Phillies Notes: Hamels' spring semester continues

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Cole Hamels' educational spring training continued yesterday.

The latest lesson: How to pitch to Joe Mauer, the Minnesota Twins' superstar catcher who recently signed an eight-year, $184 million contract extension.

"Wow, Joe Mauer," Hamels said after declaring his penultimate Grapefruit League start a success. "The two hits he had against me, he hit the ball hard. I don't think I had ever faced him, so now when I do have to face him, I think I know how."

Hamels' scouting report: "Don't throw anything near the plate."

Mauer's two-out, two-run opposite-field double on an outside fastball in the bottom of the fifth inning gave the Twins a 4-3 lead in a game Minnesota eventually won, 8-4.

Despite his final numbers - 61/3 innings, seven hits, five earned runs, two walks - it wasn't a bad outing for Hamels against a lineup loaded with some of the American League's best hitters.

He reached 90 pitches before being removed by pitching coach Rich Dubee with one out in the seventh inning. Another run was charged to Hamels when reliever Danys Baez surrendered an RBI triple to J.J. Hardy in the seventh.

"Being able to get that deep into the game, it's nice because now I feel game-oriented and ready to get going for the real time," Hamels said.

Dubee said he was pleased with the lefthander's performance, and manager Charlie Manuel agreed.

"He did fine," Manuel said. "He had good stuff. The mistakes he made, some of those balls they hammered to center field were up, but overall I liked the way he used his stuff. He threw quite a few breaking balls, and he used his change-up."

What Hamels felt best about after his fifth outing of the spring was his curveball, a pitch he has worked to refine throughout the winter and the exhibition schedule. One of his two strikeouts came on a second-inning curveball to Jim Thome.

"I've been feeling really good throwing those," Hamels said. "It has been very effective. If you can get Thome to swing and miss, it must have some nasty bite or something."

Hamels is likely to pitch again Thursday against Pittsburgh.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. would not say that Jamie Moyer had won the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation with his one-hit performance over 62/3 shutout innings Friday night against the New York Yankees, but he was pleased with what he saw from the 47-year-old lefthander, who had a tumultuous off-season filled with surgeries and overnight hospital stays.

"It was pretty impressive what he did, but I'm not surprised," Amaro said. "What's amazing is his health. For him to be healthy and pitch effectively, that's pretty amazing. It doesn't surprise me. I think I said all along if anyone could be ready for the start of the season, it would be Jamie."

Manuel raved about Mauer after watching the Twins catcher go 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

"We might be able to find a place in our lineup for him," Manuel said. "A couple of years ago, we were at the winter meetings and I was sitting with some [Minnesota] guys, and we got in an argument. I said I'd like to see him pull some balls. Last year, when he started hitting some bombs to right field, I got a message from one of the guys and he said, 'Hey, Charlie, is Mauer pulling the ball enough for you now?' He's special."

George Toma, the 81-year-old groundskeeper who has worked every Super Bowl, made a point to say hello to Manuel before the game. He also jokingly reminded Manuel that he once ruined his field in Kansas City by getting suntan oil on the surface. . . . Before the game at Hammond Stadium, a Phillies fan started chanting, "Let's go, Iron Pigs," a reference to the Phillies' triple-A Lehigh Valley team. The Phillies did not have one regular position player in their lineup.