The Phillies yesterday, somewhat unbelievably, made their first pitching-related roster move of the season, sending struggling pitcher Brett Myers down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in an attempt to get his groove back. It's unknown who will take his spot in the rotation; the Phils have used only five starters in the first three months of season.
The Phils' season thus far has consisted of two-and-a-half months of dominance followed by two weeks of run-starved suckiness, but they got back on track last night, beating the Braves in Atlanta 8-3. Throughout the struggles, of course, the team's fans have been completely understanding and patient, very appreciative of the team still being in first place and in no way whatsoever demanding that they get rid of most of their players and/or fire the manager. Especially the WIP caller last night who stated that he would be rooting for the Phils to lose the game because Charlie Manuel had given Geoff Jenkins the swing sign on a 3-0 pitch. Sorry they disappointed him by winning.
Sam Donnellon, meanwhile, has a joke of a column in which he blames the Phils' recent struggles on... their failure to re-sign Aaron Rowand. So he wasn't missed in the first ten weeks of the season, when they outscored their opponents by 100 runs, but a two-week cold streak means they miss his "leadership." Please.
Posted by Stephen Silver at July 2, 2008 04:01 PM