In all reality, the guy who took the mound on Sunday is the real Cole Hamels; the pedigree pitcher who was drafted in the first round in 2002 and who many expected to be a Phillies cornerstone for the next decade. He's shown flashes of dominance, and prolonged stretches of incredible effectiveness. But, for whatever reason, Cole Hamels' career has been prone to a monthly clunker that raises eyebrows and brings unwarranted questions...
It's an impossible task, even for the Roy Halladay's of the world, to step on the mound 33 games a year and not have at least one poor performance. Brett Myers' 31 game streak of 6+ IP last season is more remarkable than anyone really gave him credit for. On Sunday, Hamels had the kind of dominating stuff we were told we'd see day in and day out. He had it for all of 2008 and he had it most of last season. But it's the days like last Tuesday that make fans leery about him. Cole had 7 appearances of 4+ ER last season. Those starts were scattered pretty evenly throughout the season. Cliff Lee, on the other hand, had 10 such starts. His were grouped primarily in the middle of August.
Why then, are fans more receptive to Cliff Lee and willing to ignore his shortcomings (like his performance on Friday)? I have no answer. But with Cole Hamels, our problem is that we've seen the brilliance and the smattering of clunkers is unacceptable. When Cole performs badly, it's not because his mechanics are different, or he's nursing an injury. The Hyde to his Jeckyll only exists in the 6 inches between his ears. In 2008, he was cool, calm, and collected on the biggest stage. So why is it that he blows up in the 3rd inning of an April game against the lowly Mets? And then how does he bounce back so quickly against a much better Atlanta Braves team. Our problem with Cole Hamels is that we never know when the time-bomb is going to explode!
Cole Hamels catches grief in this town. Far too much, in my opinion. But it's only because he frustrates us to no end. He can be frustratingly good or frustratingly bad and you don't know until the 3rd or 4th inning which one it is. Will he hit 2 guys and misplay a bunt tonight? Will he strike out 10 and go 8 solid innings? In the end, we point to lack of run support as the reason why Cole doesn't rack up the wins and get the kind of recognition he probably deserves. But I can't but think that his lack of popularity amongst fans has more to do with our fear of getting let down by the monthly clunker. We'll see which Cole Hamels shows up on Saturday night vs. Florida.
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