A healthy Hamels ready to go
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A healthy Hamels ready to go
Ryan Lawrence, Daily News Staff Writer
After knocking down a report from earlier this month that he had to be backed off his offseason throwing program because of shoulder soreness, Cole Hamels addressed the on-the-field hurdle he and the Phils will have to face in 2013.
For the first time since he was a young, unproven major leaguer, Hamels and the Phils aren’t the favorites in the National League East.
Your thoughts, Cole?
“Honestly… We didn’t win,” Hamels said before the annual Philadelphia Sportswriters Banquet in Cherry Hill on Monday night. “The other teams were ahead of us. We have a lot to improve on and we have a lot that we have to do to get back to being a winning team. And that’s up to the players. Ultimately we have to stay healthy and play the game we know we’re capable of doing. We have (other) teams now that have the confidence, that have the accolades to show they did their job and they did it well. So we have to come in there and just try to play the game the right way.”
And some can say that since the season ended, both of those teams, Washington and Atlanta, did more to improve than the Phillies this winter.
“We just have a lot to prove,” Hamels said. “I think ultimately we can’t take the back seat and hope that we can coast through. We really have to go after it from the very beginning and not really hope we can play catch up. These teams now, they’re a lot better, the players are a lot better in the league, and they’re not going to allow you to really catch up. They’re not going to fail. That’s ultimately where… sometimes pressure gets to young guys and they’re not young anymore. They have talent. So they can carry themselves better. So we just have to fight from the very beginning to the end.”
Earlier this month, a CSNPhilly.com reported that Hamels had been experiencing shoulder soreness earlier this offseason and that he had to back off his routine. But Hamels answered those questions Monday as if it was news to him.
Hamels is headed to Clearwater next week and has already thrown three bullpen sessions in preparation. His fourth is tomorrow morning.
“I feel good,” Hamels said, “and I’m ready to go.”
Reading between the lines, it seems the 2012 Phils bought into Manuel's nonsense that they just needed to keep afloat until Utley and Howard returned to the lineup and then they could surpass the unproven Nats and take first place in the NL East. When will they learn that a win in April is as meaningful as a win in September?— DPinDC- Or maybe Cole was just stating the obvious. Cholly isn't gonna blast his players in front of the media. He ain't Ozzie Guillen. I think you're reading too much into that particular comment by Cole. — vafan
- Reading between the lines, Hamels seems to be saying that the 2012 Phillies were a soft bunch of punks resting on their laurels. Howard and Utley especially need to step up. Guys like D. Brown and Mayberry need to get tougher mentally. The pitchers need to stay healthy and play through minor injuries--see Halladay. Only J-Roll has his mind right, but he may actually need to tone it down a bit (i.e., aggressiveness at the plate) to become more effective. The rest of the Philly infield alumni just need to become harder--money makes some people soft. And, Ruf needs to be given a fair shot. — DiggityWak
- I like that a team leader like Hamels sees this and realizes the need to play hard from Day 1. I can only hope that he stresses this to his teammates every day. Play with a chip on your shoulder, like you're insulted that people are counting you out. Come out strong. 14 days until pitchers & catchers. Let's get it going.— Dave14
- When will Charlie realize that Utley and Howard aren't (and never again will be) the Utley and Howard of 2006-2009....especially when they were both coming off of MAJOR injuries.— SteveS11
- The injuries did impact the way Howard and Utley performed last season. After they returned to the line up, which was by then missing Pence and Victorino, as well as Polanco and Ruiz for a big chunk, they played winning baseball. M. Young is a way better hitter than Polanco or Frandsen. D. Young has already been ALCS MVP and had a season that he drove in over 110 runs. No player on the gnats or braves has a single season better for RBI production than Young's best and he is only 27. Howard drove in more runs on one good leg after the All-Star break last season than Pujols did on two. The team has a great pitching staff, a lineup full of proven hitters and what just might be the best bullpen in the NL. The defense has a few soft spots, but 100 wins is not out of the question. I predict Division title 6 in 7 years. This season I don't think the gnats idiot GM will even have to do something moronic to help blow their chances, like he did last year with Strasburg.— Paul SoTX
- Love Hamels' straight talk. Can't wait to see Cole and the Phils playing with a chip on their shoulder this year.— vafan
- I don't know about anyone else but I saw Cole's statement about playing hard from game 1, as a direct dig at JNoRoll and his too cool, I'm better than you attitude and I'll turn it on when I need to smirk. He also said some other very enlightening things. Foremost, was the admitting that in the victorious years they just coasted along, waiting for the other teams to make mistakes, feel the pressure and fold. Some games it wasn't that they beat the other teams, only that they waited until the other teams beat themselves. That doesn't happen anymore, hasn't since '09. Other teams have the Phils figured out and go right at them now. It's the Phils that make the mistakes and cave now. A big example? The Big Piece and his chasing everything that a pitcher throws within 6 feet of the plate. JWerth more times than not just kept seeing pitches and fouling off pitches until drawing a walk or getting the pitcher to cave and make a mistake which he then hammered. This team doesn't do that, not anymore, not for 2-3 years now. That was what prompted Amaro's now famous, "we have to change our approach" rant. The league and the teams/pitchers made adjustments to this team, the team/players have never adjusted back. It's about time now that they adjust back or it'll be too late, very soon.— Mark1npt
- Hamels is dead on. The Mets choked one year. Then the Braves. And we kept getting into the playoffs. Last year, too many injuries and improved competition in the division = no playoffs.
Lesson learned? We'll see, and the competition did get better. But Halladay, Utley, M.Young, Ruiz, Lannan, D.Young, Kendrick, Nix -- all in contract years, playing for their livelihoods. With the first 3 at least, that's an insult: They are HOF-worthy competitors regardless.
It will be a fascinating season. I look forward to it.
— eman 
Fun Fact-o-The Day
Phillies record vs NL East
2008 43-29
2009 44-28
2010 44-28
2011 43-29
2012 33-39
... gotta beat your division if you wanna win your division. Starting APRIL 1st, 7:05pm vs the Braves.
Go Phils.— zubzub- Let's hope Cole can continue averaging a strike out an inning again this season similar to what he did last season. He can not afford to pitch to contact. He must keep the ball out of play as much of possible to get outs if he has any chance to finally become a 20 game winner. It will not be easy though since he will likely be pitching in front of the worst fielding team the Phils have put together in his major league career. Good luck keeping his pitch count down with the likely defensive problems on the corners.— Dull
- I'm likin' what I'm hearin'. Cole is the first to toss the 1st ball off the bow. No longer a "shoe in", the Phillies have something to prove not only to themselves, but to the rest of the league. Halladay is already in camp getting ready to prove that when healthy, he is the best pitcher in baseball. Utley is keeping his knees in motion and ready to prove that when on the field, he is an elite 2B. Howard is already in the cages, trying to shut up everyone that thinks he can't knock out at least 35 HR's in a full season. Michael Young is ready to show Texas that he IS still an everyday MLB ball player that can handle the bat. Cliff Lee is ready to prove that he IS worth that contract everyone was oooing and aaahing when he resigned. And don't forget, Darin Ruf want to prove to ALL you neysayers that he CAN hit MLB pitching. I'm hoping they all have large chips on their shoulders and want to prove all you negative commentators wrong. Go get em Phillies!— drhoffman
- You want a leader on this team? You've got him. It's Hamels and he doesn't mince words. He proves it on the field. It sure would be nice if some of these Manuel-pampered prima donnas, between massages, cuticures, and pedicures, would start thinking about winning games instead of posing as ballplayers.— ghost of callison
- Funny how some people used to view Hamels. He's really one of the toughest, most competitive guys on the team.— s
- ''For the first time since he was a young, unproven major leaguer, Hamels and the Phils aren’t the favorites in the National League East.'' Wrong. In 2007 and 2008, the Mets were favorites and choked both times.— EL Zorro
