Tonight, Hamels Has The Ball
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Wed, October 15, 2008 10:16 AM | Comments: 65
Posts
It may seem like a broken record, but tonight is the kind of game Cole Hamels was born to pitch.
“I think throughout my career or my lifetime, which hasn’t been as much or as long as Jamie (Moyer) … you know, going out there in the big game you want to be that guy that can dictate it.
“And I think if you have the mind-set and the talent to do so, then you should be able to go out there and have success. And I think that’s something I have the confidence that I can go out there and do. I know I have the talent to do it. It’s just a matter of time and getting the opportunity to do it.”
Talent plus mind-set usually means good things.
By throwing tonight, Hamels is on five-days rest.
“I think pitching every five days is a good assessment of what I can do and what I’m capable of doing. And I can be at my best. I don’t think they want to risk it with me trying to go an extra day early for one more win, because it takes four. And if it causes me to have some extra soreness, I know the next time around I might not be as successful.”
Sure Hamels wouldn’t mind clinching at home, but he just wants to get it done.
“It would be more exciting to clinch at home in front of the home crowd, but anytime you can do it sooner, I think makes it a little bit easier on your sense of worry or excitement.”
Point is, Hamels is projecting a good bit of calm in preparation for tonight. Hopefully, in spacious Dodger Stadium with one good start under his belt, he can practice that calm and pitch a solid game. When Charlie Manuel kept Hamels under a five- or four-days rest schedule all season, he was prepping for this game. Now is the time to ride the horse. The team got them to this point — now the ace has to make the push.
Posts: 0 Jim
I have complete confidence that Hamels can get this done. I have work till 10 and I’m hoping he’s pitching way past the point of me getting home. It won’t be that bad hearing listining to it on the radio so I don’t have to listen to McCarver and Buck cheer the dodgers on. And Tim do you have anything on the meeting players meeting where Burrell stepped up as a team leader
Posted: 10:39 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Phil
Hamels better get it done tonight so that I can know my WS tickets aren’t going to waste.
Posted: 10:46 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Jack
Phil how did you get those tickets?
Tonights prediction: 6-3 PHILLIES. WHO’S WITH ME?!?!?
Posted: 10:49 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 MikeD
so random question…
do any of you guys have ESPN insider? I’m so sick of clicking on articles that I want to read only to find out that I need to pay to read them.
For example, Jayson Stark has a Blog entry up regarding Matt Stairs. It sure would be great to read this, but I can’t!
Anyone here read this latest article that can give me the gist of it?
Posted: 10:49 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Ed
I think LA is done. That last lost mentaly beat them down. I can see tonight being 7-1.
Posted: 10:55 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Phil
Jack, the lottery thing from phillies.com.
Posted: 10:56 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Griffin
MikeD, I used to have a co-worker who got ESPN the magazine and he let me use his password online for insider, but it just expired last month.
I have confidence in King Cole, let’s get it done tonight.
Also, did anyone hear that the Rays are pitching Kazmir tomorrow in game 5 instead of their game 1 starter Shields? Very odd.
Posted: 10:59 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Dennis
My prediction tonight….
Hamels will pitch a gem, I’m thinking 8 innings(if Charlie lets him), 1 maybe 2 runs, 9 k’s! Close game as Billingsley pitches well early but the Phils breakout in the 5th or 6th and break this game wide open. Ryan Howard will hit his first homerun of the playoffs and it will be on to the World Series with a 7-2 victory-no! Yes Shane is NLCS MVP!!!
Posted: 11:00 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 1650 Tim Malcolm
Jim: Burrell basically called the guys into the outfield during the workout. He said they have to focus on game five and never think ahead.
And yeah, that’s fantastic. I’d bet Burrell is more of a leader than we think, especially after Rowand’s departure. Good to see him taking charge like that.
Posted: 11:04 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Jim
I’m gonna say that Billingsly comes out and has a great game, learning from his mistakes in game 2, and surprises this lineup. We manage to get 3 runs off him around the 5th or 6th, and hamels scatters 2 runs over 6 or 7. Scoring stops, and we send it to the bullpens.
In the bottom of the 9th, Brad Lidge will walk the bases loaded, before getting three straight strikeouts, sending whoever in Philadelphia that did not have cardiac arrest into glee
Posted: 11:05 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Manny
The game today looks like it could be very close. Billingsley had 4 strikeouts in the 2nd inning of Game 2 before we scored our first run. We need to get him early.
Posted: 11:08 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Cole Hamels
Did they send out the Lottery Winner Notifications? I was hoping for an email
Posted: 11:09 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Josh
MikeD,
Stark’s blog entry is a quick one, just saying how nice it must be to be Stairs. Hangs out, hits a little BP, sits around, then gets up and hits a monstrous, series altering home run. Also points out that only three guys had less regular season ABs with a team before hitting a postseason homerun, and none of those three homers had much meaning, so this was pretty much unprecedented production from him.
Posted: 11:13 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Manny
Just got this email:
“Thank you for registering for a chance to purchase tickets for the Phillies postseason. Unfortunately your entry was not selected for our online World Series sale.”
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
:(
Posted: 11:22 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 SJ Mike
Manny, same here.
What a drag….
Posted: 11:23 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
Honestly… I think the Phillies jump all over Chad LONG BALL Billingsley and get him out by the 4th… they then bring in Maddux, who surrenders back-to-back shots by Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz..
Hamels goes a full 7, giving up maybe 2-3 runs, but the Phillies win this game something like 9-3..
Dodgers are going to be playing tight.. trying to win 3 games over the span of these next 9 innings, and Hamels is going to get like 8 Ks and 2-3 Double-Play balls in big spots tonight.
He is the ACE of the staff, and carries us to the World Series tonight.
And i’m not really all that excited, I won’t go nuts and celebrate at Cottman & Frankord or anything… I’ve seen teams win their league before.. I want to see this team get the job done.. and I really think that is their main focus too!
GO FIGHTINS’!!!
Posted: 11:24 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
just got my bad news too… AND.. I registered one under my fiancee’s name. and email too. and got bad news from that one as well
Sucks to be me..
BUT, I did get to go to NLDS Game #2 and that was awesome!
Posted: 11:26 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 SJ Mike
Oh well, it’ll make me that much richer now I guess.
Posted: 11:39 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 DSR
MikeD,
Here ya go…nothing special, but I know what ya mean re:ESPN insider…it’s really annoying…my buddy works in PR for a pro team, so he passed along the sign in info…LET’S GO PHILS!
TAKING THE STAIRS: I’ve decided I want to be Matt Stairs when I grow up. Come to the park. Hang with the guys. Try to hit 50 balls out of the stadium in BP. Then take the rest of the night off — unless there’s a life-changing, game-winning postseason home run to be hit or something.
I’m still trying to digest the full impact of a guy like this hitting a home run like the one Stairs launched off Jonathan Broxton on Monday. So let’s think about it.
Stairs played in just 16 games for the Phillies this year. Sixteen. He got just 17 at-bats, in fact. Seventeen. And if you take a look back at postseasons past, you’ll find that players like that don’t hit home runs like this in October. Ever. Until now.
ESPN research guru Mark Simon reports that only three players in history have ever played fewer games for any team than Stairs had played for the Phillies before hitting a postseason home run. They’re Marv Rickert (three games) of the 1948 Braves, Tom Wilson (nine games) of the 2004 Dodgers and Turner Ward (10) of the 1999 Diamondbacks.
But none of those guys hit a home run as huge as Stairs’ home run. Rickert came close, homering to draw his team within a run in the seventh inning of Game 4 of the ’48 World Series — but the Braves never scored again. Wilson homered in a blowout NLDS loss. And Turner also homered in a blowout NLDS loss.
Matt Stairs, on the other hand, changed this series. And, as one member of the Phillies’ front office joked Tuesday, he “guaranteed himself an invitation to the 10-year reunion — in 2018.”
Posted: 11:40 AM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Sean P.
thanks for posting the article DSR!
I didn’t win tickets at any level of the lottery, I was at least hoping to get to one series. I had second chance tickets to game 5 of the NLDS but it never happened :(
I guess this happened to a lot more people than me, but i think if someone wins tickets they should be taken out of the pool so more people get to see the Phillies in the playoffs.
Posted: 12:15 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 dan
I have two game 7 NLCS tickets, but I really hope I don’t get to go…
Posted: 12:22 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 RK
just got the email losing out on WS tickets again.
Posted: 12:27 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Rick
I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that they make it!
My gf got selected for WS game 3. We got standing room only but who cares?!?!
Posted: 12:28 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 had_my_phil
6-3 is a solid prediction for the final score tonight. That was the score 15 years ago when they clinched the pennant against the stunned Braves.
Posted: 12:36 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Gabriel
king cole, colbert, hollywood hamels, how about just ACE. do it phils, get us to the promised land…
Posted: 12:38 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Phil
Nice Rick. I’ll be there too. I can’t wait.
Posted: 12:45 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Gabriel
my buddy just called me and he got WS game 5 also, it’s gonna be great to tailgate w/the same guy i had the sunday plan with last year… oh man i cant help but get too far ahead of myself… this is so effin exciting…! i cant sit still hah
Posted: 12:53 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 dan
What do I do until the game today? I can’t go to class or do homework. I can’t watch ESPN. I can’t sleep. Ughh
Posted: 12:56 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Phil
Me neither Gabriel. I’ve been freaking out all morning. I’m about to start drinking at 1 in the afternoon to prepare for the game. I think I’ll hold off though. It’s still early. 10 days away before I’m there watching the Phillies in the World Series.
Posted: 12:57 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Cole Hamels
Unofficially Matt Stairs Homerun Measured 457 feet.
I think thats a low number. That ball traveled atleast a Mile if not 3 or 4 miles.
Posted: 12:58 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Gabriel
i’m stuck at work here on Broad St til 5:30, my boss (who is going to game 5 with me) may actually bring a six pack back from his meeting (crossing my fingers)… he said if we win the WS he’s bringing a keg into the office (allstate insurance) and we’re gettin wasted and then catching the broad street subway to see the parade… (still have fingers crossed for that too, drinkin on the job – with permission)
Posted: 01:02 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
come on red sox you and L.A can do it three in a row. YEAH SOX
Posted: 01:06 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
Dan can I buy those tickets want to see the dodgers when they clinch.
Posted: 01:13 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 MikeD
Hey DSR… Thanks for posting that.
The whole insider thing annoys me. I appreciate you reposting it here though.
Posted: 01:26 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
Is it worth buying $8 tickets, to have a ticket for when the Phillies clinch a trip to the World Series??
Sounds like a pretty nice souvenir to me!!
I can’t believe that StubHub has that many tickets still up for grabs.. thats insane
Posted: 01:35 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Joe Green
I didn’t get WS tix either ;-( I was hoping to make a trip back home. Oh well, I’ll have to settle for seeing them lose game 4 in Milwaukee but clinch game 5 the next day. Probably fewer than 300 Phillies fans there, it was sweet to have them be silenced on Sunday after they were so obnoxious after their only win on Saturday.
http://www.philly.com/philly/gallery/Phillies_Fans_Photos2.html?next=1&index=20
http://www.philly.com/philly/gallery/Phillies_Fans_Photos2.html?next=1&index=19
Posted: 01:52 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 dan
red sox fan- no but you can take a rough pounding in the butt from carl crawford :)
Posted: 01:56 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
ha ha. Dan you must be a phillies fan. Only now there are three homo on the site. Gay night at the phillies , you guys must have a BALL.
Posted: 02:08 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
redsoxfan,
we thought you were done… remember what I said about you trying to be funny, TRY HARDER..
. but seriously, what was going on earlier, your son’s friend was posting things under a different name on the same computer, and then you typed something under that name too? Or am I all confused?
Posted: 02:12 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
That was me on my son’s computer which I explain sorry for the misposting of name. my son is a phillies fan not my fault.
Posted: 02:21 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 SJ Mike
So the truth comes out. Redsoxfan, if you have a son who is old enough to have a computer, then I’m guessing you’d be somewhere around twice my age.
So please explain to me then why you act half it?
Posted: 02:22 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
So you have a son.. who is a Phillies fan… and you go on his computer, start cyber-fights, and call people Homos … I would say, that your son is in good hands. you clearly set a good example of how a responsible adult should behave. Be Proud!! I wish you and the rest of RedSox Nation nothing but the best of luck for the remainder of this baseball season!
Posted: 02:24 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
I was using my son’s computer and didn’t change name sorry never want to every use somone else name to post.
Posted: 02:24 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 dan
Some questions, Red Sox fan
1. If you were at the game last night, which inning would you have left the game, fifth or sixth?
2. When the Red Sox lose, do you promise that you’ll stay on here and keep talking shit?
3. Your son is a Phillies fan, so that makes him:
A. A homo
B. Gay
C. A complete douche bag
D. Awesome
Posted: 02:27 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
A better man than you Dan. If you are a man.
Posted: 02:32 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
never ran away in my life. if sox win next three will you still think the phillies can win series. against the might red sox.
Posted: 02:34 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 redsoxfan
got marry at eighteen. could be twice as old if you are as old as you talk. Figure you are about sixteen. young and stupid
Posted: 02:36 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
Do you think, right now, that the RedSox will win the World Series this year? Or that they are MIGHTY ??
Posted: 02:36 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
I’m fixin to got marry soon too…. you dumb, red-neck, redsox fan..
Posted: 02:38 PM on October 15, 2008
Posts: 0 SJ Mike
You’re off by 8 years. I’m 24.
And you act like you’re 12. But then again, Math was probably hard for you too along with History and English as you have demonstrated.
As Don said, if you want to talk baseball, awesome, but it seems that you’re more interesting in acting like a spoiled 12 year old brat who is seeing his team crumble and fall and he needed to let out aggression on something.
Posted: 02:40 PM on October 15, 2008