"Brett Myers has brought attitude, consistency, resilience and a raging competitive fire to the Astros. Did we mention attitude?

"Everybody on the field loves him," Geoff Blum said. "He's a bulldog."

Bulldog? That's one way to put it. "Throwback" is another term that fits. "Old school" also would be accurate.

Once upon a time, a pitcher took the ball and expected to go seven, eight or nine innings. Brett Myers still does.

He has been to the mound 30 times and pitched at least six innings 30 times. Only six other pitchers have done that in the last 90 years.

In a roller-coaster season for the Astros, Myers has remained numbingly consistent — eighth in the National League in ERA, fourth in innings and tied for second in quality starts.

Beyond the numbers is a mentality that there's no excuse for failing. Even on days when he doesn't have his best stuff, Myers believes he should have enough to give the Astros a chance to win.

"I feel like I've always been that way whether I was pitching good or bad," Myers said. "I've always had a problem coming out of games. That's the competitiveness in me. When you get the adrenalin flowing, sometimes you can't control what you do on the mound. Sometimes the key to pitching is controlling it."

"I feel like I've always been that way whether I was pitching good or bad," Myers said. "I've always had a problem coming out of games. That's the competitiveness in me. When you get the adrenalin flowing, sometimes you can't control what you do on the mound. Sometimes the key to pitching is controlling it.""