Philadelphia Phillies Need Their Bats To Wake Up For Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels is back. The World Series MVP we had come to know and love is pitching the way we know he can. There is no more of that mental crap from last year. He has been on fire. His stats show that—well, at least in every category except wins.

This season, Hamels has an ERA of 3.33 going along with 157 strikeouts (good for eighth in Major League Baseball), but somehow, he is 7-9. The Phillies just don't seem to score when Hamels is on the mound. He hasn't had a win since July 11th. In his last two starts, he has gone seven or more innings and given up one run, in losing efforts. It is ridiculous.

This is inexcusable by the Phillies. They will score ten runs in games in which Kyle Kendrick or Joe Blanton pitch, but none whenever Hamels pitches a gem. To put it in perspective, Kendrick and Hamels have the same number of wins, while Hamels has an ERA 1.27 points better than Kendrick's. It disgusts me.

The Phillies are in an unfamiliar place this year. They're not six games up in the division—they're two games back. They need to be clicking on all cylinders to win the NL East. That includes winning for Cole Hamels. If the Phils had managed just two runs in Cole's last two starts, they would be tied for the division lead. These losses can come back to bite them.

And if this team makes the postseason, what are they going to do averaging one run for this guy? The Phillies need to play their absolute best baseball in the postseason if they want to be in the hunt for the pennant.

An ace is no use if he has no run support. It is time for the Phils to wake up and score this guy some runs.