Everybody Hates Brett

Okay, Brett Myers isn't exactly a great guy, not personable, not a hall of famer, I get that.

But there's a rather...incriminating wave of fan comments in on a certain article that I'm not going to link to. Find it and poison your eyes if you really gotta. Myers says to Hamels, "What are you doing here, I thought you quit?" and the fans start hating on Myers.

Do these people forget that for the past few years, Myers has been the opening day starter? I don't care if Hamels was injured this year, I don't care how bad the Phils used to be--last 3 years they won the freaking division, even if they were handed it on a silver platter in 07 by the flailing Metropolitans. But come on. These guys are saying how wonderful Hamels is, how evil Myers is, how Hamels beats him any day in any situation, how without Hamels Myers wouldn't have a WS ring, blah blah blah.

All this because Myers had the balls to say what those fans had probably been thinking?

Please. Sometimes you have to open your mouth and say what needs to be said, and this is one of those situations. Hamels is the golden boy, and if you say something bad about him people condemn you as a loser or an angry fanatic who thinks he's supposed to be Cy Young or something. Poor Cole, he was injured, he can't help it, he's only 25.

Sure, it's been a long year. But if he was INJURED at the beginning, then it was shorter than everyone else's. When you do badly, worse than expected, whatever--you get back to work and try harder. You want it to end but that's not the kind of thing you say at random to a press conference. Do you? You wait until AFTER THE WORLD SERIES IS OVER or AFTER YOU'VE USED UP ALL YOUR CHANCES. Hamels has not, by far, had the toughest year of any Phils pitcher.

Pedro Martinez did well for the Dominican Republic in the WBC, but his team got knocked out by the Netherlands. But Pedro labored away in the Dominican, waiting for his chance. Oppurtunity finally knocked and he took his chance and tried hard every time. Sure, he's a nutcase, but he doesn't complain when he does badly. He just shrugs and says the Yankees are his daddy or something.

Jamie Moyer is the oldest player in baseball right now. He hits guys in the head with his 70-mph fastball and is way past his glory days. He's had a long career, he's separated from his family in Florida, he had a horrible year this year. He got moved to the bullpen when Martinez came up, and he worked away. And he got left off the WS roster. Is he complaining? No. He's thankful that he's gotten to play a kid's game for a career until he's 46, made a lot of money and can support his family.

Brad Lidge has been miserable. After his phenomenal perfect Cy Young worthy year last year, he didn't come close at all to anything resembling that. His ERA ballooned, he blew a zillion saves, he got demoted, and he blew a world series game. He doesn't complain either--he's just thankful that he's still on the roster and Manuel still gives him chances.

So, Mr. Myers, you are not a hero, you are not an ace, but you know that you are playing a kid's game and you know Hamels doesn't appreciate it. Maybe you don't, either, but you call him out on it.

And Mr. Hamels, you can't complain. You have hundreds of kids wearing jerseys with your name across the back, everyone in America knows who you are, you have a gaudy ring to wear on your finger, and you've got years in baseball ahead of you. And maybe you're disgusted with yourself, maybe you're tired, but you've got money and you've got talent and you've got freedom and you've got a dream job and you should consider yourself extra-lucky that these fans have your back no matter what you say.