Photo: Philliedelphia/Andrew Gillen
Seemingly since the day he made his major league debut against the Cincinnati Reds in May of 2006, Cole Hamels has received some of the worst major league support throughout the game. Take this season for example, where Hamels has had nine total games with three or less earned runs allowed. In those nine outings, Hamels himself is just 2-2. Overall, the team has gone on to win four of the nine games, an unacceptable pace for any team looking to be considered contenders. Outings of at least six innings and only a handful of runs allowed should almost always result in a win, or at least at a better rate than 44% of the time.
And this nine game stretch is just a microcosm of the lefty's career. Last season, in Hamels' first fifteen starts, the Phillies' lack of support caused his record to drop to just 2-6 in quality starts, including three no decisions. Again, a lack of capitalization on the part of the remainder of the team reflects poorly on both the organization and Cole Hamels personally. It is easy to understand, then, why a player would not only become frustrate, but even be forced to contemplate a future without the team you matured with.
Well-documented was Hamels' absence from media commentary after Saturday's loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He had pitched into the eighth inning, and sat at just one earned run allowed. A walk and some untimely hits resulted in another crossing the plate against Cole, and it would ultimately be his downfall. With just a pair of runs given up, he still received an L, and his frustrations culminated in his refusal to speak to the Philly media. A day later, however, the veteran sat down to speak with CSN's Jim Salisbury following the team's second straight loss.
Cole admitted his frustration about the performance on Saturday, but actually placed the majority of the blame on himself. Here is his full quote regarding the game:
“I was really just trying to get all of my anger out,” he said. “I want to win. I want to give the team an opportunity to win every time, and when you don’t win it kind of builds up over time, especially after throwing that one pitch (to Holliday)."
“I know the walks really hurt me. Both the runs that scored were on guys I walked. So I think I was a little frustrated because I was trying to be a little too fine to the leadoff hitters when I should have just went right after them. That put me in a bad situation where I had to be even more fine. Over time, that builds up your pitch count and your stress level and each pitch and each inning kind of gets to you and all of a sudden it just explodes and, ‘Game over.’ That was kind of the thing."
“When you have (Adam) Wainwright out there dealing, one mistake is the game.”
While he didn't immediately mention the lack of run support, it did come up as a part of the interview:
“It’s tough,” Hamels said. “I saw (the Cubs’ Jeff) Samardzjia dealing with it for the first two months of the season. It’s just a situation where it is what it is. You just have to go out and pitch and hopefully good things come. I’m going to keep putting in the highest effort level that I possibly can in hopes that everyone else will either follow or things will transpire in a better way.”
Hamels' reference to Jeff Samardzjia is highly appropriate. In his 15 starts with the Chicago Cubs this year, Samardzjia has given up more than three earned runs just twice. And yet, the highly coveted starting pitcher has a record of just 2-6, a situation identical to the one with Hamels in Philadelphia. And while the rumors of the Cubs trading Samardzjia to a playoff contender continue to make their rounds, it seems the same talks about Cole Hamels have yet to gain real traction.
It has been nearly two full years since Hamels signed his extension here in Philly, a six-year, $144 million deal that cemented the height of his career with the Phillies. Perhaps, though, those years will be spent elsewhere. Despite their recent run, the just aren't playoff contenders. Our own Rich Wilkins discussed the current sitaution earlier today. While he mentions the lack of a desire to trade the left-hander, the rumors will still begin to circulate, and for obvious reasons.
On a team plagued with injuries to the likes of Cliff Lee and Mike Adams, and ridiculous contracts clouding the names like Ryan Howard and Jonathan Papelbon, Hamels is the most tantalizing name. He has the most tread left on his tires, and could be the most valuable piece remaining with the team. Assuming the front office were to set up a proper trade, the Phillies could bring in an incredible haul were they willing to part with their home-grown talent.
Despite his desire to stay and win with the organization, Hamels acknowledged the possibility of movement with Salisbury:
[On his contract extension] “Yeah,” he said. “It’s kind of the choice that I made knowing they made a promise that we were going to continue to try to win. So as long as they uphold that, then I like pitching in Philly. I think they’re trying to (win),” Hamels said. “I don’t think they’re giving up. And I know we have great guys on the team. I don’t think it’s really an organizational type thing; it’s the individual players. We all need to step up.” [On the possibility of the team being blown up] “Then it’s a different situation, and I think you kind of have to look at it in a different way because your careers are only so long. Your good years only last so long. You want to make them count.“I want to make them count here because I love winning in Philly and I want to be able to do it again. That was kind of the whole initiative when we signed back, that we were going to be able to do it again, so I have faith in guys like Chase (Utley) and Jimmy (Rollins), the guys that are playing. I know Cliff (Lee), every time he goes out he plays to win, so we still have guys that believe and want to go and win, but this next month is huge.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the organization to make those decisions. But as long as they know I go out every fifth day to win, then I think that’s all they can really count on. That’s me being accountable.”
“It’s huge with the way it’s been so close. Luckily, without not even having a winning record right now, everything is within our grasp, so it’s very important to come out and come out firing. From a pitching standpoint and a hitting standpoint, we have to come out and really go after these guys because otherwise they’re just going to take it from us and we’re going to be sitting back in the dust.”
While he'll never admit to it, you have to assume a trade out West or to some other sort of playoff contender must loom inside Hamels' mind. It may not alter his performance, but it could cloud his outlook on the team should their losing efforts resurface. Nobody wants to see Cole gone, but the idea of him moving on, for both his own sake and the future of the franchise, is becoming more and more of a reality.
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
