At Monday’s Philadelphia Sports Writers Association awards banquet, Cole Hamels declared his shoulder as “fine” and says he “feels good, and is ready to go” for Spring Training.
Ruben Amaro stated earlier this winter that Hamels had been shut down due to a sore shoulder, but it was not an issue. Hamels reacted to that, saying “I don’t know of anything that happened. “I’ve been healthy…I haven’t felt anything of that sort. That’s the honest truth.
“I know I feel good and I’m ready to go. That’s all I can really answer. That’s kind of where it is. Same program, ready for Spring Training and finally getting out of the cold. That will be a lot nicer. I’m very excited.”
Hamels also addressed Amaro’s comments that the Phillies were now the underdog in the division due to the Nationals and Braves taking over last year. “The other teams were ahead of us so we have a lot we have to improve on. That’s all up to the players. Ultimately we have to stay healthy and play the game we know we’re capable of doing.”
Might be easier said than done with teams in Atlanta and Washington that have seemingly improved – or at least have not regressed this offseason.
“We just have a lot to prove. We can’t take a backseat and hope that we can coast through. We have to go at it from the very beginning and not really hope to play catch up, because these teams…are a lot better.”
