Whether you were excited about the return of Brett Myers to the Majors, or cautiously apathetic about it, there is no denying that his performance for the rest of the season will have an important impact on the club’s playoff chances. Since Myers’ dismal performance to date (3-9, 5.84 ERA, excluding tonight’s game) has essentially left the Phillies without a number two starter since early May, any semblance of a turnaround will be a tremendous credit to the Phils’ rotation, especially after the acquisition of the Oakland A’s Joe Blanton.

Tonight’s performance may leave some fans squeamish, but while it was by no means spectacular, it leaves room for that rare Philadelphia commodity: Hope. Myers fought through some tough innings, was hurt by some shoddy defense, and amazingly did not give up any home runs. No Met hit him hard, and he was driving towards home on most of his 95 pitches, which is promising considering that many felt that his failure to do so was possibly the cause of his poor performances thus far. If Myers’ bailing out towards first was a major contributor to his terrible first half, then tonight’s performance was a plus.

His control, on the other hand, was horrendous. Myers struggled to find the strike zone for much of his outing, throwing 29 pitches in the first inning, only 9 for strikes. 16 of his first 18 pitches were fastballs, and only 3 of those for strikes. After walking a total of 7 batters in his Minor League stint, Myers walked four straight, resulting in a run. After settling down in the second, Myers pitched through another rough inning, throwing a 27 pitch third, with one free pass and a hit batter, giving up another run in the process.

Myers’ final line was mediocre (5 IP, 3 earned runs, 2 K and 5 BB), and 3 of the 5 innings were tough to watch, a cruel reminder of his first half struggles. But one could view it as a good first step, especially with regard to his mechanical changes, and his next performance will allow the fans and the coaches to get a better grasp on which Myers we will have for the remainder of the season. While it is an unfortunate set of circumstances, Phillies fans will just have to wait and see.