IS GLAD SPRING TRAINING IS FINALLY HERE
Lesson learned today at Pattison Ave.: When you see Cole Hamels talking on TV, put down your coffee, turn up the volume and get the rewind button on the DVR ready.
Because chances are, it's going to warrant a blog post.
The Phillies' lefty was hosting a fundraiser with his wife Heidi at Moshulu in Penn's Landing last night.
Hamels was asked about trade rumors that surfaced during the GM Meetings in Chicago last week and said he's been paying no attention to them.
"I haven’t turned the TV on since the moment we left so I haven’t watched TV I think probably in a month, so I wouldn’t know, wouldn’t have a clue," he said, per Comcast SportsNet. "Ultimately I’m trying to play the best I possibly can and how I know how to, and wherever it is, that’s where I’m gonna focus on fully going out there and helping a team win."
He also talked about his approach this offseason, saying he's been fortunate to stay healthy for the last two seasons, adding that he'll be spending a few days a week at Citizens Bank Park, working out.
"You know, I lived and learned a valuable lesson in what it takes to be even more of a celebrity than an actual athlete so you know it’s just something I’m gonna take in strides and push towards the next level of being the best athlete I possibly can versus being the best celebrity or the most popular celebrity," he said.
Why do we get the feeling we might hear that clip played on sportstalk radio in the next 24 hours?
Ruben Amaro, Jr. told the Inquirer and Daily News last week that Hamels isn't going anywhere.
We asked readers earlier this week whether the Phillies should entertain the idea of trading Hamels, and 60.5 percent of you said no.
We would agree. Pattison Ave. doesn't give up on 25-year-old lefties who have won championships, just because they have one bad year and say some bizzare things.
