"Brett Myers has a bruise that matches nearly every color of the rainbow on his right hip. It looks nasty, with three bandages covering his stitches.

But he said it feels better than it looks. Myers, who had surgery on his right hip June 4, was walking without crutches at Citizens Bank Park on Friday when doctors had told him he would not be walking until 10 to 14 days after surgery. In other words, Myers is ahead of schedule. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. ruled out Myers rejoining the team before the end of the season. The original timetable for Myers to begin a long toss program was early September, which means it would take a miracle to get him pitching effectively enough where he could help the Phillies in what is expected to be another pennant race. "It's not getting your hopes up because you don't know," Myers said. "There could be a setback to where it could take an extra two weeks. It could take an extra month. That's a fair statement to make. But if I can come back quicker and I'm able to pitch again this year, it'll be hopefully good for me to get back out there to help the team.""