Bob Ford: Evidence is clear: He's been reliever material all along

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, July, 2008 | by Bob Ford Inquirer Columnist

In the matter before the court, the case of Rotation v. Bullpen for the estate of Brett Allen Myers, I've got to enter a guilty plea this morning. A long and healthy regard for starting pitching led me to write several times last season that robbing the rotation to pay the bullpen was a fool's bargain.

Myers was good enough to be the opening-day starter in 2007, and turning him into a closer because of Tom Gordon's woes didn't seem like a good idea. If you want a closer, go get a closer. So it was apparently a better idea, at least from this seat, when the Phillies got Brad Lidge and returned Myers to the rotation. Beyond Cole Hamels, the Phils didn't have a starter who wasn't, on the surface, too inexperienced (Kyle Kendrick), too experienced (Jamie Moyer), or too Adam...