Brett Myers will not be back with the Phillies in 2010.

He said this afternoon that Ruben Amaro Jr. informed him that he would not be re-signed. Myers, who the Phillies drafted in the first round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft, said he first saw it coming when the Phillies acquired left-hander Cliff Lee in July and when he rarely pitched in the postseason. But he also knew with the salaries the Phillies already had committed that he was unlikely to return.

"Kenny Powers is officially a free agent," he joked in a telephone interview.

Myers went 73-63 with a 4.40 ERA in 240 games (183) starts in his Phillies career. He went 4-3 with a 4.84 ERA this season, which was derailed in May with an injured right hip that required surgery in June. Myers rejoined the team in September as a relief pitcher, but strained his right latissimus dorsi muscle that sidelined him for a couple more weeks.

"I'll be fine," Myers said. "I've got friends and family up here, but there's always a time when change has to happen. If I don't fit their plans that's fine with me. There's nothing I can do about it. I can't sit here and be sad about it. It's been great playing here. I've had ups and downs here. It's always tough when you have to leave your family behind, and I consider the Phillies family. I've been with them for 10 years. But like I said, there's always a time when you want to go."

"We decided to go in a different direction," Amaro said.

Myers said he would have been willing to sign a one-year, incentive laden deal to remain with the Phillies, but the Phillies weren't interested. He also said he has no preference regarding starting or relieving with his new team. He said he would like to pitch closer to his Jacksonville, Fla., home. If he starts, he would like to start in the National League. If he is a reliever, he would pitch in either league.

"I just need to keep pitching and be myself," he said. "There's nothing I can change about myself and there's nothing I'm going to change about myself. It's me. It's who I am. I'm going to compete just as hard for another team. If I come across the Phillies, I'm going to try to make it hell on them. I've got friends on my time, but cross that white line and it's game on, you know?"

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The Phillies have contacted Chan Ho Park's agent about returning. ... The Phillies will wait for results on Scott Eyre's elbow surgery before they decide whether or not they want to bring him back. ... If Matt Stairs is back in 2010 at all, it will be on a Minor League deal.

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The Phillies announced their first significant move of the off-season today when they picked up Cliff Lee's $9 million club option.

It was no surprise.

Ruben Amaro Jr. said they have spoken with Lee's agent a couple times during the postseason, and said they would consider thinking about a contract extension for Lee.

"That said, we have some time on that," Amaro said.

Amaro also said they have not decided on Pedro Feliz's $5.5 million club option. Amaro said that decision must be made by Monday.

"More than anything else, what options might be out there for us," said Amaro, asked why the decision on Feliz's option is more difficult than Lee's. "And deciding whether picking up his option is best suited to try to move forward. He had a solid year for us. I like the man personally. He's a great person. He's a great teammate. But I also believe in trying to improve and sometimes a change can be for the better. It doesn't necessarily mean we're going to, but it's something that we're thinking about."

Amaro announced that leftfielder Raul Ibanez (groin), closer Brad Lidge (elbow) and Scott Eyre (elbow) would be seen by team doctors Friday and Saturday. Eyre needs surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow. Lidge is going to get checked for potential loose bodies in his elbow. And Ibanez will have a MRI on his groin. Ibanez also had a tear in his abdomen, which might require surgery.

"We're getting our arms around that to see exactly what kind of damage he has in there," Amaro said of Ibanez's injury.

Amaro also announced that the entire coaching staff has been invited back for 2010.

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You're probably still bummed, but if the Phillies are going to become the first National League team to play in three consecutive World Series since the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals they are going to have to have a good offseason. So let's take a look at what's ahead in the coming months.

The Phillies, who have the salaries of Adam Eaton, Geoff Jenkins and Jim Thome finally off the books, already have $97.75 million committed to 11 players in 2010: Greg Dobbs ($1.35 million), Cole Hamels ($6.65 million), Ryan Howard ($19 million), Brad Lidge ($11.5 million), Ryan Madson ($4.5 million), Jamie Moyer ($8.75 million), Jimmy Rollins ($8.5 million), J.C. Romero ($4 million), Chase Utley ($15 million), Jayson Werth ($7 million) and Raul Ibanez ($11.5 million).

The Phillies have nine potential free agents:

• Paul Bako
• Miguel Cairo
• Scott Eyre - Type B free agent
• Pedro Feliz (pending $5.5 million club option)
• Cliff Lee (pending $9 million club option) - Type A free agent
• Pedro Martinez
• Brett Myers
• Chan Ho Park - Type B free agent
• Matt Stairs

They have seven players eligible for salary arbitration:

• Joe Blanton
• Eric Bruntlett
• Clay Condrey
• Chad Durbin
• Carlos Ruiz
• Shane Victorino
• Tyler Walker

Let's look today at the two players with club options: Lee and Feliz.

We know the Phillies will pick up Lee's option, which pushes the payroll to 12 players at $106.75 million. Asked last night if he would like to talk about a long-term deal with the Phillies in the off-season, Lee said, "I haven't really thought about it. It's not up to me. It's up to ... yeah, I'd like to, but I can't force anything. That's out of my control." I'm guessing both sides will talk about an extension, but I also believe Lee is going to be very interested in testing the free-agent market after the 2010 season. If he pitches like he pitched the past two seasons, he is line for a major payday. I think a deal might be tough to reach, but I thought the same thing about Howard last offseason.

Do the Phillies pick up Feliz's option? They could, but if they don't there are options. Chone Figgins easily is the top free-agent third baseman on the market. Adrian Beltre, Juan Uribe, Mark DeRosa, Melvin Mora, Troy Glaus, Hank Blalock and Joe Crede also are out there. How good would Figgins be in this lineup? Fantastic. He hits, gets on base, runs and plays good defense. He sure would look good hitting between Rollins and Utley. Another name is Placido Polanco. He also would look good hitting between Rollins and Utley. He has played third before. In fact, he played there for the Phillies. But is he more comfortable at second base, where he has been since he joined the Tigers? He has not played third since 2005, so would the Phillies even think he can still play there?

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Jimmy Rollins said in Philadelphia last month when the Phillies clinched their third consecutive National League East championship that he wanted to wear Harry Kalas' jacket and shoes during another parade down Broad Street. He said in Denver when the Phillies clinched the NL Division Series that he hoped the Phillies could be known as the Little Red Machine, referring to the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds, the last team to win consecutive World Series.

Neither came true when the Yankees beat the Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series last night, 7-3.

A few things from the clubhouse before the Ny-Quil kicks in and I pass out:

• Pedro Martinez left the ballpark almost immediately after the game. A few reporters got him before he jumped on an elevator, which would have been fine except an obnoxious and perhaps drunk Yankees fan stood next to him and harrassed him. No security jumped in. Martinez indicated he was sick during his start. He left before he could be asked about his future. Rich Dubee said he thinks Martinez could pitch effectively through an entire season. We'll see what his future is with the Phillies, but I tend to think another team will offer him more money than the Phillies would be willing to commit.
• Brett Myers and Scott Eyre both said they would like to be back. Both are free agents. Eyre, who is considering retirement, said he would play only for the Phillies. Myers, who could be a starter or reliever elsewhere, said he likes both roles.
• Asked how he felt about his performance, Ryan Howard said, "I feel cool. I feel cool. I think the only thing you can do now is go home and relax and come back for Spring Training."
• "Are they better than we are? For this series they were," Charlie Manuel said of the Yankees. "They've got the trophy. We don't. We gave it up, but we're going to get it back."
• Manuel, on if he considered replacing Martinez with J.A. Happ to face Hideki Matsui in the third inning: "Pedro, he knows how to pitch. He's got experience. I had to let him face that guy. We can go down 4-1 and we can definitely rebound there. But I had to let him - it wasn't the time for me to take him out."

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Here is the Phillies' lineup for Game 6 of the World Series:

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Shane Victorino, CF
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Jayson Werth, RF
6. Raul Ibanez, DH
7. Pedro Feliz, 3B
8. Ben Francisco, LF
9. Carlos Ruiz, C

Of course, Pedro Martinez is on the mound.

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Charlie Manuel said Victorino (bruised right index finger) told him he can throw and hit, but he will be monitored closely. ... Manuel said everybody is available to pitch tonight, other than Cliff Lee. I suspect we won't see Cole Hamels, but Manuel didn't rule out the possibility. ... Feliz is hitting seventh because he went 1-for-3 with a double against Andy Pettitte in Game 3.

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Charlie Manuel sounded like a man who is leaning toward Cole Hamels in Game 7, if the World Series gets that far.

"I think when we sit down and measure out everything and we talk it over ... that more than likely might be exactly what we're going to do," Manuel said. "But at the same time, like I told Hamels last night, I'm going to think about everything. We'll sit down and I'll come up with who's going to pitch. But right now, we're going to play tomorrow's game. We don't look back and we don't look ahead."

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Pedro Martinez entertained again during his press conference. Asked about Red Sox fans rooting for the Phillies in the World Series, he said, "I know that they don't like the Yankees to win, not even in Nintendo games."

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Manuel said Shane Victorino is day-to-day after brusing his right index finger in Game 5 last night. He also said Joe Blanton, who started Game 4, is available to pitch in relief.

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The chart to the left shows the teams that have overcome 3-2 deficits to win a World Series. Only six of those 18 teams had to win two consecutive games on the road like the Phillies do: the 1926 Cardinals, 1934 Cardinals, 1952 Yankees, 1958 Yankees, 1968 Tigers and 1979 Pirates.

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The Phillies are 2-4 in elimination games in World Series history.

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Since 1982, teams with a 3-2 lead are just 5-8 in Game 6.

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Yankees manager Joe Girardi just announced that left-hander Andy Pettitte will pitch Game 6 of the World Series tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte will be pitching on short rest.

Girardi said after Game 5 last night that he would ask Pettitte how he felt before he made a decision. He said the conversation went something like this:

"How do you feel?"

"Great."

Pettitte is 4-6 with a 4.16 ERA on short rest in his career, although he has not pitched on short rest since 2006 with Houston. It could be risky.

"We're still very comfortable doing it," Girardi said.

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Cole Hamels and Brett Myers are friends.

They hang out at home and on the road. Hamels occasionally drives Myers to the ballpark. They planned to have dinner tonight with their wives in New York.

"He's my buddy," Myers said today.

Myers, Hamels and a Phillies official disputed a Yahoo! Sports report that he and Hamels had a "tense confrontation" in the Phillies clubhouse following Game 5 of the World Series. Two media members (here and here) were witnesses and disputed the report.

"The bottom line is nothing happened and nothing ever will happen between us," Myers said.

"People don't understand how easy-going both of us are and what good friends both of us are," Hamels said. "I didn't even know this had turned into a big deal until about 10 minutes ago. I actually had called Brett this morning to see if he could take me to the field."

Here is what happened, according to Myers, Hamels and Phillies director of baseball communications Greg Casterioto.

Casterioto asked Myers if he had seen Hamels, who had requested a meeting with Charlie Manuel.

"He quit," Myers cracked.

That is a common response from Myers and others in the Phillies clubhouse when somebody asks where somebody is. A few minutes later as Hamels and Casterioto stood in front of Hamels' locker, Myers walked past and said, "What are you doing here? I thought you quit?"

Hamels replied with an expletive, which took Myers off guard.

"When you say, 'Manny being Manny,' or something like that, well, Brett was being Brett," Manuel said. "Brett likes to throw that jab at you, and sometimes it doesn't matter who's around, and I think people when they hear that sometimes, they don't know how to take it. I think that's what happened. I think that was just actually Brett playing around, messing with him."

Hamels probably is sensitive to the word "quit" these days after he told reporters following Game 3 of the World Series that he couldn't wait for the season to end. Myers said he was unaware of Hamels' comments following Game 3, although the comments were widespread and had upset some players inside the Phillies clubhouse.

Casterioto walked Hamels away from Myers, but not because he said he worried about the incident escalating. He said he needed to bring Hamels into Manuel's office. Myers pulled Hamels aside to apologize.

"I apologized for really bad timing," Myers said. "I also told him that he was talking to the master of people taking things out of context, so he shouldn't worry what people think or write. I told him that if we get to Game 7 and he gets to pitch and he dominates, nobody will give a crap about what he said."

Myers said he has talked with teammates about Hamels' comments.

"I know Cole," he said. "He didn't mean what he said. I know him. I talk with him about stuff. I probably know him better than most guys on the team. What he said? That's not him. I know he didn't mean it that way."

Manuel sounded like he would have Hamels pitch Game 7, if the World Series gets that far, but he would not commit. He also said he liked what he heard from Hamels when they met for about 15 minutes in his office.

"I know Hamels," Manuel said. "I've been a Hamels guy ever since I seen him pitch in (Single A) Lakewood. I never, ever -- I want you to listen to this -- I never, ever questioned his mental toughness because he's just as tough as anybody on our team. And I mean that. That part I've never, ever doubted. There's definitely no quit in him, and I know he shows emotions at times, and he's had like a freakish year and he's going through a bad time, but at the same time he'll get through it, and he'll be the pitcher that you saw last year. That pitcher that you've been seeing for the last couple years, that's who Hamels is. He is a gamer and he's a fighter."

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If the Phillies win Game 6, who pitches Game 7?

I think it is going to be Cole Hamels, but with a very short leash.

Hamels talked at length last night about his comments after Game 3 that he couldn't wait for the season to end. It was a terrible thing to say, but his comments also were taken out of context. He initially was asked if he would like to pitch Game 7, considering how things fell apart for him. He said he would. He said he wanted redemption, and that he hoped everybody would have faith in him that he could do the job. Then Hamels got asked what he would think if he did not get a chance to pitch again this season. That is when he said he couldn't wait for the season to end. Like I said, a terrible choice of words, but he wasn't saying, "Gee, I can't wait to book a trip to Mexico."

Hamels said he spoke with Charlie Manuel before Game 5 to explain himself.

"I didn't even know what I said or put out there," Hamels said. "It was not what I was thinking. Sometimes you talk and you try to be as honest as possible and connect to people and you say things you didn't really mean. I would never be here if I ever quit on anything. If I was ever too tired not to go through with any decision I would not be standing here.

"I think Charlie knows me. I think he's managed me for quite a few years. I think the only doubt it left in people's minds is the fans. That hurts because I love the city of Philadelphia. I play as hard as I possibly can. ... I wasn't able to sleep for the past couple nights because of that. ... I'll never ever quit. I want to play this game until somebody takes it away from me."

A report last night that Brett Myers and Hamels had a heated exchange has been refuted by a Phillies official and a media member present when it happened. (Myers couldn't immediately be reached to comment.) Myers walked past Hamels and said, "What are you doing here? I thought you quit?" An important note: Myers and Hamels are friends. It seems to be a case of a bad joke at a bad time because when Hamels responded with an expletive, some took this as the two sniping at each other other.

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Well, the Phillies have forced a Game 6.

Pedro vs. Pettitte on Wednesday, unless the Yankees don't like the idea of pitching Pettitte on short rest.

I'll have more later, but I'm wiped ...

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