Phillies

Morning Wood: The Funny Thing About Cole Hamels’ Back, Jules

By Kyle Scott

Published: Jun 15th, 2011 · 8:54 AM EDT

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Source: Phillies.com

Is that it may be just fine.

Yesterday was apparently Cole Hamels day. He was on the back page of the Daily News, there was a photo gallery of him on Philly.com, he doled out $200,000 to Philadelphia public schools, and then threw another masterpiece after a rain-delayed start. He capped the night off with back pain.

According to Hamels, he will be just fine. The pain was defined as a "knot" and "tightness" in his middle back. With a 9-1 lead in the 8th inning, there was no need to risk it. [Phillies.com]

OK, but will he make his next start Sunday in Seattle?

"Oh, yeah," Hamels said. "Yeah."

So he is not concerned at all?

"No, no, no, no," he said.

 

Cole has a 1.64 ERA in his last six outings. Last night's may have been the most impressive of all. To put it in perspective – ya know, human terms – I watched Hamels do interviews for two hours in the morning, speak at a press conference for his foundation, and pose for countless pictures. Half a day later, thanks to waiting for hour-long rain delay, I was passed out on the couch (judging by my texts, I'm guessing it was somewhere around the 7th inning). Hamels was still pitching. That's impressive.

David Hale has video of his post-game press conference.

Ryan Howard and Chase Utley appear to be back to their old tricks. That little swing Utley put on his home run just dripped of sexy, man-crushin' bat speed. He's baaaaack. Speaking of home runs… Dom Brown continues to produce a superstar sound every time the ball hits his bat. First the home runs, then that line out to left center. Not a lot of guys can hit the ball on a line 372 feet in the opposite direction. 

Phil Sheridan compares our appreciation of Ryan Howard to that of Donovan McNabb. Uh oh.

Pat Gallen of Phillies Nation is now writing for our friends at Philly Sports Daily (the takeover continues). He calls J-Roll™ old.

The Vanimal could return for a spot start on Saturday.

Finally, Logan Morrison, Marlins outfielder and epic Tweeter, went out for drinks after the game. There's a doubleheader today…