Charlie Manuel wishes Cole Hamels hadn't been so honest
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Charlie Manuel wishes Cole Hamels hadn't been so honest
David Murphy
I was as suprirsed as anybody when Cole Hamels came right out and admitted that he hit Nationals phenom Bryce Harper on purpose last night. Most times, a pitcher will deny intent, even if it is in winking manner. As you can read on the Inquirer's blog, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo labeled the action "gutless," which clearly it wasn't, since Hamels plunked Harper knowing full well that he might end up getting hit with a pitch in retaliation. He did end up getting hit with a pitch, although Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann said it wasn't his intent to do so (which makes sense, since hitting Hamels moved a runner into scoring position with one out when Hamels was content to give up an out to bunt said runner over).
I know some people think that hitting batters with pitches is an archaic tradition that has no place in the sport, but I'm not sure I agree with that. The way I see it, the practice is the equivalent of fighting in hockey, a way for players to police the game themselves when they feel an opponent is not playing it the way it should be played. It might not be a coincidence, then, that you see more showboating in sports that do not have such means of self-policing (soccer, basketball, arguably football).
That's Charlie Manuel's viewpoint too. The manager just wishes his pitcher would be a little more discreet when discussing his motives.
"I wish he'd been a little bit more, what do you call it, not so honest, or dishonest, or discreet, that might be the right word," Manuel said in a radio appearance with Michael Barkann and Rob Ellis on 94.1/610 WIP today. "What I saw was the next time up Hamels came up to bat they definitely retaliated, he got hit on the calf, and he could have got hurt. If the guy would have hit him hard on the bone part of his leg, that could have hurt. . .I like to think it was dropped right there and the rest of it will be done baseball wise."
Manuel was asked if he thinks that Hamels will be suspended.
"I hope not," Manuel said.
Manuel reiterated what he said last night, that he initially did not think Hamels intentionally hit Harper, who ended up going first to third on a single and then stealing home on a pickoff play to first.
"When he hit him, I actually thought he was trying to throw the ball inside on him," Manuel said. "He was trying to throw it up and in and it him. He got on and he ended up scoring, he did a good piece of baserunning. He showed a lot of guts. He kind of challenged him. I kind of took that as him sending a message to us."
I agree with everything written here. Gelb's piece is also spot on, noting how different a head shot would be ... a point that seems to be lost on some readers.— s
Comment removed.- Sorry, Brookover wrote the other piece.— s
- So when Manuel says he's really happy about Rollins we can presume that is a lie? or when he says Galvis belongs in the majors? Unfortunately it wasn't a lie when he said Oswalt would start game 4. Charlie is too scared to tell the truth.— lazyboy
- Moving on: how is Doc?? That too is now the cause celebre'— Koons
- Hamels did exactly the right thing when he hit Harper. The kid may be good, but he ain't THAT good, and a reminder doesn't hurt. Hamels probably remembers his early years, when he too thought he was THAT good, until the league humbled him a little bit and as a result he turned into a pitcher.— Dave Clemens
- How does hitting Harper with a baseball remind him he ain't that good? I would think striking him out would be a lot more effective. Instead Harper went on to steal mutilple bases and score a run! I guess he IS that good.
- We'll find out how Doc is tonight. I really feel like the Phillies have to win this Mets series.— s
- Hamels shouldn't have admitted it. I don't know why he should be suspended. Hitting batters is part of the game. It's not like he hit him in the head.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- Cole must be hanging out with Chris Christie.— Paul Deon
- The tired old fool is such a pathological liar he can never accept someone telling the truth. Like being the Virgina state marble shooting champ, turning down a basketball scholarship to Penn, knocking in a game winning RBI for the Dodgers in their pennant run, hitting 5 balls over the roof in Briggs stadium, just missing catching Sadahara Oh's 715th home run, and on and on and on.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- Huh? I miss your point...although, then again, I always do.
— 24sDad - Since he admitted it, he'll definitely miss a start. I'm ok with it, he had the 'guts' to say yeah I did it on purpose.— PhillySubsMac
- Cole: "He's a cocky kid.. so I hit him. And?"— kidretdes
- Whether you agree or not with the action of Cole Hamels, he WILL be suspended. MLB will not tolerate intentional "plunking" of batters. MLB will police itself, not allow rogue players to decide how/when they will police the sport. Comparisons to "old school" pitchers is incorrect. They didn't come out and state their intention. Pitchers of old would state that they wanted to let batters know they controlled the inside part of the plate. If players were standing too close to the plate, and inside fastball was the remedy. But you won't find a quote from Bob Gibson/Nolan Ryan/etc...saying they purposely hit a batter, unless it was retaliation. Hamels would have been better suited to have said an inside slider simply didn't break. Sometimes, saying a little bit or nothing speaks larger volumes that what Hamels did.— drhoffman
