Gillick Speaks

The GM has spoken:

It seems like we've just picked it up. In spring training and the first 10 to 15 games of the season, we didn't play worth a darn, so I think we've got better intensity than we had before.

Pardon me for asking, Pat, but were you detained at a late brunch on Sunday? Surely you couldn't have watched the same team the rest of us saw sleep walking through the series finale in Pittsburgh. Intensity? I'd say it was difficult to detect a collective pulse in them on Sunday except, perhaps, for Ryan Howard, whose expletive reverberated from the three rivers out west to the Schuylkill in the east.

The GM continued:

I'd have to say we're pleased with the rotation. I wouldn't say we're satisfied. We're probably more satisfied with the bullpen.

C'mon, Pat. Do you have to hedge every statement these days? "Pleased" with the rotation? Myers is sinking fast; Eaton has sunk. Hamels has pitched very well overall. Moyer is Moyer, that is to say serviceable. Kendrick seems to have straightened himself out but still has an ERA over 5.

".... probably more satisfied with the bullpen"? "Probably"? They've been phenomenal. Eliminate Flash Gordon's Opening Day meltdown and you have the best ERA in the majors. As it is, they are best in the NL and trail only Tampa Bay overall. No one expected this kind of performance from the pen.

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More than a few commentors around the blogosphere are suggesting Brett Myers' shoulder may be ailing. It's the same one he strained last year, landing him on the DL. Myers hasn't said anything, but clearly he has lost several feet on his fastball. Mistrust of the Phillies when it comes to all things medical runs so deep it would be hard to discount the possibility that something is amiss with Myers, but it seems unlikely he would keep silent about it. Myers isn't exactly known for his discretion.

Others are wondering whether his two straight poor outings are a not-so-subtle reminder to the Phils' alleged brain trust that he wants to close, not start. That is preposterous. He isn't about to replace Brad Lidge and he knows it.