At least Cole pitches today

Cole Hamels will be asked to do what ace pitchers are expected to do: stop a losing streak dead in its tracks.

I’ll admit, when the floodgates opened last night in the sixth, I reasoned "At least Cole Hamels pitches tomorrow."

That’s the kind of statement Mets fans will say after Jose Lima gets ripped a new one tonight against the Cards, and Jeremi Gonzalez loses to Randy Johnson and the Yankees on Friday. "At least Pedro pitches tomorrow."

Optimistic? Yes. Out of the question? No.

Though he lasted just five innings and gave up five walks in his major league debut, Hamels still lived up to the hype. He held the Reds without a hit until the fifth, and looked more poised than any rookie I’ve ever seen.

King Cole will be handed the ball in an important situation this afternoon. The Phillies will be looking to avoid a sweep that would wash out the three wins they took in Cincinnati. Level-headed fans will say a 3-3 roadtrip is more a success than failure. I will not.

Milwaukee will also send a rookie pitcher to the hill for his second start. Left-hander Dana Eveland (0-0, 9.53) gave up seven hits and six runs in 5 2-3 innings against the Mets last Saturday before he was yanked.

The Phillies struggles against left-handers go without saying. How’s this for cockeyed: If I was asked to pick two Phillies to face a left-hander in a critical at bat right now, at this moment, I'd take Shane Victorino and Ryan Howand. Pat Burrell would be there if he was in a better groove.

Check out these averages vs. LHP: Chase Utley (.217), Bobby Abreu (.194!), Aaron Rowand (.194), David Bell (.182).

Leftovers
Last night’s ninth inning was a situation custom-built for Arthur Rhodes, and he blew it. Rhodes has been living on the edge this season and finally fell off the cliff. He’s allowing 1.90 hits or walks an inning.

After some nice early moments, the bullpen is starting to crack. It’s safe to say the strengths and weaknesses are starting to settle in, and the back-end of the bullpen was expected to be the Achilles Heel. Jon Lieber, Brett Myers and Cory Lidle are now pitching as expected. Gavin Floyd is what he is. The defense has disappointed, but not lately. The offense has been lackluster, but different heroes have emerged.

The Phillies are still searching for a steady bridge to link starter to closer. Ryan Madson, Ryan Franklin, Rheal Cormier and Rhodes are keys to this team.

Braves rising
The Mets have been on the ropes of late, going 4-6 in their last 10. Meanwhile, the Braves are 8-2, and now just 2.5 games back of the Phillies.

Comments

[Carson Book]

Hamels is the 2nd coming of Jesus...being this club's "savivor". I like how Weitzel said "most level-headed fans would consider a 3-3 road trip a success"...I am not level-headed, I'm intense, and see tonight as one of the most important, if not thee most important, game of the season...must win!

Let's go!

This afternoon's game...1:05 Start. Don't miss it thinking it's a night game.

[Lake Fred]

The good thing about day games is I don't have to watch a poker game all night on ESPN with the sound off watching the scrawl along the bottom of the screen to see how the Phillies are doing. Tonight, I'll get the score early, be happy or sad and that's it! It's hard to follow the Phillies in Katrina land. I hope Cole gets a victory today.

[MG]

Phils bullpen isn't necessarily the weakpoint in this team but they don't have a certified setup man in the 8th. Just have to hope that Madson is able to get back into a groove and settle into the role.

[Panda]

Lake Fred--where are you in Katrina land? I'm in New Orleans. At least I get the Phils on TV when they play the Braves on TBS.

Phils up 3-0 in the first! Hopefully this relaxes Cole a little. This is a must win. Also it's nice to see Bobby start to pick it up a little--another double today.

[Carson Book]

Too discount what Bobby has done for this team over the years is unappreciative. In past blogs, posters have been all over him. I love Abreu, and know he will produce. Maybe not a batting title or a 30-30 season, but produce solidly nonetheless!

[Carson Book]

thank goodness burrell hit a homerun, he was looking horribly of late

[Stubborn & Blind]

hey carson, why is the messiah having so much trouble finding the strike zone from the stretch...is judas umpiring again?

[Carson Book]

please tell me cole hamels doesn't have gavin floyd syndrome (prone to excessive walks)

[Carson Book]

thank god for internet at work and an afternoon assembly.

[Carson Book]

hey, stub, looks like you and me on here. i should actually be working, but whatever

[Stubborn & Blind]

thank hamels for being off of work, the phils winning, the pirates winning, the braves losing, the mets losing and tequilla...

[Carson Book]

by the way, gonzalez starting at short? looks like he might be 3-35 by the end of the game...yet dipping his average lower.

[Stubborn & Blind]

abreuot not gets two hits, but both to the oppostite field, waiting a little longer and staying behind the ball. i like that approach from hitters who are stuggling, hopefully rollins is paying attention.

[Carson Book]

Hamels debut drew the highest rating on Comcast since a 2001 game against the Yanks...that's awesome.

[Carson Book]

gonzalez, bases loaded, 1 out...what does he do? i'm dying with anticipation.

[RickSchuBlues]

It takes a certain talent to be as completely useless as Alex Gonzalez for six straight weeks.

[enrico]

I'm not completely sold on Lieber pitching as expected. He had a brilliant last outing, but I'd like to see it continue a little longer before I'd say he was pitching as we'd expect our "number 1" to pitch.

[Carson Book]

wow, how bad is that...grounded into double play, he should be cut immediately, mid-game even. this is crazy that he is still wearing a phillies uniform. i can't even recall a player in recent years sucking this bad!

[Carson Book]

I'm literally pissed off now the Gonzalez is on this team. How many times does he have to hurt the Phillies before we cut losses?

[Oisin]

well, walks aside, I'm loving Hamel's change. Especially the way its getting opposing hitters swearing.

[Oisin]

Credit hamels with a change in his approach - he started throwing harder in that inning, almost as if he was recognising that he was thinking too much in the 2nd. Got resutls.

[RickSchuBlues]

I think what they're swearing at is Dale Scott's calls.

[Stubborn & Blind]

[i can't even recall a player in recent years sucking this bad!]

alex arias - 2000 - .187 (29 for 155)

eric valent - 2001 - .098 (4 for 41)

not even rob ducey was that bad.

[Carson Book]

Thanks Stub, I needed a refresher. You know I hated Ducey bro! Valent and Arias were worthless just like Gonzalez is.

By the way, I love Hamels, please don't take my complaints of walks as a real downer on him, he'll be fine...more than fine, hell he's good now!

[Oisin]

damn. switch v-fer-victorino to leadoff and getting out way too much.

[Oisin]

Phils back to quietly sucking against mediocre lefthanders. ah well.

[Oisin]

woah. Cole ain't missing about now. He's got everyone swinging at his pitches. 3 up, 3 down.

[J. Weitzel]

Abreu is such a smart base stealer. Always knows when to run.

[gr]

how close was the burrell drive to leaving?

[Oisin]

Not very, GR. plenty of space to the wall for the fielder.

[Oisin]

david bell just got a hard hit rbi. Everyone's trying to step up. For those without TV coverage, they showed cole hamels pacing up and down in the dugout, flat out not sitting down and desperate to get out again. The contrast to his timid second inning is astonishing.

[gr]

thanks, watching gameday at the moment. how about that david bell? where's guy from my blog that said signing gonzalez to get rid of bell? not bloody likely.

[RickSchuBlues]

How can you pitch to Bell with Gonzo on deck...?

[Oisin]

OK. Timid to harsh. Tentative, maybe. Its not like the guy shows fear.

[gr]

god, can alex gonzalez be a worse ballplayer?

[Oisin]

Yeah, should've walked 'im. Maybe yost believed all of us bloggers who claim bell sucks 99% of the time. didn't even look at the gonzo at bat.

[J. Weitzel]

David Bell has quietly pecked away with RBIs, and I feel like they're coming when the rest of the offense shuts it down. Nice job, Bell.

[Oisin]

especially with his play on that bunt in the bottom of the 1st.

[Oisin]

I think they've stuck the 7,8 and 9 hitters' bats to their shoulders. That's the grand plan for hamels.

[Oisin]

Hamels gets his grounder on a hard hit fastball, Bell does the job. again.

[Oisin]

jeez, I made faster decisions on a strike when I umped slowpitch softball. awful.

[Oisin]

CLUTCHLY! EATS DIRT WITH A DIVING GRAB TO HIS LEFT, EASY OUT AT FIRST.

[Oisin]

(p.s. - as to the umping comment, I was lousy. lousy. lousy.)

[Jon]

Hamels is flat out awesome!! Hope he can keep it up for many more starts to come!!

As for Gonzalez, I don't know how much longer the Phils can ride with him. I liked the signing at the time, but he is pressing entirely too much! I don't think he has done much of anything other than ground out to short or third all season (or is that Nunez...jk). Another option definitely needs to be explored...

[Oisin]

dammit, hamels pushed his luck with a hard hit bunt. double-play.

[Oisin]

hamels back to wearing a track in the dugout. get him off the caffiene!

[ae]

no wonder the kid's so skinny.

[THAT DUDE]

The King Cole Express is chugging along nicely today dontcha think?

Yes I want KING COLE EXPRESS trademarked!

[Oisin]

king cole espresso, more like.

[Oisin]

v-fer-victorino limping, and looking right pissed-off. He battled hard on that at-bat and smacked one off his foot.

[yt]

I love the play by play guys, I can only get so much from the ESPN game cast, so keep the commentary coming.

Thanks!

[Billy Mac]

Not watching or listening to the game, but just checked boxscore and it reads Gonzalez has left 6 men on base. Could that be right ?

[Oisin]

feels like it. Mad-dog warming up, which doesn't bode well for the speedy king's win . . .

[Casey]

If he played for Washington, he would be Nat's King Cole.

[Oisin]

towering fly ball by carlos lee gets the runner in. Victorino tries to make the throw, but he's not going to get him.

[RickSchuBlues]

Casey, nice one.

[Oisin]

Fielder follows with another mile-high special for the outfield. Someone else want to do commentary on the sausage race?

[Carson Book]

Hamels actually surrenders a run...was gonna happen eventually. Please don't pull him Manuel!

[Oisin]

I won't say what nat king cole is rhyming slang for in dublin. It's what every teenage fella dreams of getting, tho'.

[Carson Book]

Wow, beerleaguer is on fire today with posts. I'm leaving school for the day, will listen on the radio. We need to close this out for a win!

[Oisin]

Apropriately enough for the brewers, there's been some beerleague fielding today.

[Oisin]

Epic. Cole hamels slows down his pacing, looks out on the field. takes it in. Scratches his arse.

[Oisin]

Chad Moeller may also have been imbibing. Every throw seems to be at the mirror image of the real second base. Harsh, but fair, I feel.

[Oisin]

Cardinals, Braves leading. We better win today. Howard just went out exasperated and swinging.

[ae]

Oisin's a one-man sports bar...

[Oisin]

That's a kindly comment ae, but I don't have enough bar. Sadly.

[Oisin]

beer. I meant beer. maybe I've been drinking.

[Oisin]

moeller the stiff got a home-run off baseball jesus. I will not say a bad word against him when they come to philly. 4-3.

[ae]

I think we can leave this inning off Hamels' ROY audition tape.

[Oisin]

Hamels walked the pinch hitter. Here comes cholly. He threw hard, but maybe a little too angry, after the homerun. seems like a lot of the pitches were located higher than usual for him.

[Oisin]

Kid is *not* looking happy in the dugout. He's fuming. And no, he still hasn't sat down.

[Oisin]

fine k by mad-dog. that big ol' slow curve of his on the outside twice and then low and in to get weeks swinging.

[Oisin]

cirillo hit it through the hole because utley was out of position a bit. sweaty palms time.

[ae]

it's only the 7th. we've got a couple innings yet until we blow it.

[Stubborn & Blind]

wow.

[RickSchuBlues]

Hope y'all are happy with Madson in the pen. He sure inspires a lot of confidence.

[Oisin]

pray our hitting wakes up. that was a laser.

dammit. dammit. dammit. I thought we'd get one out of three. Don't think it'll happen.

[Oisin]

RickSchuBlues - in fairness, t'wasn't the hit by cirillo which was looking like bad pitching. What came after tho' . . .

[RickSchuBlues]

I don't want to hear about the Cirillo hit. What Jenkins did was a foregone conclusion. This isn't a guy you want out there with the game on the line. Neither is Franklin. Neither is Rhodes. Neither is Fultz. Neither is Cormier. Neither is Geoff Geary. Pat Gillick, you've got a real problem here.

[Stubborn & Blind]

exactly. unless gordon can go 3 innings a night, this is going to be an ongoing issue.

[RickSchuBlues]

Rollins just keeps jamming himself. That hitting streak seems like ancient history.

[Oisin]

Yeah, we need to lose cormier, and probably fultz. Geary has looked better to me this year, a lot better. Actually, just checked fultz's FIP, and it's none too shabby right now. he's managing some K's, but like madson, his control is a bad right now. I disagree about mad-dog. His WHIP is badly out of whack with his previous two years (1.13, 1.25, 2.07) - guys might figure out how he pitches, but he should be able to sort out his control.

Uggh, they're looking at delluci now.

[Oisin]

I'm actually kind of worried that the streak has thrown rollins off. Remember how much he talked about getting his hands inside pitches when he was hitting well? Is he thinking about that too much now, and its resulting in him getting jammed a lot?

aaagh. Sal. No, for the love of god, no.

[kdon]

No Fultz against Jenkins? Not surprising given Manuel's disinclination to ever visit the mound mid-inning, but seriously, Jenkins is the perfect candidate for a lefty specialist. This guy simply doesn't know how to manage.

[RickSchuBlues]

I'm gonna go down to Venezuela and help Ugie Urbina break out of prison. Anyone with me?

[J. Weitzel]

The bench and bench management, how should I say this, needs some work.

[Oisin]

Rick Schu, you're desperate, man. There's high wire and then there's high wire. I get vertigo two feet off the ground, fer fecks sake. I couldn't cope with Ugie back.

[kdon]

What's with the "ughh" for Delucci...the guy has been good.

[Oisin]

Jason - I think the bench just needs working over. repeatedly. till they learn how to hit things like barn doors.

[RickSchuBlues]

I was wondering where Fultz was against Jenkins, but then it seems Fultz has done something to make Manuel very angry at him; Charlie won't bring the guy in unless they're 9 runs down for some reason.

[THAT DUDE]

Geez I hope we dont need a ph'er in the 9th lol. Uncle Cholly at it again.

[RickSchuBlues]

Sure I'm desperate! I'd bring back Jerry Spradlin at this point.

[Tony]

Our bench completely useless.

[kdon]

Fultz was actually up, which makes the decision even more baffling...who's he up for, Lee? I think two outs, the tying and go-ahead runs on base and a power lefty would be the spot to bring him in.

[RickSchuBlues]

That's right, Fultz was up...he's about the only one who hasn't been strafed in this series, they might as well have tried him.

This is like all our worst January nightmares playing out before our eyes.

[Oisin]

kdon - you were right. Dellucci certainly hasn't been as bad as the rest of the bench. Too much hyperbole on my behalf.

[gr]

defending manuel gets harder every day. why waste dellucci like that? he's basically the only decent pinch hitter you have.

[Oisin]

everyone else see victorino punch his helmet twice?

[gr]

vicorino flies to the wall in CF?