Myers Opening Day Starter/ Hamels Okay With It/Phillies Open with Win

Brett Myers has been named the Phillies opening day starter and Cole Hamels is perfectly okay with it. Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee selected Brett Myers as the opening day starter, not only to get Myers focused on becoming a starter again, but also to set the rotation up with a righty and a lefty.

"We wanted to set our rotation up with a righty and lefty," Manuel said. "We lined the rotation up the way we wanted to go. I talked to Hamels and he seemed like OK with it. I told him he was our No. 1 starter last year and had a big year. That's the way we wanted to set our rotation up."

It appears that Kyle Kendrick will be third in the rotation followed by Jamie Moyer and Adam Eaton.

"The only thing that played into it was how we wanted to go," Manuel said. "To me, we have two guys who are pretty equal and we can go either way. Both of them to me are No. 1."

And get this, Hamels actually prefers to be second in the rotation right now.

"It's not a big deal to me," Hamels said. "It just gives me two days off. My understanding going into Spring Training was to go out and play. I wasn't [sure if] I was going to be the No. 1 guy because Brett was coming back, and I like the fact that he is coming back. He and I can work off one another."

"There's a lot of hype that goes with Opening Day, and for myself, it's not a big deal," Hamels said. "I have plenty of years; I'm trying to chase after Jamie Moyer. Eventually I'll get one of those. I haven't really been involved in Major League Baseball for too many years. It'll be my third year, and second year going into the season for Opening Day. It's all new to me still."

The way it is setting up, Hamels will likely match-up against Santana and the other aces in the National League during the first month anyway. I don't mind it, and maybe it will boost Myers confidence and preparation for the 2008 season. We all know what we're going to get out of Hamels, but Myers return to the rotation is somewhat of a question. Once you get into the schedule of pitching every 5 days, it doesn't even matter anyway.

Jamie Moyer looked sharp as the Phillies opened Spring Training with a blow-out win over the Reds.