"During his introductory news conference in Houston, Brett Myers said he wants to "stick it" to the Phillies each time he faces them.

Good to see Brett hasn't changed.

Myers, the Phillies' first-round draft pick in 1999, said he never wanted to leave the only team he had ever known, and Jamie Moyer didn't have to undergo three offseason surgeries for everyone to realize how much the Phillies could use a pitcher like Myers (AP photo) in their depth-challenged rotation. He's only 29, and at an annual salary of $3.1 million (with an $8 million option or a $2 million buyout in 2011), he likely would've fit within the Phillies' projected $140 million payroll structure.

So, what caused the Myers-Phillies break-up?

Well, Myers is coming off hip surgery last season and his stuff does appear to be in decline. But to the Phillies, it has always been about more than pitching with Myers. He describes himself as a real-life Kenny Powers, the beer-swilling former major leaguer with anger-management issues portrayed in an HBO comedy series. Never seen it? I'd post a clip, but I'm having trouble finding anything PG-rated, which sort of describes what it's like to listen to a tape of any interview with Myers. During his eight-year tenure in Philadelphia, his words and actions often supported his Powers-esque self-portrait. Only two days after the World Series, Ruben Amaro Jr. announced the Phillies would cut ties with Myers, a decision made so swiftly that it indicated they were thinking about more than baseball."