I read a quote from Hamels (I think it was in Sunday’s Inquirer) where he specifically talked about how he gets more focused down the stretch.   He quickly added that that doesn’t mean he is not focused in all of his starts, just that he gets even more focused the later it gets in the season when the games really matter.  Didn’t see it on Sunday though.  Time’s a wastin’.

bski, this isn’t the more on-depth elaboration I said I’d give, but here’s another analogy for the Lee-Hamels combo - I think what they needed was a Han Solo to Hamels’ Luke Skywalker; instead, it feels like they’ve gotten another Skywalker.  But that’s gonna be the basis of what I’m going to try to argue – it seems like this season’s Phils weren’t as carefully constructed as last year’s was and Amaro strikes me more as a poker player than a team builder.

Do you remember that article about why Gillick traded Abreu for peanuts?  It was because he wanted to give these guys the opportunity to be leaders and show off their stuff.  So the approach this season is, “You guys aren’t good enough to win it all again, so we’re gonna bring in more talent.”  Is that how you repeat?

About Hamels, I was very disappointed (although AT&T park is always a good time), and I was actually gonna come here and ask you what’s up with the guy, but I guess it was on your mind, too.

The Giants are strong with their homecourt advantage, which has been tremendous in space, great pitching, and cold, windy conditions.  On the road, they are so-so, but the pitching is still there. 

Right now, the Giants and the Rockies are tied in the Wild Card.  Tomorrow, the Phils have another critical series with playoff potential against the Rockies.  Who do you guys prefer facing in the NLDS, Great Starting Pitching from the Giants or a Possible Hot Streak from the Rockies (ala 2007)?  Either way, the Phils better have homecourt and get on a major run of their own (that includes great pitching and great scoring opportunities) as the regular season comes to an end.   

GO PHILLIES!!

I’m concerned that we only scored 20 runs over the entire 7-game road trip, that we can’t hit with RISP, that Howard is striking out a lot again, that we live by the home run and die when we can’t hit them——–btw, I read a quote from Jayson Werth about how several of the fly balls the Phils hit over the weekend would have been HRs in CBP.  Uh-huh, and exactly what does that matter?  Maybe you should think about changing your approach, huh Jason?  Just a thought——–but that has been the nature of our club over the last few years and they have found a way to put it together and win, even more this year than the last couple (so far anyway).

I don’t think the team is stale at all.  This was just another rough patch that occurs periodically.  I see the Phils just doing what they do, which is to cooly go about their business, regardless of the situation.  They have remained steady and played their best baseball down the stretch in each of the last two seasons, in the face of a couple decent deficits no less, so I don’t expect them to feel the pressure/crack/crumble with a lead this year.  They’ll start hammering the ball and scoring bunches of runs and we’ll forget about their struggles on this trip, until they hit their next dry spell of course.

No, the two issues I mentioned in my previous post are what’s got me now.  I’m aggravated with Howard and genuinely concerned about Hamels.

Early in the season, Howard was striking out much less and using more of the field, all while playing markedly better defense.  He wasn’t hitting home runs, but I figured they’d come once the weather warmed up.  I thought that he might have figured something out at the plate.  After a while however, he went back to striking out at his usual pace and trying to pull everything.  OK, so he is what he is as a hitter.  I can live with that.  What’s really got me though is his defense.  He was playing (and throwing) very well defensively and now he has really slid back to his old ways.  He’s just not making the effort to play (and throw) the ball correctly on every play.  He is not setting his feet, stepping, and throwing the ball.  Too often he is lazy, stands flat-footed, and slings the ball, or he continues to drift and throw on the move unnecessarily.

What bothers me is that he was playing very well, which means that he can do it.  The only explanation for the deterioration must be that he is not putting the time in like he was (kinda like Thad Young shooting the lights out early in the season and then having his shooting % tail off).  I realize there is not as much time to be had now as there was in the spring, but Rollins, Utley, Victorino, etc… maintain their level of defense under the same conditions, so there is no excuse.

Hamels concerns me (and yes, I do think there is enough love to be had in Philly for both Lee and Hamels) because he has lost both velocity and command this year, not to mention his curveball,which has withered from neglect.  When Hamels was in the minors (and when he first came up), I seem to recall the scouting reports said he had a plus-fastball, a plus-curveball, and a plus-plus-changeup.  That’s not what he’s got now.  I’d say he has an average fastball and a plus-changeup, with episodic command of both.  At this point, I’d say that his experience is serving him better than is his arsenal of pitches.  

This very well might be attributable to the large increase in IP from 2007 to 2008, and the fact that he pitched an extra month  last year and, as a result,  ended up with one less month of recovery in the off season.  That’s all well and good.  However, what happens if we make another world series run this year?  Will another long season with less recovery time mean that he will have the same problems next year?  Gotta think so, don’t you?  I mean, is this going to be a permanent condition as long as we keep playing October baseball?  Will he eventually build up enough arm strength to successfully deal with the increased demands and return to the pitcher he was, or might he break down due to year after year of extra work .  It’s been on my mind lately.

Was I the only one irritated by Tom McCarthy.  He kept saying over and over how Cole Hamels was “dealing” and you didn’t see the blowup coming.  He was driving me nuts because first, I got it the first time he said it and second, I didn’t agree with him.

I didn’t see Hamels “dealing”.  I thought he was dancing in between the raindrops for a while.  I mean, the first batter of the game sent a shot right back up the middle.  Luckily he was able to get a glove on it and deflect it to Rollins who made the play.  I also saw several hard hit balls that were right at fielders.  Finally, I saw a guy who left a lot of pitches up in the zone and had virtually every one of them hit hard.

Pete was dead on a couple days ago when he said that Hamels needs to develop another pitch.  He’s not getting by as well as he used to with just a fastball, which is now 90-91 instead of the 93-94 it used to be, and a changeup, that more guys are laying off of.  He used to use his curveball effectively.  Not a lot, but enough.  It seemed like he actually tried to throw more curveballs today, or maybe I just noticed them more because it seemed like every one he threw got hammered.

Ryan Howard is now killing me.  His strikeouts have been way up and he’s trying to pull everything again.  Also, he needs to get back to work with Sam Perlozzo because his defense has deteriorated.  Terrible play today.  His throwing is back to where it was last year (he made a bad throw last Sunday too).

Ah, that’s enough grousing.  Today’s game just irked me is all.

I think we will split this series and Hamels will beat Zito.  The Phils will make him, “Baked Zito”.  

As long as the Phils get homecourt in the 1st round, then the Phils should be fine.  

GO PHILLIES!!