Hamels getting his arm - and his head - right

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Cole Hamels says he doesn't need to see the video - he remembers what he did. Rich Dubee does, too. He saw the times Hamels snatched the throw back from his catcher and stomped around the mound after something went wrong.

When Hamels was at his best in 2008, Dubee said, he never noticed a hitch in Hamels' mound mannerisms. That changed in 2009. And so did the results.

"The success won't come back until the demeanor changes - his attitude and his focus," said Dubee, the Phillies' pitching coach. "I think he spent a tremendous amount of work this off-season not only getting himself in shape, but getting his head right, not thinking that he had to carry the world on his shoulders."

Consider Hamels a believer.

"It's something that I think I've come at ease with, and I understand what I did wrong," Hamels said. "It's just going out there and understanding that it's not the end of the world when I don't make a pitch in the right spot. It's just going out and trying to do it again. I think I've learned a lot more through the mental side. The angrier, emotional you get, it's a lot harder to control yourself, and it's a lot harder to execute the next pitch."

Hamels said he had problems living up to the expectations that came with winning the MVP of the World Series. And it didn't help that he barely threw during the off-season that followed, which put him at a disadvantage coming into spring training.

But this spring, Hamels says he is better prepared after adopting a long-tossing program he followed the entire off-season. That, Dubee said, means Hamels can throw more curveballs early in the spring in an attempt to improve his mastery of the pitch rather than catching up on strengthening his arm.

"He's going to be ready to go earlier," manager Charlie Manuel said. "I think he's going to have a big year. I don't see any reason he can't come back and be as good as he ever was."

The Phillies are so convinced of Hamels' abilities that the idea of adding another breaking ball in addition to the curveball has apparently been shelved temporarily.

Hamels said he played with a cutter this off-season, going so far as to talk to Steve Carlton, Cliff Lee, and John Wetteland about the pitch. But Dubee said the cutter is not a priority this spring unless it's necessary. All the focus will be on the curveball.

Hamels' need for a productive third pitch was no more evident than last season. Early in his career, when he had so much success with his change-up, Hamels said, he didn't see the need to mess with what he was doing. But as hitters made adjustments in 2009, Hamels was unable to do the same, going 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA, over a run higher than in 2008.

Manuel, as he has said all along, didn't think Hamels had a terrible 2009. But he cited Hamels' command of his breaking ball - especially against lefthanded batters late in the season - as his main reason for failure. And Hamels would often let one or two small mistakes bother him too much, Dubee said. That's where a more mature demeanor is needed.

"He got caught up in a lot of stuff because, again, what's the one thing he says about every game? He expects to pitch a no-hitter. Every game," Dubee said. "When you pitch with those expectations and it doesn't go according to plan, then you get angry. It just doesn't work."

Hamels, for one, took a different approach this off-season. On the suggestion of Mark Prior, the former Cubs pitcher and a close family friend, Hamels began a long-tossing program right after the 2009 season ended. He even threw while on vacation, he said, finding a tennis court where he could throw balls against a fence.

"When he came in [last spring], he was throwing 81, 82 [m.p.h.]," Dubee said. "You watch him long-toss right now, he's far beyond where he's ever been in spring training. And he deserves a lot of credit for that."

Whether or not it pays off depends on how much Hamels can improve his breaking ball this spring.

The current plan is to stick with the curveball. But Hamels said he spent time working on the cutter this off-season and liked the way it felt, although he said he hadn't thrown it to live hitters. Both Dubee and Manuel had endorsed the idea of Hamels' adding a fourth pitch as late as October of last season and backed away from that stance yesterday.

"We'll play that by ear," Dubee said of adding a cutter. "If we need to add that, it could be something we add. If something flares up then we might have to back away from it."

Hamels sounded more optimistic on using the cutter eventually - or at least experimenting with it this spring.

"Anytime you're able to add something else, that adds another pitch and another possibility to throw at a guy and for them to also now have to realize there's not only two pitches now," Hamels said. "You may be able to throw three or four. You can't really narrow it down as much."