NL Beast

I alluded to Myers’ troubles earlier. Read for yourself:

Poof.

The fastball that made Brett Myers a first-round draft pick in 1999 is nowhere to be found. The pitch that hit 95 m.p.h. suddenly cannot break 88 m.p.h. That is a concern for Myers and the Phillies, who finished 5-2 on their seven-game road trip after Myers lasted just five innings in a 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday at PNC Park.

“He’s supposed to be one of our aces,” manager Charlie Manuel said.

“I’m lost,” Myers said. “I’m lost throwing 88 m.p.h. I’m thinking I’m still a fastball pitcher because I usually am. I usually establish my fastball early in the game. I’ve always been that guy. I’ve always done that. But right now I’m going to other crap earlier than I want to.

“Usually if I’m behind in the count 2-1 or 3-1, I’m never pitching backward. Right now I’m pitching backward.”

This is what it means to pitch that way: Myers fell behind 2-1 in the count to Pirates centerfielder Nate McLouth in the fifth inning.

He threw him a cutter. Last year, he would have thrown him a fastball. McLouth hit the cutter for a two-run home run to right field, his second homer yesterday against Myers, who leads the majors with 10 homers allowed.

“Usually I go right after guys,” said Myers, who is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA after six starts. “Usually I’m throwing heaters, and I don’t really care if a guy hits it out of the park because I feel like if I have enough on it, he’s going to miss-hit it or something.”

Myers said he is healthy. He said his arm feels fine. So what is the problem?

The righthander, who met with Manuel in the manager’s office for about 10 minutes after the game, is baffled at the loss of velocity since last season. Pitching coach Rich Dubee suggested two possible solutions.

“I think it’s as simple as him throwing more fastballs and him getting out there and playing some more long toss,” Dubee said. “He’s not a real big believer in long toss, and I am. I think that’s one way you develop arm strength. It gives you some elasticity in your arm, and I think it’s something he has to buy into a little more. He doesn’t do much at all. Game day, he throws five balls at a long distance and that’s it.”

Dubee would like to see Myers long toss a couple of times a week.

“I did that last year as a reliever,” said Myers, who added he is open to more long tossing. “I never did when I was a starter because I felt like my [bullpen sessions] were giving me enough arm strength.”

Myers said he abandoned the fastball yesterday because the separation in speeds between his fastball (86 m.p.h.) and his cutter (83 m.p.h.) was not enough.

“He wasn’t going to throw the cutter today,” Dubee said. “See how long that lasted? We were going to throw more curveballs. He threw them to the first couple hitters, and then he put it in his back pocket for whatever reason. We talked about getting away from the cutter and throwing more fastballs and throwing more curveballs because of the separation between the speeds. But he got away from that game plan for whatever reason.”

Said Myers: “It’s not like I’m hurting. It’s not like it’s aching. It’s not like I can’t throw or anything like that. I’ve had times where it is barking and still go out there and throw 92, 93 [m.p.h.]. But right now it just isn’t coming out. It’s like doo-doo going up there.”

This is troubling, to say the least.