Paul Hagen: For whatever reason, Phillies done with Myers

INDIANAPOLIS - Having crossed third base, backup catcher and utility infielder off their shopping list before even picking up their winter meetings room keys, all that's left for the Phillies entourage now is to hum a familiar refrain.

It always circles back to pitching, doesn't it? General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has made himself clear. He's looking for relief help, especially arms that can pitch later in the game, when the pressure begins to build. He'd like a starter who could compete for the fifth spot. He's looking for guys who, for whatever reason, won't command a high salary but have a chance to be pretty good. Low risk, high reward is how he puts it.

Pitchers, in short, who sound suspiciously like Brett Myers.

Except that they'd rather sell their 2008 World Series trophy for scrap than even consider the thought.

They haven't just closed the door on the idea of bringing back the 29-year-old righthander. They've slammed it shut, put on the chain, flipped the deadbolt and pushed the sofa up against the back.

As the annual December baseball conclave creaked into motion yesterday, the lobby scuttlebutt had Myers most likely heading to the Houston Astros or Texas Rangers.

The Phillies? The World Series had barely ended before they announced they were not at all interested in keeping their former No. 1 draft choice.

This is odd on a couple of levels. One is that, well, that's not how they usually conduct themselves. Only a year ago they kept insisting that re-signing Pat Burrell was a possibility. They stuck to that line right up until the moment they signed Raul Ibanez, even though there were, from all indications, precisely zero postseason negotiations with the incumbent leftfielder.

The other is that Myers just might have significantly more upside than whomever they end up with to fill one of those spots.

Apparently, though, the powers that be on Pattison Avenue have concluded that he has exceeded his allowable quota of knuckleheaded moments.

It's hard to tell whether that invisible line was crossed when he made the ill-advised decision to take a break from a rehab assignment in Clearwater, Fla., to celebrate his birthday in Jacksonville. Or when that little side trip resulted in an eye injury that retarded his comeback attempt. Or when he first lied about the circumstances under which he was hurt. Or when he was little too exuberant and indiscriminate while spraying champagne during the pennant-clinching celebration.