From the way some people are reacting, you'd think the Phillies moved Koufax into the bullpen. Brett Myers is a good starting pitcher. He's 54-42 with a 4.42 ERA. I have doubts he was ever going to live up to his projected status as a No. 1.
Granted, he's only 26. But this is full season 5 in the bigs, and he's regressed since 2005. Putting Myers in the bullpen seems to make sense because of his demeanor and his numbers. Over the course of his career, Myers has held batters to an average of .253 on pitches 1-15, .258 on 16-30, .225 on 31-45, .288 on 46-60, .275 on 61-75, .275 on 76-90 and .279 on 91-105. Clearly, he's at his best on pitches 1-45. Last season mirrored his career: .223 on 1-15, .243 on 16-30, .216 on 31-45, .275 on 46-60, .242 on 61-75, .324 on 76-90 and .293 on 91-105.
I would think Myers will be the future closer. That suits me fine.
This is all possible because Jon Lieber is still around. People have said Eaton should have been the one to go to the pen, not Lieber, but I heard Gillick explain that Eaton is a slow starter, which isn't the kind of pitcher you want coming out of the pen. The numbers back that statement up: Eaton is best on pitches 31-76.
Another thing, Eaton's career record of 55-46 and 4.45 ERA isn't much different from Myers' record in virtually the same number of games.
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