IS TAKING DOC TO SEE THE DOC
TORONTO -- His swollen right hand is wrapped and a large band-aid remains on his chin, so Cole Hamels is sticking with the fight stories. It's more glamorous than being hit by a line drive and a nasty infection.
"Well, I got really pissed at Chooch and I got him in the tunnel," Hamels said, laughing. "I missed him. He ducked and I hit the wall."
Hamels can smile about the injury that forced him to leave Thursday's game after four innings because it's not very serious. The Phillies cannot say for sure Hamels will start as scheduled Tuesday, but the lefthander is confident he can do it.
"I'm just not the type of guy," Hamels said, "that's going to shy away from wanting to play or would quit on the team."
Pitching coach Rich Dubee said it's even possible Hamels will skip his between-starts bullpen and still start Tuesday. It wouldn't be the worst thing for his heavy workload, Dubee said.
The decision to pull Hamels was Dubee's, along with the athletic training staff. Hamels said he wanted to stay in. "He wasn't too happy," Dubee said.
"But that's just not my call," Hamels said. "With the competitiveness we all have, I wanted to go out. I knew I was pitching well. I felt good. No matter how bad this hurts, if they didn't hit it back at me, I probably would have done all right."
Hamels said the liner off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez hit him square on the lower palm. It didn't catch any of the glove. Just flesh.
"That's why it's so bruised," Hamels said. "It hit solid meat. I had some stitching [from the baseball]."
The biggest concern will be Hamels' ability to field and defend himself on the mound from comebackers. Hamels said he does not believe that will be an issue.
"I guess it's what a catcher feels 24/7," Hamels said. "I don't envy them."
BOCOCK OUTRIGHTED. The Phillies freed a spot on the 40-man roster by outrighting minor-league shortstop Brian Bocock. It was Bocock's second outright, so he had the option of declining it and becoming a free agent. He did not, and will remain at triple-A Lehigh Valley.
It's a paper move that trims the 40-man roster to 39, providing the Phillies flexibility if they wish to add a player not on the 40-man roster.
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Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
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