round in 1999 (12th overall), Myers went 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in the Gulf Coast League. Last year at Piedmont under Legg and current Lakewood BlueClaws pitching coach Rod Nichols, Myers weathered his first full season with a 15-8 record and a 3.07 ERA.

"I learned how to pitch, how to develop my pitches a little better," Myers said of his year in the South Atlantic League. "I learned how to work hard to prepare for a full season. I found it not as tough as I thought it would be. I prepared for it well. If I hadn't, it would've been a lot tougher." With a fastball consistently reaching 92 or 93 mph and a hard-breaking curveball, Myers is considered by many to be the top prospect in the Phillies organization and the pitcher most likely to assume the power-pitcher, No.1 starter slot once held by Curt Schilling.

"Ultimately, everyone playing this game wants to get to the big leagues," Myers said. "That's why you play this game. And once you get there, it's staying there. I just have to take it one game at a time, keep progressing and keep learning, and I'll be OK."

Tying them up in Philly

First Chase Utley and now Brett Myers. The Phillies are tying up their young stars with multi-year contracts and buying them out of their arbitration years. It's definitely a good move (when not applied to Pat Burrell, at least not with a no-trade clause), but it only makes you wonder ...

If Utley can get $85 million for seven years and Myers nets almost $26 million for three, what is Ryan Howard going to get? The slugging first baseman has played roughly 1 3/4 seasons and won the National League Rookie of the Year and MVP after them. Howard, who still has a couple of years before he's eligible for arbitration, let alone free agency, is at least worth $100 million over seven years, and how he performs this season and next -- depending on when he gets a deal -- will determine whether he loses or adds years and/or money.

The Phillies are doing what the Indians have been known to do over the years: Locking up their young stars early, before they come close to sniffing their value on the open market. It's a good move for both team and players. The team gets them without having to get into any bidding wars, and the players get their money guaranteed while they're at the height of their youth and energy. Sure, they may be leaving some dollars on the table in the event they surpass what they've done to this point, but that's what the incentive clauses are for -- All-Star appearances and postseason awards often bring in bonus money, with additional bonuses for multiple honors, such as what Barry Zito got should he win -- try to contain your laughter -- several Cy Young Awards for the Giants. (He'll get $500,000 for the first, $750,000 for the second and $1 million for a third. He even gets solid bonuses for finshing anywhere in the top five.)

As the Phillies stand now, three-fourths of their infield and two-thirds of their outfield are homegrown. With Chris Roberson and Michael Bourn on the way up, should Aaron Rowand get traded, the entire outfield could be covered by players who passed through Reading and Scranton on their way to Philadelphia. The infield has only third baseman Wes Helms as the hired "gun," while catcher could be manned by the developed Carlos Ruiz or the free-agent signee Rod Barajas.

On the mound, only two of the six starters came up through the system, though Adam Eaton was initially drafted by the Phillies before being dealt away. The bullpen includes a balance of farmhands -- Ryan Madson, Geoff Geary, Eude Brito -- and others brought in via free agency. As of this writing, the 40-man roster contains at least 21 homegrown players (based on a quick count, without much in-depth fact-checking), though at least 11-13 of the 25-man roster should be players the Phillies developed themselves (with five or six of eight position players among those).

That's some good drafting, international scouting and player development.