For the third straight start, Brett Myers looked every bit like the Opening Day starter he was tabbed to be in the beginning of the season.  More importantly, he picked up the much-needed win and kept the Phillies a game ahead of the Metros for first place in the NL East.  So what made Brett flip out at Phils skip, Charlie Manuel last night?  Let’s review…

Having allowed only five hits and one run through 7+, Brett retired Freddy Sanchez for the second out of the eighth.  Clinging to a 3-1 lead with Chris Gomez on 2nd and lefty Doug Mientkiewicz due up, Charlie Manuel didn’t take any chances and emerged from the dugout to lift Myers in favor of lefty-killer, JC Romero.

This obviously perturbed Brett, who you could see mouthing “This is my fucking game” before handing Charlie the ball without even acknowledging him, tipping his cap to the crowd, and throwing a semi-tantrum in the dugout.  Take a gander:

By the sound of the post-game quotes, it appears as though the two kissed and made up.  Here’s Myers’ take,

“I’m a competitor, I like competing and I wanted to stay in and finish the game. But sometimes your emotions get the best of you and you might do something irrational out there. He thought I did. That’s part of the game. It’s all patched up now, though. We’re buddies.

I missed a month without being here with the team, and I wanted to try to prove myself again that I can pitch in the big leagues – and I wanted to stay out there as long as I could. He made the decision and that’s his decision.”

Now Charlie,

“He’s fine, he just wanted to stay in the game and I like that. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, if he didn’t want to stay in the game, I’d probably be mad.

I’ll tell you something: his confidence got back. That’s why I took him out of the game. I wasn’t going to let him lose the game. He was leaving on a high note, and there’s four left-handed hitters standing there. I wasn’t going to give him a chance to get hit. He already pitched a good game and did a good job.”

These two are so cute when they fight.

Myers, Manuel battle in Phils win | Inquirer

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