Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Myers Conundrum

The debate continues about whether Brett Myers should stay in the pen or be moved into the Phillies rotation. It’s a tough question that whichever way the Phillies go with it they will be seconded guessed. One of the main arguments for moving Myers back to the rotation is that it will be easier to find another decent reliever than another decent starter. I keep reading/hearing this kind of sentiment, but I don’t see it out there on the market.

In my opinion, what separates the good relievers from the great ones is constancy. There are plenty of relievers, closers or not, that are great one year and not so great the next. It seems pretty rare to find a reliever /closer that is good to great every year. I think this year’s market only had Rivera as a year in year out great relief pitcher.

I’m not saying that Myers as a closer is the answer for sure, but I think he has the potential to be one of those years in year out guys, based on his numbers being fairly contestant year to year as a starter. Still, he has to first get the opportunity and then do something with it. I’m 90% sure Myers will be in the bullpen later in his career, so why not keep him there now? In the case of a desperate situation, the Phillies seem to have a lot more starting help in the minors anyway.

No comments: