Entering spring training, the Phillies were set in four of the five starting pitching slots, with Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Lamarr Houston Jersey Blanton. The fifth spot would be available between Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, newly acquired Chan Ho Park, and prospect Carlos Carrasco. Kendrick and Carrasco have both struggled in limited action so far, while Happ and Park have done only impre s. In fact, their duel may be making more headlines in Philadelphia if it werent for that proven fact that Hamels recently took a plane ride back home to get a tight left elbow examined.
Hamels insists the injury is certainly not serious and the man ought to be okay for his opening day begin April 5th against the Braves. Apparently, he feels fine while pitching and doesn't experience any sorene s, tightne s, or tenderne s following a trip, but has slight discomfort in between innings. Many will be quick Kevin White Jersey to point out his elevated workload and its role in cases like this, but lets not get too ahead of ourselves.
In 2006, Hamels logged 181.1, 73% which occurred in the major league level. The following season, Cole pitched a total of 190 innings including his lone postseason start against the Rockies. This past year, however, he combined 227.1 regular season innings with 35 more in the playoffs to surpa s his 2007 total by just over 72 frames. In the proce s, his name found its distance to several columns discu sing the Verducci Effect, which theorizes that young pitchers experiencing a substantial rise in workload tend to be more susceptible to injuries.
Despite Hamels insistence the i sue may be overblown, he is not going to risk his entire season in order Cody Whitehair Jersey to toe the rubber on opening day. If, for whatever reason, his left elbow has more damage than meets the eye, both Park and Happ go ahead the rotation to begin the growing season, rendering their current competition moot. Unfortunately, this could 't be a consolation for anybody outside of either Park or Happ, as the Phillies will require a healthy Hamels to po se s any shot of creating the playoffs, let alone repeating.
This is not the first time Hamels has already established to fight with the injury bug and CHONE appears to recognize this, suggesting that the World Series MVP will make just 29 starts. Despite the dropoff in playing time, his forecast requires a greater strikeout rate while sustaining the walk rate, FIP, and strand percentage. Hamels is a true ace in every sense of Ka'Deem Carey Jersey the term, and despite both his and Amaros subtle hints at annoyance this story is making lots of headlines, even the slightest talk of ailments towards the lefty will set the Phanbase into a frenzy of speculation.
If everything that is considered is 100% accurate, then Hamels won't mi s whenever to begin the season, will kick off the entire mlb schedule, and cause a logjam in that final rotation spot, causing either Park or Happ to begin the season in the bullpen. More updates because they come.