Hamels will have to add a pitch - next year

One year to the day after riding in a championship parade made possible by his postseason pitching heroics, Cole Hamels starts Game 3 of the World Series tonight at Citizens Bank Park.

If the Phillies are to enjoy another triumphant romp down Broad Street, Hamels needs to improve on his recent performances.

He might not have to be the dominant force he was when he recorded a 1.80 ERA in five starts last October.

But he surely can't be the punching bag he has been this October.

Hamels is 1-1 in three starts this postseason. His ERA is an unsightly 6.75. He has allowed 20 hits, including six homers, in 142/3 innings. Opponents have batted a whopping .328. Lefthanded batters are hitting .600 (9 for 15) with a 1.267 slugging percentage.

These ugly numbers came on the heels of a season in which last year's World Series MVP was inconsistent from start to finish. In his final three regular-season starts, Hamels was 0-2 with a 7.02 ERA. That makes his ERA 6.89 over his last six starts.

This is the guy that the Phillies hope will neutralize the thunderous New York Yankees lineup tonight, the guy who lines up to pitch a decisive Game 7 if the series, tied at a game apiece, goes that far.

Though tonight's game is foremost on the minds of everyone in the Phils' organization, manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee have already begun to think toward the future and how they can help Hamels rebound from this year's disappointing season.

Hamels has struggled with his third pitch, the curveball, and that has made his mostly fastball-change-up repertoire too predictable.

A starting pitcher can win with two pitches - look at what A.J. Burnett did with a fastball and curveball in Game 2 - but he can't do it consistently. In an era when teams play each other within their division up to 18 times, a reality that can lead to familiarity, it is imperative that a starter have a deep arsenal of pitches to keep hitters off balance.

This is why Hamels will work on adding another breaking ball, either a slider or a cutter, to his pitch mix during spring training.

"Putting another pitch in the back of the hitter's mind can only help me," Hamels said yesterday.

Hamels does not intend to junk his curveball. Ideally, he'd improve that pitch and gain more confidence throwing it.

When Hamels' curveball is effective, he's a much more deceptive pitcher. He blitzed Milwaukee, allowing just two hits over eight shutout innings in Game 1 of the division series last year. Hamels, who walked one and struck out nine that day, had pinpoint control of a crisp fastball, and that made his change-up, considered one of the best in the game, that much better.

But the key to Hamels' dominance in that game was his ability to throw his third pitch for strikes.

"He mixed in that curveball, and that got us off his other two pitches,' " Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy said that day. "This was the best I've seen him."

Dubee has talked to Hamels about adding a slider or cutter to his repertoire. In fact, Hamels said, he experimented with a slider in August. He said he threw one of them against Pittsburgh on Aug. 26.

"It got hit, so I didn't throw it again," he said.

Spring training is more conducive to learning a new pitch, and Hamels will give it a serious effort when the Phillies report to Clearwater in February.

"We'd like to see him keep the curveball and add a more commandable breaking ball," Dubee said.

Dubee said the slider and the cutter were less complex breaking balls than the curveball and thus easier to control. Hamels' curveball, when on, breaks downward from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock. A slider or cutter is thrown harder than a curveball. Its break is later, sharper and more lateral than a curveball.

"He needs something sharp, like a cutter, to go away from lefties and hard in on righties,'' Manuel said.

After nearly four full seasons in the majors, Hamels, 25, is experiencing something all pitchers go through. The league has gotten to know him and his patterns. He must stay a step ahead.

"I don't know if the league has figured him out," Manuel said. "I think the league knows more about him and sits on his fastball or change-up. They can spend a whole at-bat totally looking for that pitch.''

Said Dubee: "The guys who stay around a long time in this game generally add a pitch or figure out a way to attack a new location. Hitters are knowledgeable and tough. They will make adjustments. A pitcher has to make adjustments with them."

Dubee said Hamels has the willingness and the aptitude to add a slider or cutter. Ryan Madson did it several years ago. Joe Blanton did it this season. Jamie Moyer added a cutter mid-career.

Game 3 of the World Series is no time to be experimenting with pitches. Hamels will have to go at the Yankees with what he has, the same fastball-change-up-curveball mix that helped him chart a parade route last year.

"I expect him to pitch a good game,'' Manuel said. "He's still very capable of beating people.''