Hamels speaks
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Hamels speaks
Andy Martino
Breaking news from Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.:
Cole Hamels will leave Clearwater tonight for the Philadelphia area to have his left elbow examined tomorrow by team doctor Michael Ciccotti. Amaro said that Hamels’ had complained of “a little bit of a persistent soreness” in the elbow. “We thought it was important at this time for Dr. Ciccotti to check it out,” Amaro said, while downplaying his concern.
The GM was asked if Hamels’ April 5 opening night start could be in jeopardy. "It's a possibility, I guess," Amaro said. "But again, we won't know anything until the doctor sees him. Right now he's still on course to do that. We'll see if there are any further issues.
“We thought it was important for Dr. Ciccotti to check him out and see if there is anything more serious than what we think it is. He'll decide once he sees him tomorrow morning if he needs to do any testing or any further testing. We did do a physical on him before we ended up finalizing the multiyear deal with him and felt comfortable with the diagnostics and such. But, you know, he's had a little bit of persistent soreness and we want to be cautious about it and have him checked out."
Hamels pitched four innings in a minor intrasquad game yesterday, and pitching coach Rich Dubee said afterward that “he did fine.”
“He was (fine),” Amaro said this morning. "But he's still got a little bit of soreness in there. We don't feel that it's serious, but again, I don't have a crystal ball. I can't look inside his elbow. We just want to be cautious, and we thought it was important that he sees our doctor in Philly."
Including the postseason, Hamels pitched 262 1/3 innings last season, by far the most of his career. In 2007, he spent time on the 15-day disabled list with a left elbow strain.
Amaro said that Hamels does not feel pain when he throws. "(The elbow) starts to get tight in between innings. It's more of a tightness than anything else… I don't believe he feels it when he throws."
Dr. Ciccotti will determine tomorrow morning if any further tests are necessary.
Hamels will apparently address the media later this morning, so keep checking.
UPDATE (10:01 AM): At about 9:45 AM, the Inquirer's Jim Salisbury saw Hamels long tossing at a distance of about 125 feet in the outfield at Bright House. The lefty is currently taking PFP (pitchers' fielding practice) with the team, fielding choppers on a back field. That tells us that the team feels okay about having him on the field and throwing a baseball, at least.
UPDATE 11AM: Hamels just addressed the media. Like Amaro, he downplayed the level of concern. "It's not a big deal," Hamels said, explaining that he was experiencing "inflammation" just below his left elbow. "It's something I don't want to have to deal with through the season...I have it every spring training, but normally it lasts about a week to two weeks." Because the issue hung around longer than usual, Hamels said, "that's when the flashing lights go off."
Hamels and team officials had been monitoring the situation for weeks, and decided this morning that a check-up would be wise. He still expects to start opening day.
Comments (47)
Yikes....hopefully not time to panic.— KarenA- Uh oh! Hopefully some just some mild biceps insertional tendinopathy.— flyfantx
- Cole knock it off you are married now.— rockinrob
- Good thing we have Happ and Park throwing very well right now and other quality arms fighting for a bullpen spot. Also, we won't need a fifth starter early. Nevertheless, I hope is nothing serious. Give Hamels the extra time he needs.— EL Zorro
- I certainly hope that this is nothing major. Given Coles history as a great pitcher that happens to be a worry wart I'm sure he'll be fine. The only bad thing is that it's an injury that his team supplied chiropractor cant fix. Unless cracking his back can some how alleviate the pain in his elbow; which if I remember correctly is along the lines of what Cole was thinking when the whole chiropractor thing first came up. So that being said maybe the chiropractor can help after all--— Truth
- Cole has had a chronically kranky back and thats why he wanted a chiropractor. He spends several hours each day prior to games doing back strengthening activities. The reason he felt a chiropractor would cut down on injuries for him was that when his back gets out of whack he starts compensating for it by throwing differently which leads to arm problems. So its not that a chiropractor can fix arm problems... its he feels it can prevent them. And even if there is nothing to that... he thinks there is so at the very least there is a placebo effect.— Chewy59
- I think Cole Hamels could be a hypochondriac. It seems to me he is too worry about his health. The great Roberto Clemente was labeled a hypochondriac because he was always complaining about injuries and other medical ailments. That didn’t stop him from being a Hall of Famer, anyway. Let’s hope the same thing is happening to Hamels.— EL Zorro
- I dont' care if COle is a mass murderer as long as he's healthy and can pitch for teh Phils like he did last year in teh Post season. I'm glad to see that the team is sending him north to be checked out and not playing games with this. It seems to be a different OP this year, instead of hiding injuries, they are informing us of every scrapped knee and bruised finger. We did ask for management to be more open, right Truth??— jeff gross
- Cole is someone who is always "cautious" about his health, either with the chiropractor, or in how he discusses aloud the fact that he threw so many innings last year, but I won't be concerned until he's on the shelf. Its nice that we have other pitchers in camp throwing well, but I sure as heck don't want to see them filling in for Cole at the beginning of the season. I want to come out of the gate with guns blazing.— Gary Varsho
- Well to be honest I don't mind that Hamels is always concerned about his health. It means to me that he really wants to do what he can to stay healthy and on the field. I'd rather he be a little overly cautious and stay healthy than be cavalier and then find out the pain he's been pitching through worsened a minor injury and now he's out 6 motnhs. If you think about it, the Phillies are paying him millions to be a productive star, the least he can do is try to take care of his body to protect their investment.— Chewy59
- I thought it was also positive that prior to the contact signing, he passed his physical with flying colors. Rather err on the side of caution. Please its way early in the season and hopefully not time to panic.— KarenA
- I agree and I'm glad the Phillies are taking every step necessary to take care of him properly. We don't want another Freddie Garcia fiasco. My point is that some people, players included, have this condition and Cole could be one of them. Sometimes it could be problematic. I have a friend that gets sick or think he is sick if he is around someone sick and starts taking medication. This is due dillegence by the Phillies, anyway. Jeff “mass murderer’’, isn’t that a bit overboard?— EL Zorro
- I hope my Karma of hoping Santana was healthy works.— ktdb05
- Chewy(very interesting name) I do care about how he projects his health and his image. If your star pitcher is a wus at 25 before his big contracts where is he going to be when he is 29 with the contract? I really don't think Cole is liked in the club house I don't know but his constant worrying gets on my nerves Im sure it gets on the nerves of ppl that have to here hi whine and moan daily. Jeff your mass murdering stmt is way over the top, it borders on pathetic. Stop craving for attn if your comments warrant it you will get it. I would like to see what Cole does if a Met pitcher throws at him would he fight back would he retaliate or would he just wuss out.— Truth
- Ever get the feeling Dave and Andy are covering the same stories from the same angle...— e4stringer
- Again it is always wise to have more than one strong ace starting pitcher.I believe the Phillies must invest in more stronger pitching on their staff to help prevent them from getting into this kind of predicament/trouble .You never put all your eggs in one basket or rely on one star pitcher.It was good that they won the series but to repeat as the champs again this year it is going to take much more effort and healthy players than last year.A very strong and healthy pitching staff is a requirement to stay on top and repeat as world champs again.I hope the high of winning the series last year doesn't decieve the Phillies into thinking thats all that's needed to carry them back to world championship status.That emotional high may only last for a brief time but it's going to be a strong healthy team all around the boards that plays hard and wins consistently that will enable them to be back in series contention and repeat as World Series Champions again.As far as the team is concerned I think things look good but I believe it going to take much more effort and stronger consistent playing than last year on behalf of the Phillies to repeat as World Series Champs this year. Remember the elements helped us out tremendously in the series to give the city a baseball world championship.— acts1038
- I agree with Jeff on the mass murder thing. Now, serial killers, I'm not into that, dragging things out and terrifying everyone around. But if Cole wants to mow down a dozen people at one time, and says he got it out of his system, I'd be willing to chalk it up to youthful indiscretion.— B in DC
- Cole pitched his heart out in freezing rain that didnt allow him to throw a change up. Root for another team truth.— ktdb05
- The point of teh Mass murderer statement is that I dont' care about his other activities, or conditions as long as he can pitch. Lefty was not like in club house, and was not someone I'd want my kids to look up to as a person, but he was a HoF pitcher. that is what he, and Cole are getting paid to do. whether he is a hypercondriac or not is irrelevent as long as every 5th day he gets on teh mound and pitches like he is paid to— jeff gross
- Big difference between tightness and throwing with pain...thankfully it's just tightness...If Cole's not worried, I'm not worried...— Discostu
- Who cares about your point Jeff it was highly offensive you owe the board an apology we wont stand for such foolishness.— Truth
- Jeff, you may not care about his other activities, but I'm pretty sure the FO does. My bet is they put some clauses in his contract about scuba diving, hiking, bungee jumping and stuff like that. Anyway, that's not the issue here. Sometimes you have tough (everyday) players, like Utley and Rollins, who played almost the whole year with a bad hip and a sprained ankle, respectively. And some players that are not. I wonder what’s going to be their reaction is this keeps up? (Remember, he did not want to pitch with 3 days rest last season.) Sometimes been extra careful is good… but then again, it could be problematic.— EL Zorro
- El Zorro it seems like we are very like minded! Glad to see that are some clear thinkers here.— Truth
- EZ - the difference between Utley, Rolllins, etc. playing with injury and Hamels, or any pitcher, pitching with arm issues, is that when a pitcher blows out his arm, it could mean his season or career. An everyday player with a hip or ankle problem is likely to heal and come back to 100% in most cases - so you can't really compare the two.— Gary Varsho
- I think everyone here is on the same page. We are cautiously optimistic about Cole's health. We also realize he's maybe a bit "quirky" and sometimes seems a bit whiny, but he knows himself best and he certainly has a proven track record that we can give him the benefit of the doubt.— KarenA
- It might be a big problem it might not, who knows yet. I think its smart to be cautious given his work load last year. I think people may be getting a little too paranoid..if any of you have ever pitched for a long period of time you know how crazy and tender the arm can get,especially early...lets hope hes fine and just cautious.— philsfan in the atx
- You’re right Gary. But my point is the issue of being way too careful and the reaction in the clubhouse. If it’s not that big a deal, like he says that the soreness is something that happens every spring, why the whole drama about it? When Lidge made comments about stiffness in his shoulder or something like that a few weeks ago I did not see the same reaction from the player or the FO. I remember last year during the Shane Andrews well-publicized depression condition, they asked Runyan to comment on the issues on DNL and he wasn't very sympathetic with his teammate. After all, he was playing with a bad knee after playing the year before with a tailbone fracture the whole season.— EL Zorro
- This season is over. I just knew the whole "repeat" thing was an impossible dream. Oh well, at least most of the core guys are locked up for a few more years.— kierenmcd
- Truth - the problem with you agreeing with El Zorro is you are talking about different things. Yes, maybe he is to cautious with his body. But you brought up in game situations, on the mound Cole has proved himself as tough as anybody, he is not afraid to go after any Met.— ktdb05
- Phew! Maybe we are overreacting also. I wonder how the Mets, the Dodgers and the Braves fans feel about Santana, Manny and Chipper Jones.— EL Zorro
- The Phillies invested how much in this kid and how much does he mean to this team? If he sneezes I send him to the doctor!— Doubtful
- Andy, what's the line on Kendrick? It doesn't look good. Time to stop the experiment and send him to the Minor League camp.— EL Zorro
- When will we learn what Hamels has been trying to tell us for years? Every time he opens his mouth about his physical condition, he makes a point of saying he knows his body better than anyone else. And then we get all distraught and panicky about his condtion, and his attitude, and lo and behold, every time he turns out to be right. I won't worry about Cole's health if Cole says there is nothing to worry about, because no one is more meticulous about their routine and their condition than Hamels. I don't know what other people are talking about with the whining and the complaining, all the guy ever does is tell it like it is. I don't see what's wrong with that. As far as being liked in the clubhouse, there is no indication he is unliked, and appears to get along very well with his teammates in the dugout, unlike towel-head (who by the way, was a terrific pitcher despite being hated in the clubhouse). And whomever it was who intimated that Hamels is a wuss, stop hating. This is the same kid who risked his entire pro-career breaking his pitching hand in a pool-hall fight at 20 years. He may be a little flighty; he may have been very foolish on that day. But what he is not is a guy who backs down. That should be evident to all of us by now.— RollinsWasRight
- Is Paul Abbott available just in case ?— mick314
Comment removed.- Who cares what Met fans are saying? They're probably saying that Ryan Church is going to win the triple crown because he is now concussion free (forget the career-long track record of being a mediocre player), that Fernando Tatis is going to win a Gold Glove and hit 30 HRs (not without the HGH he won't, which he is probably taking still anyway), and that John Maine and Oliver Perez are actually quality pitchers (with their 5 inning pitch counts of 115 and their career ERA's over 4.00). Remember that Met fans nearly burnt down the city two weeks ago over this same stupid issue, which turned out to be absolutely nothing, as the pitcher was trying to tell them all along.— RollinsWasRight
- RWR, welcome back. Long time. Acording to Todd, Kendrick wasn't as bad as his line says. He caught some bad fielding plays it seems (not that he was great, and he will probably end up in AAA anyway)— jeff gross
- I know Rolls, he is as tough as anybody on the mound. Although there is the impression that he acts more like a movie star than a baseball player. As for being dislike by his teammates, we don’t know that. He’s only been with the team for a couple of years, and the team just won the WS. Winning takes care of everything. And this team is also laidback; not many sergeants in the dugout. (I don’t know how the ‘80 or ‘93 teams would have reacted to his ‘flighty’ personality.) Is when you start losing that problems surface. Reggie Jackson wasn’t one of the friendliest guys ever and his teams kept winning championships (mainly because his teams were always loaded). We’ll see with Hamels. Also, I don't know about him always telling the truth or knowing his body. Hofmann has a story about Cole in his blog (Idle Rich), where he told him everything was ok after a start in 2007. Hamels did not make his next start and went on the DL instead. But those things happen.— EL Zorro
- The problem with your rant RWR is you mention everything except the month he lost in 2007 when we could have used him(it shows that he isnt willing to fight thru pain). If you remember he could have played according to some. Cole most infamously claimed that he would not pitch on 3 days rest in the playoffs the PLAYOFFS. So you tell someone else what a gamer he is and that he wont back down, Truth aint buyin' what your selling. No disrespect toward Cole and what he has done but the guy is a wuss PERIOD.— Truth
- RWR is in mid-season form. Jeff, yes Kendrick will be in AAA or maybe in AA. The team should move on and work with the other pitchers with better chances of making the club. No need to send him outthere every 5th day with the big club. He is too far behind Park and Happ and the others.— EL Zorro
- Truth is quickly moving into mid-season form as well.— Gary Varsho
- Actually, everybody is in mid-season form, even the ones who were behind the scenes (RWR and Truth to mention two). It seems we never took a day off after the WS. Hopefully we'll last the whole season.— EL Zorro
- As I recall, Hamels said he would not risk hurting himself or the team by rushing back too early in 2007, and he wasn't promising to be back before the end of the season. I also recall he returned to the mound exactly on time (the original timetable was 3-4 weeks, he came back in 3 1/2, I believe) and in his 3rd start back pitched the biggest ball game of his career, and went 8 shutout innings, 13 K's, 1 BB against the Nats on a Friday night that put the Phils 1 game ahead of the Mets with 2 to play. I also recall him saying that he wasn't thrilled with the notion of pitching on short rest, but that it was Charlie's and Dubee's call. He never, to my recollection, refused to pitch on short rest in the playoffs - he wasn't thrilled about doing it in August, and he reiterated the importance of his routine. And for a guy with his health history, I ain't messing with his routine either. (By the way, the day after the start he DIDN'T make on short rest, he was also dominant against the Cubs in a game the bullpen absolutely blew for him). He also volunteered to pitch on short rest in the playoffs last year if needed. It just wasn't needed. I know he is a different breed in terms of his personality, but it seems that a lot of assumptions have been made about Cole's character for which there is little foundation. As for midseason form, well...I NEED baseball! :) Football season does nothing for me. I have been dying for this since the day after the parade.— RollinsWasRight
- And jeff, Kendrick stinks (IMO). I am sorry, seems like a nice kid, I wish he could do well, but the guy's entire arsenal is a mediocre sinker, and a couple of below average off-speed pitches. You cannot be consistently successful with one (arguably) Major League pitch. I wish they would stop wasting their time on him, and focus on the guys with a real chance at success. Kendrick's best chance at ML success, IMO, is as a ground-ball specialist out of the bullpen. Come in the game in a tight spot in the 7th, and throw one sinker after another at the knees until you get someone to beat it into the ground. If he can't do that, he needs to break out his college degree and put together a resume.— RollinsWasRight
- If he can't go on opening day, Jamie Moyer should start. That would be awesome.— xphile101
- Hi, I am an idiot. I HATE DONOVAN MCNABB SO MUCH!!!!!!!! I can't hardly stand ti!!!!!!!!!!!! He ruins my life. I must spew bile about Donovan McNabb every day. I hate myself.— Frindless Coyote
- Comment removed.
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