Phillies, Thinking Long Term, Are Right to Save Cole Hamels for the Home Opener

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Vance Worley. Hmm, one of these players are not like the others. It should be Halladay, Lee and Cole Hamels, but the Philadelphia Phillies held Hamels out of the third spot in their rotation for the final game of their season-opening series in Pittsburgh so he could pitch Monday’s home opener at Citizens Bank Park.

Did the Phillies do this for their fans or for Hamels?

Perhaps for both.

Surely, the fans would rather see their A-list star toe the rubber for the first home game. Even though it’s only one of 81 home dates, the home opener takes on greater psychological importance. You want to start out on the right foot.

As for Hamels, it’s a sign from the organization that they care about their former No. 1 draft pick and 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP who, you may have heard, is in the final year of his contract.

The Phillies are acutely aware that last week the San Francisco Giants shelled out $112.5 million to Matt Cain for five years and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ new owners may want to reassert themselves as the dominant team in the Los Angeles market by signing a marquee free agent.

Hamels is from San Diego. His wife has been on TV as a contestant on Survivor, so there is reason to wonder if the lefty may want to return to southern California.

The Hamels have put down some roots in the Delaware Valley in the form of charity, with their foundation contributing generously to Philadelphia schools. But beyond that, how can any city compete with the emotional pull of home?

While Phillies fans feel ownership of Hamels since he was drafted by the team and came up through the system, ownership knows that Hamels (28 years old) has a much longer shelf life than their two other ace pitchers, Halladay (35 next month) and Lee (34 in August).

As for comparisons to the 27-year-old Cain, who was selected eight spots after Hamels in the first round of the 2002 amateur draft, the numbers are strikingly similar except for W-L. Hamels: 74-54, 3.39 ERA, 1091 Ks, .237 BA, 10 CG. Cain: 69-73, 3.35 ERA, 1085 Ks, .227 BA, 13 CG (stats do not include Cain’s Sunday start).

So, yes, the Phillies can expect to write a huge check if they want to keep Hamels. But he’s proven that he’s worth it, even if paying him means paying Major League Baseball’s luxury tax.

Besides, Worley (6IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 5K) pitched well enough to win on Sunday. Now if the Phillies can only buy themselves some middle relief.

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Phillies vs. Pirates: Roy Halladay Looks Sharp as Philadelphia Edges Pittsburgh

For the second consecutive game, the Philadelphia Phillies and Roy Halladay played a 1-0 game. In Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, they lost to St. Louis. Today the Phils came out on the right side, winning their season opener in Pittsburgh.

Sure, it’s only one game, but if it’s any indication, the Phillies pitchers better be nearly perfect. Against Pirates starter Erik Bedard and two relievers, the Phils managed eight hits and the game’s lone run, courtesy of a Carlos Ruiz sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.

Fortunately, Roy Halladay was his usual All-Star self, holding the Bucs scoreless while surrendering only two hits. Both of those came before Halladay had even recorded an out, the latter on a swinging bunt that died along the third base line.

In other words, Halladay spotted the Pirates two hits, then combined with closer Jonathan Papelbon to no-hit Pittsburgh. The only Pirates to get on after the first two batters were hit batsmen.

Jimmy Rollins, batting third, surprised the Pirates—and perhaps the entire Delaware Valley—by bunting for a single in his first at-bat. Perhaps he’s embracing small ball in the absence of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

The Phillies defense was strong, with LF John Mayberry Jr., 1B Ty Wigginton and 2B Freddy GIDP—er, Galvis—making some nice plays behind Halladay. Unfortunately, Galvis grounded into a pair of double plays.

Papelbon did what he’s supposed to in his first regular-season game as a Phillie: He put the Pirates down one-two-three, striking out the first player he faced.

So, is the glass half-full or half-empty? Was it great that the starting pitching, defense and relief pitching were exceptional, or worrisome that the offense could only push across one run against the Pirates?

Hey, it’s only one game.

And it’s a better result than the last 1-0 game the Phillies played.

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Philadelphia Phillies Season Will Not Include the Commentary of Bill Conlin

When the Philadelphia Phillies report to Clearwater, Florida on Saturday to begin Spring Training, it will mark the first time that Bill Conlin will not be there to cover the team, either as a beat reporter or a columnist, since 1965. 

For those awaking from a long coma, Conlin resigned from the Philadelphia Daily News in December after learning that the Philadelphia Inquirer was about to publish a story accusing him of molesting four children in the 1970s. Shortly thereafter, the number of accusers rose to seven, dating to the 1960s.

Conlin, through his attorney, said he would clear his name, but there will not be a trial. The statute of limitations passed.

Of course, one can draw his or her own conclusion from Conlin’s resignation and the fact that it seems rather preposterous that several people would conspire to accuse someone of such heinous crimes committed decades earlier.

The State of New Jersey, where the crimes were alleged to have occurred, needs to change the law. There should not be a time limit to prosecute anyone for molesting children. You cannot expect a 7-year-old to have the maturity, wherewithal, and courage to file charges.

Conlin, too, should want the statute of limitations lifted. If he is innocent, he should relish the opportunity to have his day in court to refute his accusers. But while sports have clearly defined winners and losers, here we just have accusations and denials, never to be resolved.

For those who looked to Conlin for the final say on a particular game or player transaction, we will miss not having the wealth of knowledge that he drew on. He was an encyclopedia of anecdotes, from trades that never happened to hotel bar fights that did.

Even if you never stepped foot in Clearwater, you looked forward to Conlin’s Chamber of Commerce-ish rundown of the best places to eat in that part of west central Florida. He made you feel like you were there, out of the winter cold, enjoying the 70º air.

Are we supposed to retroactively dislike his columns and his appearances on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters or Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia’s Daily News Live? Did the 1998 Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run battle not happen because we now know they were on steroids? Did we not all root for Tiger before the fall?

Yes, these are poor comparisons because cheating on your fans and cheating on your wife are not the same as molesting children. The similarity stems from investing time in someone, enjoying a person’s craft, only to be shocked after the fact by what he may have done.

It’s a shame that someone who had such a long, distinguished career, including induction into the writer’s wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, had his career end this way. It’s a shame that his readers who came to enjoy his distinct columns will no longer get his unique take on the events of the game.

But it’s a crime that there are seven people out there who allegedly had their lives inextricably altered as children who live with this reality every day and cannot do anything about it.

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Anatomy Of a Loss: Scenes From a World Series

During the course of a series, there are always a few plays that spell the difference between drinking champagne and drinking to forget. Here is a look back at four pivotal sequences that helped the New York Yankees win the 2009 World Series.

Game Three, bottom of the second inning

With one out and a 1-0 lead, the Phillies loaded the bases against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte. Here was a chance to bust the game open and knock Pettitte out early. Jimmy Rollins walked to make it 2-0. So far, so good.

But Shane Victorino swung at the first two pitches in the dirt. Chase Utley then struck out swinging to end the inning. The Phils put three on the board, but failed to deliver the knockout punch. 

Game Three, top of the fourth

With one out, Cole Hamels came unraveled after a questionable ball four to Mark Teixeira. Two pitches later, Alex Rodriguez homered off a FOX Sports camera; a hit that would’ve been a double a year-and-a-half earlier in that now quaint pre-replay era. Hamels got out of the inning, but wasn’t the same.

Five of the six batters he faced in the fifth reached base, including Pettitte who picked up a rare RBI. It was Hamels, not Pettitte who met an early shower giving up five runs in four and one-third, one year after winning the World Series MVP award.

Game Four, top of the ninth 

After Pedro Feliz’s two-out solo home run tied the game in the bottom of the eighth, it seemed like the Phillies were going to knot the series at two games apiece. Closer Brad Lidge came on to preserve the tie. 

With two outs, Johnny Damon singled. No big deal it seemed, but then the type of calamity that seems to only befall the Phillies happened. Because of a defensive shift, third baseman Feliz ran to cover second on Damon’s attempted steal. Damon was safe and noticing the vacant third base, kept running. Neither catcher Carlos Ruiz nor Lidge thought to cover the bag.

With Damon on third, Lidge may have been reluctant to use his nasty slider for the fear of a wild pitch scoring Damon. Instead, after plunking Teixeira, Lidge threw a fastball to Rodriguez who doubled and in the process, created the moment that will top all his highlight reels for eternity. That’s something that Phillies fans will have to live with like having the most losses in the history of professional sports.

Jorge Posada singled, extending the lead to third. Mariano Rivera, who would not have been pitching in a tied bottom of the ninth, threw a one-two-three inning. What seemed like an inevitable Phils win, turned into a 3-1 Yankees series lead.

Game Six, bottom of the third

After halving the Yankees lead to 2-1 in the top of the frame, the Phillies were looking for a shutdown inning from Pedro Martinez. Derek Jeter hit what appeared to be the second out, only Victorino misjudged the ball and trapped it for a single. After a Damon walk and a Teixeira hit-by-pitch, Martinez struck out Rodriguez. That should’ve been the end of the inning. But with the extra out created by Victorino’s fielding, Hideki Matsui hit a two-run single, RBIs three and four of ultimately a six RBI night.

And now, just like that, the season is over. Johnny Damon’s back-to-back swipes will take their rightful place in Phillies ignominy alongside 1964, Black Friday, and 15-14. For the Yankees, it’s World Series title No. 27, for the Phillies, it’s wait until last year.

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