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As Brett Myers departs from the Philadelphia Phillies organization, has another bust of a first round draft pick been secured in team history? Myers was the second highest paid Phillie in 2009. With the Phillies locked into the $12 million range on Myers, there was no chance of him returning. I can easily concede that Myers was successful at times and will forever be cemented in team lore for closing down the 2007 East Division title and for his efforts in the 2008 postseason, but were a few shining moments enough to prove him worthy of a top draft spot? This makes two consecutive offseasons where the Phillies will have cut ties with former first round picks, with last year's casualty being 1998 #1 overall pick Pat Burrell. Letting these players go before they could evolve into the faces of the franchise that Phillies phans hoped they'd both become, in the late 90's, got me wondering if they were busts. That then got me reflecting on all the top draft pick busts I grew up f...

We all saw (and heard) the receptions that Pat Burrell and Adam Eaton got the other day at the Phillies' World Championship ring ceremony. Pat Burrell received the biggest reception of the day. It really had me wondering what exactly it is about Pat that phans love so much. His offensive statistics rank high on Phillies all-time leader boards, but Pat was never an all star and never won any individual recognition, as a Phillie. He was a sometimes-steady hitter, who learned to take more walks over his years, and had slumps as regularly as the weird guy in the cubicle next to me has belching fits and outbursts toward his computer ("Come awwwn! I hate you!"). Patrick the Batrick's performances against division rivals were not very outstanding, despite the misconception that he always killed the Metropolitans (.255 avg vs. Nationals, .249 avg. vs. Braves, .246 avg. vs. Mets, .243 avg. vs. Marlins). Perhaps the affinity for Burrell can be attributed to the fact that he was...

...And we should all feel fine. I know where everyone's heads are. Some phans may be thinking the worst. The Phillies have begun the pre-season with 3 losses and no wins. How can we ever recover? Relax...it's not that bad. I'll tell you method #1 for recovery- release Adam Eaton. Method #1, completed! That is all. Still not feeling better? Just consider that these games mean nothing. And take notice of the fine spring performances so far for Jamie Moyer, Carlos Carrasco, "Jay" Happ, John Mayberry Jr., Raul Ibanez, Pablo Ozuna, Greg Dobbs, Jason Donald, JC Romero and Gary Majewski. Oh also, forget about the awful spring performances so far from Andrew Carpenter, Sergio Escalona and Joe Bisenius. So, back to Eaton. Yes, the Phillies finally bit the proverbial bullet and gulped down hard to eat the $9 million that they owe him. Eaton spoke to reporters after the release and the most intriguing comment he made was this..."I know there's a lot still left in my...

Adam Eaton is still owed $9 million by the Phillies. Yeah, NINE MILLION DOLLARS. His salary for 2009 is $8.5 million, and there is a buy-out option for 2010 at $500,000. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has made it clear that Eaton is not in the running for the 5th spot in the Phillies' pitching rotation. Eaton has accepted his own current status, as he's aware of the terribleness that is himself. Eaton, a former first round draft pick of the Phillies, is 14-18 with an ERA of 6.10 over the past two season for the Phillies. Just to provide a quick example of how significant $9 million is on the Phillies' payroll, Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz, Chris Coste, Eric Bruntlett, Matt Stairs, Scott Eyre and Chad Durbin combined will not make $9 million this season. When asked about the possibility of accepting another minor league assignment, Eaton had this to say, "If we get to that point, I'll be released. And I don't think that's the end of the world by any means. It would be ki...

Well, folks...the Phillies are not helping themselves. 3.5 games behind the division leader. Tied with Houston (this year's "COLORADO ROCKIES!") 4 games behind the wild card leader. And the Phils have a 4-5 record so far in September. By comparison, the Mets are 6-2 this month...the Astros are 8-1 this month...the Brewers however are 3-7 this month, as they head to Philadelphia for a huge 4 game series starting Thursday the 11th. The 5th starter role in the pitching rotation is high up in the air right now. If I had to guess who it will be pitching Sunday's series finale, I'd say Adam Eaton. I don't think that "Jay" Happ has shown enough to get the start. Consider also that the Brewers thrive against lefty starters, and the Phillies already have 2 lefties starting games in this series. The only positive spin I can put on this forecast is that Eaton has never lost to the Brewers. Eaton's career record vs. Milwaukee is 2-0 with a 5.24 ERA...