Hamels elbow exam

Hours after this fairly rosy review of Phillies ace Cole Hamels' velocity issues this spring, this far-from-rosy story on an elbow examination comes out.

According to several media sources, including the Philadelphia Daily News, Hamels will fly back to Philadelphia to be looked at by team doctor Michael Ciccotti after having steady soreness in the elbow.

However, team general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. indicated it is not presently a serious issue, and the team is taking a cautious approach.

Much was made about the 227 1/3 innings Hamels pitched -- not including his postseason innings -- last season. There may be some merit to those concerns. The young ace will have to be watched for the rest of the spring.

Hamels reaching for postseason milestone

Globe on Baseball lauds Cole Hamels' game one pitching performance and makes this observation:

No starter has ever won five games in a single post-season, something Hamels could accomplish in his next start on Monday in Game 5 – provided the Phillies haven't won it all by then.

That Hamels is only 24 makes it that much more remarkable. He's really figured it out over the past year or two, and looks to be the dominant left hander of the next decade.

Phils win game one

A fairly well-played World Series opener goes to the Phillies, 3-2. I'm impressed with Chase Utley and Carl Crawford, lefties hitting home runs against tough left-handed pitchers.

As Eric Young said on ESPN, "Cole Hamels was dealin'." He allowed just five hits and two earned runs in seven innings, striking out five on his way to victory. Scott Kazmir gave up one more run and threw eight more pitches in one fewer inning of work. It was Hamels domination of the Rays that earned Philly the victory.

Brad Lidge continued his dominance in the Phillies closer role, whiffing Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria to start the 9th, and then getting Crawford to foul out to third. He was dealin', too.

Hamels or Kazmir?

Game one of the World Series pits Cole Hamels against Scott Kazmir, 24-year-old left handers that can beat you with overpowering stuff, and with good pitching acumen.

Something tells me that Hamels will be tough to beat tonight, especially considering his postseason numbers to date (3-0, 1.23 ERA). Kazmir's 4.02 ERA in the postseason leaves something to be desired, although he's 1-0 against the Phils in his career, and he's tough against lefties. His .198 BAA from that side means he could neutralize Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

I'm taking the Rays tonight, although it's hard to pick against Hamels.

NLCS game five - Hamels vs. Billingsley

The most intriguing pitching match up of the postseason comes tonight when the Phillies and Dodgers throw their young guns in game five of the NLCS.

Philadelphia pitches 24-year-old Cole Hamels, who threw well in a game one win. The Dodgers counter with Chad Billingsley, who was rocked for seven runs in 2 1/3 innings in his game two loss.

This time Billingsley's got the crowd behind him, and Hamels has to deal with more adversity. Billingsley's been better at home this year (2.95 ERA), but Hamels is very strong on the road (3.19 ERA). This one should be a classic, if the youngsters can shake off the nerves.