No Phillie better symbolizes the team's growth since October 2007 than Cole Hamels. From promising to accomplished, overwhelmed to supremely confident, relatively unknown to celebrity, the pitcher and his team bring an overhauled persona to their playoff rematch against the Colorado Rockies.
The last time the two clubs met in a National League division series - their second square-off begins tomorrow afternoon at Citizens Bank Park - the Phillies were young and hungry. In Game 1 of a series the Phils lost in a sweep to a blazing-hot Colorado team that reached the World Series, Hamels lasted 62/3 innings, but a three-run second cost him the game. Young Rockies lefthander Jeff Francis outpitched Hamels, then a 23-year-old still hoping to fulfill his promise.
Now, either in Game 1 or Game 2 this week, Hamels returns to the postseason as a former NL Championship Series and World Series MVP. Those achievements created complications this year, but the lefthander enters the playoffs with confidence.
"I understand now what a difference I can make, the tone I can set when I win a postseason game," Hamels said. "It's a cool situation [getting another shot at Colorado]. They are just as hot as when we played them last time. They do a good job of getting hot late in the season."
The Phillies won the National League East in 2007 after charging past the collapsing New York Mets. When Brett Myers saved the final game of the season to clinch a playoff berth, he threw his glove in the air and began an unhinged celebration for the team. The Phils were not yet champions, not yet national figures, not yet a potential dynasty.
Last week's division-clinching party, happy but hardly unbridled, was appropriate for a mature team with loftier goals. Hamels, who finished the regular season 10-11 with a 4.32 earned run average, believes he can again succeed in the most important month.
"Sometimes this year, I have put too much pressure on myself," Hamels said. "The way I'm approaching the playoff games, you just have to go out and execute. You're not really thinking of it as a big game - then you again put too much pressure on yourself."
Two full seasons in the league since that 2007 loss have provided Hamels with more depth of knowledge about opposing hitters. "Take Matt Holliday - he was their best guy," Hamels said of the slugging outfielder who was then a Rockies player, and might face the Phils as a St. Louis Cardinal in the NL Championship Series this year. "I feel like I know how to pitch to him now. Same thing with [Albert] Pujols, and a lot of the guys on Colorado. These guys are good hitters, but I am more experienced, too."
Hamels started just once against the Rockies this year, when he allowed seven runs in 32/3 innings April 10. Then, he was dealing with elbow pain and had not yet begun to face the psychological challenges and pressures of living up to 2008.
"That feels like a long time ago," Hamels, said, while noting that Colorado has experienced its own struggles since then, even undergoing a leadership change by hiring new manager Jim Tracy. "The last time I pitched against them, Clint Hurdle was the manager."
Contact staff writer Andy Martino at 215-854-4874 or amartino@phillynews.com.
