Position: Lefthanded reliever
Height, weight: 6-1, 175
Age: 37 Birthdate: May 30, 1972
Hometown: Bradenton, Fla.
College: Texas Tech
Years in majors: 13
How acquired: Trade with Cubs that sent minor leaguer Brian Schlitter to Chicago on Aug. 7, 2008.
This year: Eyre has struggled with a floating body in his left elbow. He made 42 appearances with a 1.50 ERA. He is one of two (Antonio Bastardo) lefthanders in the Phillies' bullpen for the NLDS.
Career: Over 13 seasons, he has made 617 appearances with a 4.23 ERA. Eyre struggled with the Cubs during the first half of the 2008 season in which he made 19 appearances and had a 7.15 ERA.
Stereotypical reliever: Relievers have always been cast as an odd lot, a tad goofy and almost always have an interesting view on life. Eyre personifies this on many levels as he has been caught on camera watching games in the scoreboard at Minute Maid Park and on the roof of Bright House Field in Clearwater this last spring training.
A clear diagnosis: In 2002, Eyre was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and he's adapted to the hurdle placed in his way. "It hurts my focus. I've been on medication since '02 and its made a world of difference in my home life, but especially in baseball. Meetings for me were like school, absolute torture. I was lost. Now, it's a part of my routine."
Injury update: Eyre is 2 1/2-to-3 weeks off his last cortisone shot and said he feels ready to go. "I'll pitch when Charlie [Manuel] asks me to pitch. I recover nicely from one day to the next so we'll see where it goes from there."
