Has the Phillies’ Cole Hamels Let Success Go to His Head?

It’s the clinching game for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 National League Championship Series, and their 2008 ace takes the mound.

With two outs in the first inning, Andre Ethier stands in.

Hamels gets the sign from catcher Carlos Ruiz.

Fastball, away.

Hamels shakes him off.

TBS’s cameras zoom in to show Ruiz again, dropping his index finger, pressed against his left leg.

Fastball, away.

Cut back to reveal Hamels, dropping his chin in disgust, sighing, and stepping off the mound.

Ruiz quickly visits the mound to quickly to diffuse this little temper tantrum. 

As a parent of a two-year-old boy, I’ve learned redirection is sometimes the easiest way to regain control of situation when the little one objects to daddy’s request.

So Ruiz retreats to his crouch behind the plate, and sets up outside.

Except Hamels misses his mark.

Mr. Ether did not.

And all of a sudden, it’s 1-0 Dodgers and Cole Hamels looks like he’s thinking, “OMG, whatever,” prompting my buddy Thom—also a die-hard Phillies fan—to text me, “Cole is such a bitch.”

In the bottom of the inning, while the Phillies are starting to mount their comeback, TBS cameras catch Hamels staring out on the field, just shaking his head.

Dude, grow up.

This isn’t the first time this season—or even this series—that Hamels has shown a lack of maturity on the mound.

In Game One against the Dodgers, Hamels threw his arms up in the air when Chase Utley was unable to turn a sure doubleplay ball.

Back in the NLDS against Colorado, Hamels slapped his glove at the ball when Ryan Howard threw the ball away after a good pickoff move from the pitcher should have had Phillie-killer Carolos Gonzalez picked off.

Manuel was quoted as saying he was going to have a word with the young lefthander.

“First of all, I think Cole is more professional than that, and I think that right there is kind of being in control of yourself, and I know he’s much better than that,” Manuel told Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia.

“You can’t show up a teammate and I did that,” Hamels said. “I walked back to the dugout and said, ‘Oops I hope nobody saw that.’”

Yeah, we saw it Cole.

And apparently, you didn’t learn your lesson yet.

What’s with this guy?

Last season, the Phillies rode their now-25-year-old left-handed wunderkind all the way to its first championship in 28 years.

Hamels was brilliant last postseason, evidenced by his NLCS and World Series MVP awards.

But 2009 has been anything but brilliant.

It certainly started good enough for the tall, dark and lanky left-hander. He signed a three-year, $20.5 million contract on January 17 of this year.

He’s been on Letterman. He has his own insurance commercial.

And, oh yeah, he’s married to the former Heidi Strobel. You know, the blonde bombshell Playboy pinup and Survivor castaway.

The two just welcomed their first child into the world, Caleb, on October 9. Heidi went into labor during Cole’s start against Colorado.

Of course, watching Hamels pitch lately has nearly sent me into labor.

And I’m a dude.

Hamels went 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA in this past regular season—a far cry from his 4-0 postseason last October.

Perhaps it’s frustration with his own performance that’s causing Hamels to act out?

Was it nerves about his impending fatherhood? I remember my head wasn’t so clear in the months leading up to the birth of my first child. The Eagles’ Donovan McNabb seemed to suffer from the same symptoms leading up to the birth of his twins at the end of last year.

Is it now sleep deprivation from a screaming kid at night?

Is it a lack of focus because he was able to reach the mountaintop so young, he just expects it will happen again without putting in the same amount of work?

That would surprise me, because the rest of his Phillies teammates seem to have realized what had to be done to return to the World Series for this second consecutive season.

Whatever the case, Cole is going to get the ball again this World Series. The odds of a Phillies repeat increase significantly if he can regain the magical form he displayed last year.

His nickname is “Hollywood” after all—he likes the bright lights.

But that name also offers a cautionary tale, for Hollywood has seen many a bright, rising star come crashing down into obscurity after getting caught up in the limelight.

Hamels would be wise to remember what got him to the summit in the first place.

 

Information gathered from Comcast SportsNet, ESPN.com, Rotoworld.com, Wikipedia and Philly.com contributed to this article

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Ryan Howard’s Legend Continues to Grow, Number of Doubters Begins to Slow

It was the kind of moment where legends are born.

Two outs.

Two on.

Two strikes.

Trailing by two.

The stage was set. Except that the man standing in the batters box had already started writing his legendary story years before.

Rookie of the Year.

Fastest to 100 home runs.

National League MVP.

And his most recent accolade, 2008 World Series Champion.

Quite a resume for any baseball career.  Yet Ryan Howard is just warming up.

So when Howard and the Phillies fell behind in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game Four of the National League Divisional Series, there was no sense of panic.

Only steely resolve.

“Get me to the plate, boys,” Howard told his teammates. 

But getting Howard to the plate was no guarantee.

Rockies’ closer Huston Street had been all but automatic during the season, blowing only two saves all season. Yet, the night before in Game Three, the Phillies tagged Street for the loss.

An opening for a confident, battle-tested squad to exploit.

But trailing by two, Howard would need his teammates to step up to the plate.

Literally.

Two years ago, the Phillies didn’t know how to succeed in a situation like this.  And a white-hot Rockies squad swept them right out of the 2007 Division Series.

But last season, the Phillies’ young core of Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino learned how put a championship run together, capturing the team’s first World Series win since the Reagan Administration.

So as the team returned to the dugout for the top of the ninth of Game Four, after surrendering the lead to the Rockies that they had held for most of the game, confidence never lagged.

It was almost as if the Phillies had the Rockies right where they wanted them.

Rollins legged out an infield single.

Victorino gets on with a fielders choice.

Utley works a walk.

And then in steps Howard.

They got him to the plate, now he had to deliver.

After winning the 2008 World Series, the Phillies rewarded Howard with a 3-year, $54 million contract extension, avoiding another embarrassing contract arbitration.

An arbitrator had awarded Howard a record $10 million deal the year before, and many fans in Philadelphia wondered if the notorious stingy Philadelphia ownership would be able to afford to keep its young, talented core together.

Some even wondered if Howard was worth it.

He strikes out too much.

His defense is lacking.

Amazing what a World Series Championship can do to change perspective.

And perspective is what Howard now had, stepping in with the game on the line.

He had been seeing the ball well all series.

He knew how the Rockies wanted to pitch him.

Away.

Away.

Away.

All the while, Howard patiently awaited his pitch.

And then it happened.

Bang.

The ball dropped just inside the right field fence, hit the padding and died on the warning track.

Victorino scored.

Utley scored.

Game tied.

And Ryan Howard, standing at second. 

That is, until Jayson Werth chases him home with the soon-to-be game-winning run.

Another riveting chapter in a storybook that has only begun to be written for Ryan Howard.

What’s to come remains to be seen, but it promises to be a real page-turner.

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Phillies’ Charlie Manuel: A Class Act

With two outs in the top of the 9th, Charlie Manuel emerged from the top step of the dugout.

The Phillies, sporting a 10-3 lead over the Houston Astros, stood poised to claim their third straight division title.

Scott Eyre, returning from the disabled list, had quickly recorded the first two outs, getting former Phillie Michael Bourne and Miguel Tejada.

But here comes Uncle Charlie, waving for the bullpen.

There goes the Philadelphia faithful, waving the white rally towels.

And out comes Brad Lidge to collect the final out.

The fans loved it.

The bullpen loved it.

Even Eyre loved it.

And one pitch later, the Phillies had gained admittance into the 2009 playoff dance and a chance to repeat as World Series Champions.  And the man who closed out that last victory last year was the on the bump again to collect the final out.

The way this season has gone for Brad Lidge, you would have excused Manuel if he had just left Eyre in there.

After a perfect 2008 — both regular season and postseason — Lidge’s 2009 season has been a perfect nightmare, blowing 11 saves to lead the majors.

But Charlie Manuel stuck with Lidge through most of the season, giving him every chance to regain that dominant form that propelled the Phillies to its first championship in 28 years.

It never happened.

So a week ago, with time running out on the season, Manuel made the tough decision to remove Lidge from the closer role.

It wasn’t Manuel’s first difficult decision this season.

With the emergence of vintage Pedro Martinez bolstering the Phillies rotation, Manuel had to tell Jamie Moyer that despite leading the team in wins he was heading to the bullpen.

It was a difficult decision to make.  Manuel is fiercely loyal, and he has the utmost respect for Moyer, whose season just ended last night with a just-awful-sounding tendon tear in his groin and abdomen.

Ouch.

Last season, Manuel won a World Series, and lost his mother during the campaign.  But you never saw him get too high or too low.

Through the tough decisions, Manuel has remained unflappable.

Through the losing streaks, Manuel maintained a steady hand.

And whether the gesture tonight helps Lidge to reclaim his masterful form remains to be seen.  But what was seen is a man that’s been around long enough to know how to play the game.

And play it with class.

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Cliff Lee Trade: A Coup For Philadelphia Phillies’ GM Amaro

Pundits predicted Phillies GM Ruben Amaro’s tenure would be defined by how he handled this year’s trading deadline.

The verdict?  This guy’s good.

Amaro managed to wrangle the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner away from Cleveland.  And didn’t have to give up possible rookie-of-the-year candidate J.A. Happ, who is 7-1 on the season.

He didn’t have to part with Kyle Drabek, the crown jewel of the farm system.  He got to keep top prospects Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor.

And now he gets to add Cliff Lee to his rotation of reigning World Series MVP Cole Hamels, Happ, Joe Blanton and either Pedro Martinez or Jamie Moyer.

All this for a team that is now 19-5 in July and sporting a seven game lead in the NL East.

Naysayers are sulking, complaining we didn’t get the top guy available.  Fair enough.  But when have the Phillies EVER gotten the top guy? 

Normally it’s a “middle-tier” guy, like Kyle Lohse, or “Average Joe” Blanton.  The fact that the Phillies were even in the conversation to get the top guy is out of character.

Well, at least it was until the Phillies became 2008 World Champions.  When else in team history has Plan B arrived sporting his Cy Young Award? 

Not to mention the shot-in-the-dark Cy Young winner in Pedro Martinez that’s getting into shape up in Allentown?  Sure, Pedro’s not the same guy he was ten years ago.  But if he can pitch as well or better than Rodrigo Lopez—who’s done a great job for the Phils—combined with the Phil’s potent offense, you could be looking at the first NL team to repeat as World Series Champs since the Big Red Machine in the mid ’70s.

This deal follows the offseason signing of Raul Ibañez, who is among the league leaders in home runs and started the All-Star Game.

Not bad for a rookie GM.

Can’t wait to see what he does for an encore.

Phillies’ Brad Lidge on DL

Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge has been placed on the 15-day DL.  According to philly.com, the move is retroactive to June 7.

Lidge had been having issues with a balky knee.

After a perfect 2008 season as postseason, Lidge has been anything but thus far in 2009.  He’s blown six save opportunities, including two against the Dodgers this past weekend.

Look for Ryan Madson to set into the closer’s role for the Phillies key matchup this week with the N.Y. Mets.

If not for the two blown saves this past weekend, the Phils would be riding a 10-game win streak into the Big Apple.  As it stands, the Figthin’s are three-games up on the Mets going into this series.

It remains to be seen whether rest will allow Lidge to regain his previously dominant form; however, it will spare skipper Charlie Manuel the unpleasant task of demoting one of his World Series heroes—for now.

Don’t Look Now–Phillies Are on a Roll!

They don’t call him “Hollywood” for nothing.

Cole Hamels continued his mastery of the Dodgers last night at Chavez Ravine, needing fewer than 100 pitches to post a five-hit, 3-0 shutout that extends the Fightin’ Phils’ winning streak to seven games.

The win also increased the team’s lead in the NL East to four games over the NY Mets.

The Phillies now have the second-best record in baseball (32-20), behind only the Dodgers, and have the league’s best road record (20-6).

The defending World Series champions (or WFC’s, if you prefer) also have something else going for them: momentum.

While many, including ESPN’s Chris Singleton, worry about the Phillies rotation—which, admittedly, has one of the highest ERAs in the majors—I see a team that appears to be hitting its stride just in time for the summer push.

In years past, a starting rotation that struggled as badly as this one had early on (now down to a 4.79 ERA, ranked 25th in the majors) would have meant a terribly slow start, leaving the team facing a very long climb over the summer.

The bats have come alive this season, led by offseason steal Raul Ibanez, former MVP Ryan Howard and future MVP Chase Utley.

And now, the pitching may be shaping up for another run at postseason glory.

Hamels appears to have shaken off his early-season injuries, and may be poised for a dominant second half.

Moyer finally got past win No. 250, which may have led to him pressing a little bit—not that he would ever admit it.

Chan Ho Park (or “Duck,” as Bill Conlin likes to call him) is now out of harm’s way, safely tucked in the bullpen for mop-up duty.

J.A. Happ has stepped in nicely and is looking to play the role of Kyle Kendrick (pre-September).

“Average Joe” Blanton may have a 5.86 ERA, but he’s 4-3.  In fact, all the Phillies current starters are over .500, except for Moyer (4-5).

Then there’s this Bastardo kid that seems to like pitching in the majors and may stick around for a while.

Not to mention that the Phillies managed to survive the 50-game suspension of J.C. Romero and early-season hiccups from closer Brad Lidge.

And, after all that, here they sit: first place in the NL East, second-best record in baseball.

If this is how good they are with so-so pitching, imagine what lies ahead if they get their act together.

And they seem to be doing just that.

 

Should Ryan Howard Be a Phillie for Life?

Ryan Howard launched his seventh career grand slam last Monday night in St. Louis. The bomb propelled the Phillies to a 6-1 win over the Cardinals and kept them neck and neck with the Marlins in the tight NL East.

But the slam also put Howard in unique company—something this 29-year-old superstar should be accustomed to by now.

Howard tied Hall-of-Famer Mike Schmidt for most grand slams as a member of the Phillies (seven). 

Think about that for a second.

Schmidt launched 548 career home runs over nearly 17 years. Only seven of those were grand slams. Michael Jack also knocked in 1,595 RBI.

Howard now has 182 career home runs in just over four seasons. The 2005 Rookie of the Year was already the fastest to 100 home runs in MLB history. His 518 RBI are nearly one third Schmidt’s total amount already. He’s on a pace that, should he play the same 17 years Schmidt did, that he could hit an astounding 728 home runs.

A lot can happen between now and then, just ask Ken Grifffey, Jr.

There are more parallels between Howard and Schmidt:

• Both are World Series Champions (1980 for Schmidt, 2008 for Howard).
• Both have been National League MVP’s (1980, 1983, 1986 for Schmidt, 2006 for Howard).
• Both have Silver Slugger awards (Schmidt had six, Howard has one).
• And both have racked up the strikeouts. Schmidt is seventh all-time, with 1,883 strikeouts (oddly enough, the Phillies were founded in 1883).  Howard has 717. 

While that last one is probably a distinction Howard would rather not share, here is one that he should share:

Schmidt played every game of his career as a Phillie.

The Phillies’ brass, including Pat Gillick and new GM Reuben Amaro, have done a nice job locking up players like Chase Utley and World Series MVP Cole Hamels to long-term deals, effectively “locking up” the young core of the team.

Howard needs to be included in that core.

The Phillies have come a long way from their frugal past, which was best illustrated by the infamous “small market” comment by Bill Giles. But their handling of Howard has been curious.

They learned their lesson the hard way when Howard beat the Phillies for a record $10 million arbitration award before the 2008 season. This offseason, the club bought out the rest of Howard’s arbitration years. 

Let’s just say Ryan can afford a few more $5 foot-longs. $54 million over three years goes a long way.

But what happens after 2011?

The good news for the Phillies is that they have time to wait.

And watch.

And see if Howard continues to deliver.

But if the past four seasons are any indication of what is to come, Howard will be owed a lot of money.

And he will be worth every penny.