I heard two newspaper men call in to the WIP morning show today, Randy Miller and Bill Conlin, each to discuss the possible trade sending Roy Oswalt from Houston to Philadelphia. One interesting area of overlap in their conversations was the belief that Oswalt has asked for advice on Philly from two sources who know well what it's like to play here—Brad Lidge and Brett Myers.
It would obviously make sense that Oswalt would seek their counsel, but it's hard to know what exactly each guy would say.
First, each has several sets of biases. Lidge is a current Phillie, and his chances of throwing the final strike in another World Series are greater if Oswalt is in red pinstripes tomorrow. Obviously he'll seek to sweeten the Philly push. But, Lidge has also struggled mightily since throwing that strike, so he's seen the best of our support as well as how quickly things can get a bit more difficult for a player in this town. His perfect-season/World Series pass seems to have expired some time last year, and many fans are hoping that one of the deals Ruben makes in the next two days will be to replace him as closer. Still, Lidge has taken every ill word like the WF champion that he is, never complaining publicly or turning down press questions even after a blown save, and the organization has been wholly loyal to him. Lidge is the Phillies' angel on Oswalt's shoulder. He also closes deals, per Woodbury Nissan's recent commercials, so we have that going for us.
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And then you have Brett Myers, who probably hasn't been considered an angel since he was brought home from the hospital. Miller alluded to Myers poisoning the idea of coming to Philly, citing Myers' rift with pitching coach Rich Dubee. Of course, Myers also has the recent bias of having been pushed out of town by the current Phillies regime, as well as the bias of wanting his own team—Oswalt's current Astros club—to improve or at least not get worse in the near term. If he's thinking and advising rationally (big if), Myers should also recount the day he was given a second chance many people thought was unconscionable (after One Night in Boston). Conlin, speaking after Miller, said he personally knew nothing of any discussion between Oswalt and Myers, but answered that Myers would love nothing more than to return to the Phillies.
Who knows to what degree any of the above statements are based on knowledge of actual discussions between these players versus knowledge of presumed discussions that are entirely likely to have happened. Just a little added spice for the discussion today as we await Oswalt's decision on whether we're worthy of his presence (or, more likely, his presence without a guaranteed option year).