Moving Myers to 'pen a panic move; Manuel too soft

	Phillies No. 1 starter Brett Myers is being moved to the bullpen as the team's relief woes continue. Richard Schultz/WireImage.com

The Phillies are phloundering, and it may be too late for them. As one scout put it, "When you get off to this kind of start with a damn good team in your division [the Mets], you're in a lot of trouble."

The Phillies recognize they have a problem, which explains their drastic call to move their No. 1 starter Brett Myers into the bullpen. The call does make some sense in that Myers is a hard thrower with dynamic stuff who's off to a horrendous starts (much like the team) and may thrive at the back end of the bullpen. Plus, the untradeable Jon Lieber's soft stuff isn't working in the pen. Yet, one other scout opined, "I really don't think the Phillies have enough starting pitching to make this move."

The reality is that the Phillies, who fell below the Nationals in the standings on Wednesday night, may just not be what they seemed to be. Here are two opinions of a couple scouts gathered today:

"I think they are a talented club, but at the end of the day, I don't think they know how to win," one scout said.

"Do they play good baseball? Uh, huh. Just watch them play," another scout said.

The problems do go beyond the 'pen. But that's a good place to start. Scouts view Tom Gordon, their talented but aging closer, as being "on borrowed time." The setup relievers, Ryan Madson and Geoff Geary, while major-league worthy, are really "supporting players," in the words of one scout. And as for the rest, the less said the better.

Which brought them to this point of panic. And while it's understandable panic, it is panic nonetheless.

I don't know whether it was embattled manager Charlie Manuel's idea to move Myers or not (it's hard to believe he had any lucid thoughts during the same 24-hour period where he bragged he could beat up a radio host, on tape no less), but I wouldn't blame whoever decided to make the switch (and I suspect it was GM Pat Gillick). With the team digging an early yet substantial hole, and no relievers to be had in trade, the move isn't completely foolhardy.

But for now, this move looks suspiciously like the move before the move.

Gillick told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "We're behind Charlie," and "I think the responsibility lies with the players as much as it does the manager right now." I must say, I have heard stronger endorsements.

If this pitching switch doesn't work, it only stands to reason that Manuel will get the boot. Sources close to the situation say his Phillies bosses appreciate that Manuel's players love him. But those players clearly aren't playing for him.

This rotation-relief swap may help some. But if it doesn't, you have to think that Phillies coach Jimy Williams, the longtime Gillick associate and heir apparent, will be warming up in the bullpen.