Brett Myers Needs Surgery: Possible Season Ending

News: The Philadelphia Daily News reports that Phillies starter Brett Myers is likely to require surgery that would sideline him for three to four months. The Phillies are awaiting a prognosis from hip specialist Bryan Kelly, but the expectation is that he will need to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum.

From ESPN:

"I don't know what I am going to do," Myers said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. "First I am going to get a second opinion. ... I am going to explore every option I need to keep pitching, but if he tells me, 'It's over, you need to have [surgery] now or you could cause damage,' I will have it. I have to. It's a no-brainer.

"If he tells me rehab and anti-inflammatory medicine will take care of it, I'll pitch through it."

Myers (4-3) left in the sixth inning of Philadelphia's 6-2 loss to the Florida Marlins on Wednesday after giving up five runs. He had allowed just six runs in 21 innings in three previous starts.

Myers said pitching through pain is nothing new for him.

"This has been bothering me as long I can remember," he said, according to the Inquirer. "I never knew what it was. It just became unpitchable this season."

While Myers doesn't want to have the surgery now, he knows it's inevitable.

"I have to do it regardless. Surgery is required regardless of when I get it," Myers said, according to MLB.com. "But if that doctor tells me I have to have surgery now, then I'm going to do it. There's no point in even trying to [mess] with it and mess it up to where I can't walk when I'm 30."

I fully expect the Phils to make the push for Jake Peavy and/or Brad Penny over the next week.

Career: Pitching
SEASON	TEAM	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	W	L	SV	HLD	BLSV	ERA
2002	Phi	12	12	1	0	72.0	73	38	34	11	29	34	4	5	0	0	--	4.25
2003	Phi	32	32	1	1	193.0	205	99	95	20	76	143	14	9	0	0	--	4.43
2004	Phi	32	31	1	1	176.0	196	113	108	31	62	116	11	11	0	0	--	5.52
2005	Phi	34	34	2	0	215.1	193	94	89	31	68	208	13	8	0	0	--	3.72
2006	Phi	31	31	1	0	198.0	194	93	86	29	63	189	12	7	0	0	--	3.91
2007	Phi	51	3	0	0	68.2	61	33	33	9	27	83	5	7	21	3	3	4.33
2008	Phi	30	30	2	1	190.0	197	103	96	29	65	163	10	13	0	0	--	4.55
2009	Phi	10	10	0	0	63.2	66	33	33	17	20	46	4	3	0	0	--	4.67
Total	--	232	183	8	3	1176.2	1185	606	574	177	410	982	73	63	21	3	3	4.39

In Search of An SP v.7.0

Well, we're down to the end of the list. As of yesterday, this was the next group to look at:

NY Yankees: 14 wins… $201 mil team salary…

No… nothing coming out of here for the Mets and, this is THE big market team…

White Sox: 14 wins… $96 mil team salary

We’re going to pass on this team… the White Sox are located in a big city market, so they have to act like a big market team. Yes, they might have a pitcher or two to sell, but we’re sticking to bottom fishing here.

Atlanta: 14 wins… $96 mil team salary…

Whether or not Atlanta is considered a big market team is sometimes debatable, but it really doesn’t matter. The Braves are not going to sell anyone to the Mets, so we pass on this team.

The rest of the teams have at least 15 wins and are either over, or flirting with, the .500 mark in wins and losses. None of these teams are going to be currently thinking about dumping good pitching, so our list, for now, is complete:

• Jake Peavy - San Diego
• Cliff Lee - Cleveland Indians
• Adam Eaton - Baltimore Orioles
• Jason Marquis - Colorado Rockies
• Roy Oswalt - Houston Astros
• Dan Haren - Arizona

Mack - www.macksmets.blogspot.com

Deja Vu All Over Again

What a brutal offensive stretch for the Mets--three straight losses to the San Diego Padres by 2-1 scores.

The real shame? The pitching has been brilliant.

The Mets now stand 6.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East, and 5.5 games behind the Cards for the Wild Card, with four other teams sandwiched between.

Ever the eternal optimist when it comes to the Mets, I have begun to worry.

I'm worried that we'll never have the offensive consistency needed to win 90+ games.

I'm worried that Moises Alou won't have 90 more games of baseball left in his old body.

I'm worried that Ryan Church might have cobwebs for another month.

I'm worried that our weak hitting bench is going to be the team's downfall.

Speaking of the bench, I love those guys individually, but as a unit they have got to be among the worst in baseball. Tatis, Endy, Easley, Castro, Casanova, and Nunez?

My kingdom for Angel Pagan!

Hey Omar....we need some offense, and I believe it is time to make a move and part ways with one of the weak hitting guys that currently make up our roster. Tatis is the obvious candidate, but don't rule out Easley....he has just lost his ability to turn on a fastball and cover the plate on breaking pitches.

It's time for a move on the bench and a little shakeup.

Damion Easley Stats and Projections--what has he done to deserve 360 at bats this season?

2008 Season Stats
SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	37	96	7	22	4	0	1	11	5	13	0	0	.229	.262	.302	.564
Career	1630	5264	709	1323	281	25	158	651	496	910	114	56	.251	.328	.404	.732
Last 7	4	10	1	4	1	0	0	3	1	1	0	0	.400	.455	.500	.955
Projected	138	358	26	82	15	0	4	41	19	48	0	0	.229	.262	.302	.564