Myers' fate will be learned soon

By Tim McManus
The Phanatic Magazine

Some Phillies news and notes to pass along...

As reported earlier, Phillies head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan confirmed the original diagnosis that Brett Myers has a right shoulder strain.

That's good news, but the Phils aren't out of the woods quite yet.

Myers underwent an MRI today, the results of which aren't expected to be available until around game time Friday. The club won't really know what they're dealing with until then.

Davis to the rescue?

Should Myers need a trip to the disabled list, Pat Gillick hinted on Jody Mac's show on Thursday that Triple-A hurler Kane Davis may be called up in turn.

Davis-- a 6-3, 190-pound right-hander out of West Virginia, has a minuscule 1.76 ERA with a pair of saves in 13 appearances this season for the Lynx. The 31-year-old was originally drafted by the Pirates in 1993, and has spent time in the Cleveland, Milwaukee, Colorado and New York Mets organizations.

Coste sighting

Chris Coste gets his first start of the 2007 campaign tonight...but it's at first base. There's reason to believe that he may be getting some PT in the near future behind the plate, though:

If you know Philly fans, Rod Barajas will immediately become the town's whipping boy after deciding to pull an ole on the Hanley Ramirez play during that horrific ninth inning on Wednesday.

Mix that with a desperate need for any available relief arm, and there's more than a good chance that Barajas will be shipped out of here sooner than later.

Tonight's starting lineup

1. ss Rollins

2. 2b Nunez

3. cf Rowand

4. lf Burrell

5. 3b Helms

6. rf Werth

7. 1b Coste

8. c Barajas

9. p Lieber

One final note

Tom Gordon is not expected back until the middle of June. In he and Myers' absence, the Phils will close by committee, Gillick said.


Tim appears on this page every Thursday. You can contact him at tmcmanus@phanaticmag.com.