Cole Hamels News

Brett Myers, the pitcher who was sometimes loved and other times loathed during an eight-year run with the Phillies, filed for free agency yesterday after being told he was no longer in the team's plans.

If the Phillies are going to get back to the World Series in 2010, they will need Cole Hamels to pitch like Cole Hamels and quit channeling his inner Tyler Green.

Follow Morning Call Sports Reporter Mandy Housenick as she follows the Fightins in the 2009 MLB Playoffs in the Phillies Files blog... Visit the Phillies Files blog More Baseball News Manuel surprised by Hamels' comments Cole Hamels made a strong statement after Saturday's World Series Game 3 loss to the Yankees.

There's been much talk of who might start a possible game seven for Philadelphia should we get to that point.

After eight seasons with the Phillies, Brett Myers will be moving on. In a phone conversation this afternoon, Myers' agent confirmed a report that the Phillies have informed the 29-year-old right-hander that they don't intend to re-sign him.

A World Series Game 6 doesn't normally need much to embellish it. The stakes are clear and they are high enough that the individual storylines usually pale in comparison to the champagne on ice outside one team's locker room.

Pedro Martinez has won three Cy Young awards and made eight All-Star game appearances since being traded by the Dodgers in 1993.

If the New York Yankees have any money left over after the World Series, they might consider buying a bunch of earplugs.

The Philadelphia Phillies entered this postseason with two major concerns. And in the end it was those two concerns that ultimately cost them another victory parade down Broad Street.

Now that it's over, now that the parade has been canceled and there is no championship left to defend, the Phillies have to be honest with themselves.

In 2007 Cole Hamels established himself as an ace starting pitcher with the Phillies going 15-5 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.124 WHIP to go with his 177 strikeouts in 183 innings.

With another game comes more time to talk about the sex appeal of some of the star players.

The first instant replay call in World Series history did more than turn a double into a home run.

Bob Gibson and Mickey Lolich must be reaching for the Pepto, and not the tablets, but the pink drink, straight-up. But, then, this is the state of big-league pitching, and it has manifested itself on the sport's biggest stage.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel threw his support squarely in the corner of Cole Hamels, saying he would have confidence in sending the lefthander out to the mound for a potential Game 7 on Thursday.

The Philadelphia Phillies' burden remains formidable: to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series, they must win Games 6 and 7 on the road.

IF SHANE VICTORINO were Happy Gilmore, he might offer Larry Bowa a nice, warm glass of shut the hell up.

If there's controversy or melodrama, it must involve Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod's blast off Cole Hamels was initially ruled a double before the umpires deemed it a 2-run homer following video review.

Those are the words coming out of many of the Philly Phaithfula s mouths just a day after the Yankees put the Phillies in a 3-1 World Series hole.

Each game is captured in analytical detail by Philadelphia Magazinea s 2008 a oeBest Sportswritera Jason Weitzel, along with photos, behind-the-scenes access and exclusive interviews by Michael McNesby, making this 370-page compendium a must-own for all fans.