Brett Myers made no secret of his desire to remain in the role of closer for the Phillies but once Brad Lidge came to town it was back to the rotation. His recent demotion to the minor leagues tells you how well that's worked out and Lidge's contract extension means that he won't close in Philadelphia any time in the near future. Naturally, that's given rise to discussion about Myers's future with the team. According to Ricky Bottalico, television analyst for the Phillies AAA affiliate, Myers told him that he wants to be traded somewhere he can close.
"He's banking on getting outta there. You know it as well as I do that he doesn't want to be with the Phillies anymore. He's made that perfectly clear."That would be understandable. Beyond the desire to relieve, Myers might also feel a change of scenery would help him recover what's been missing in 2008. Thing is, he denies saying anything of the sort.
"I never asked for a trade. I've got a house and everything in Philly. Why would I want to leave?"You hear that Bottalico, he's got a house! A man doesn't just walk away from roots like that. Myers could have refused to go to the minors but did it without issue and is even dropping to AA to make another start this weekend while the AAA is on All-Star break. That doesn't sound like someone who is looking to blaze a trail out of Philadelphia.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-10-2008 @ 5:55PM
Slim said...
I think Myers may have just said it to Bottalico as a "between friends" type of comment. If I remember correctly, Ricky and Brett were teammates a few years ago, and they were probablly just talking about Myers' move to AAA ball and what it meant. I don't think he wants to be traded, but I think he wants to be the closer in Philly, which won't happen.
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