Cole Hamels: An Ego As Big As His ERA

Cole Hamels came into this season the king of the world. He had just come off a postseason that saw him have a 1.80 ERA as a starter. He had a nice WS MVP trophy and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He went after the rival Mets calling them choke artists and looked to finally have a "Ace" like season in 2009 and propel his team to their second World Series in as many years.

Well then this season actually started. It started with Hamels missing opening day. When he finally made a start he got rocked. And was topping out at around 88. Many said it was the amount of innings he had thrown last season. Hamels claimed he was fine. He wasn’t. He has yet to be "fine."

Let me state that as I type this I’m wearing a Cole Hamels shirt. I didn’t buy it because I love Cole Hamels. Because he was proclaimed an Ace when he was drafted or because of the postseason last year. I honestly bought this shirt because it was on sale at Modells and I vowed to get a Hamels shirt after he called the Mets Choke Artists in the offseason.

Let me say that quite frankly, I hate Cole Hamels. I love the Phillies but if I had to pick one Phillie that I flat out did not like it would be Colbert Michael Hamels. My main problem with Hamels really has not as much to do with his production this season as much as it has to do with the way he carries himself

Cole Hamels thinks his shit smells like Cinnamon Sticks. He thinks he is God’s gift to baseball. I’ve really always had a problem with his "Me" first attitude that comes off. He reminds me of Arod in interviews.....just spewing Bullshits in between a billion "Ya Know". Let’s take a look at a guy who was nicknamed "Hollywood" back in Single A by former ROTY, MVP, 2 time All star, Hank Aaron Award Winner, Silver Slugger, HR Derby Champion, Ryan Howard. (you know a guy who deserves to act like a king in this city)

Does anyone remember when Hamels had his first problem with the Phillies? It had to do with the fact that they didn’t have a team chiropractor for the team. He was, at the time, on the DL with a shoulder strain but criticized the team for not having a chiropractor. Didn’t really know they can help with shoulder pain but ok.

His next incident came when it came time for arbitration last season. The Phillies didn’t offer Hamels a long term contract because, here's a shock, they wanted to make sure he would be able to go through a full season healthy. He hadn’t been through a full healthy season since his junior year in HS so I can’t really blame the Phillies. Cole's response to not being offered an extension "I’ll remember this". Love the attitude Cole. This was all before last year even started. It was after a season where it LOOKED like he would turn into something great......But it was still unsure.

Look the fact is this guy has a 4.77 ERA. A 7-7 record to go with it. An attitude that could match any current Met and yet as I watched Cole leave tonight’s game, a game that saw him go 5.1 IP giving up 4 ER (2 HR) and 4 K's, People clapped. WHY?

Is it because his name is Cole Hamels??? Is it because of last year??? Because if that’s the case then every time Joe Blanton gets lit up lets cheer him. Because as I remember it he went undefeated last year as a Phillies and even hit a HR in the post season. I’m fairly certain if that was Jamie Moyer instead of Cole Hamels. No one cheers. Hell there would probably have been some Boo's

So as i yelled "BEAUTIFUL PERFORMANCE YOU PRIMA DONA" as he exited the field a man with an obnoxious spiked hair cut turned around and gave me a dirty look. IT’S AUGUST. YOU CANT FAKE THE NUMBERS IN AUGUST. FOLKS HE FUCKING SUCKS RIGHT NOW. HASNT BEEN GOOD ALL YEAR.

I haven’t forgotten last year. He was great last year. Last year he went 14-10 record with an amazing 3.09 ERA. BUT THIS ISNT LAST YEAR. I’m not confident in Hamels going into the post season. I don’t know how ANYONE could be confident in a pitcher who has a 4.77 ERA. Last year Hamels was unhittable and took his season and rolled into the post season. But this season he’s probably going to pout his almost 5 ERA into the post season.

My biggest problem with Cole is his attitude. And the way the fans treat him. In Philly we pride ourselves on the "If he’s not pitching well were going to let him know about it" But Cole Hamels gets a pardon??? A few weeks ago in Arizona a ground ball was hit to Ryan Howard. Hamels ran over to cover the bag but Howard had a problem grabbing it and the runner was safe at first. Hamels started flipping out. Started throwing a temper tantrum because his first baseman, a first basemen who’s been pretty good at defense this year, couldn’t make a play. I forgot that Cole Hamels doesn’t make mistakes (if you discount his 13.99 ERA with RISP and his 20 HR's this season)

Most pitchers thank their teammates when they make a great play. A play that either saves the pitcher a run or just gets them out of the inning. Tonight Howard made a really nice scoop and was able to stay on the bag. Hamels just walks off. Doesn’t acknowledge it.

I think Hamels is a terrible teammate. I mean if you were a first basemen and you look over after making an error and see your starting pitcher flipping out because you didn’t make the play what are you supposed to think exactly??

Now I do think that his ERA has to do with the Verducci effect. For those of you not familiar with the Verducci Effect it is the idea that if a pitcher under the age of 25 increases his IP from the previous year by more than 30 IP then he will probably have a bad year with either bad results, injuries, or both. Hamels IP from 2007-2008 was plus 72.1 IP. Pitchers can’t just take this amount at once. They need to be eased to this amount. You can’t train for 5K's your entire life and then just assume you can do a 10K no problem. The innings jump makes sense. But once again I have a bigger problem with his attitude

Hamels just carries a swagger about him that yells "These fly’s are around me because I’m the shit" But what Hamels doesn’t realize is that those Fly’s are around him because he is pitching like shit. I don’t expect Hamels to duplicate next postseason. I fully expect him to continue to struggle, continue to give up HR's, continue to throw temper tantrums on the mound, and continue to for some reason go unscathed in this city.

I’m sick of this prima donna acting like he is God’s gift to this city. I’m serious when I say that his attitude would fit wonderfully in the clubhouse of the New York Mets. He is So Cal born and bred and it’s obvious because he’s a So Cal Douche bag. Thank god we have Cliff Lee because you can’t count on Hamels this season. On paper Hamels has a 4.77 ERA. In his mound I’m sure it’s still 0.

So I’m sorry to tell you that Santa doesn’t exist. Bring on the guy who’s reading this shocked out of his mind that I would dare to say the emperor had no clothes. But next time you watch Cole in person, and he has a game like tonight, ask yourself this. If this was Rodrigo Lopez, Kyle Kendrick, Joe Blanton, or Jamie Moyer, Would you clap??

Some things to think about as I depart

1.    Hamels ERA last season was 3.09 his ERA this year is 4.77

2.    Hamels hasn’t averaged a strikeout an inning since his rookie year

3.    Hamels ERA with RISP is a staggering 13.99 (not counting tonight game)

4.    Hamels ERA with RISP and 2 outs is an even worse 18.29

5.    Hamels 20 HR's are good for 3rd on the team in HR's given up

6.    Hamels has the second worst ERA for the starters

7.    Last 10 games Hamels has a 4.43 ERA

8.    Hamels has NEVER had this bad of a season....not even in the minors.

9.    If Hamels, for his next 3 games, goes a CG with 0 ER it would drop his ERA to 3.94. So it would basically take 27 IP for Cole to get an ERA under 4

Bring on the haters. But as I said It’s his "me first" attitude that bothers me more than anything. And I think that is something he needs to change in order to be the most effective pitcher he can be.