He had struggled mightily in his last two starts, while allowing 20 hits and 14 runs in only 6 1/3 innings. The Major League Baseball trade deadline is only six days away, so the stories and rumors were circulating which claimed he was hurting his trade value with his poor outings.
There was a lot on the line yesterday in Chicago, when Phillies ace Cole Hamels answered his critics with a masterpiece, which was only two walks away from being a perfect game. Ironically, it may have been the last start of his career as a Phillie. If the Phillies front office do their jobs, they may be able to use to amazing accomplishment to acquire some outstanding prospects for their organization in the future.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon believes the performance by the left-hander will help the Phillies secure more in a trade deal for Hamels in the next few days.
“He definitely increased his value, I would imagine,” Maddon said following the game. “You’re going to get that higher-tier prospect because of that performance today.”
I know he was being honest, but I didn’t think it was the most brilliant thing to say by the manager of the Cubs, who are one of the teams, which could be in pursuit of Hamels.
The left-hander had some of his best stuff of the season with his fastball in the 93 to 94 mile an hour area. Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said he thought Hamels’ curveball was as good as he’s ever seen him throw. He threw a total of 129 pitches to get the job done.
Hollywood, a name Hamels was given by Jimmy Rollins, was dominant throughout the contest while striking out 13 Cubs batters on the day. He completed the 13th no-hitter in Phillies history in dramatic fashion by making a mistake to Chicago rookie phenom Kris Bryant. The youngster hit a shot deep to centerfield, which might have the ending on a day with the wind blowing out, but it was blowing in yesterday and Phillies rookie centerfielder Odubel Herrera was able to make a running circus catch to finish off the Cubs. It was a storybook way to end such an outstanding performance.
This was the third no-hitter of the year in Major League Baseball. It follows earlier no-hitters by San Francisco Giants’ Chris Heston and Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer.
The Cubs hadn’t been no-hit since the Dodgers Hall of Fame southpaw Sandy Koufax did the honor back in 1965 when he threw a perfect game against Chicago.
Hamels got all the support he needed in the third inning when Ryan Howard launched a three-run homer to give the Phils all the runs they needed.
A fitting end to this era. Chooch catching, Howards homer and Hamels no-hitter. Thanks for the memories. Besides a world series win there is no better way to end a career at one place. I tip my hat to you Cole.
I know trading him is the right thing but damn it trading for prospects rarely works out. Look at all the prospects the Phil’s traded or got over the last five years and really none have amounted to shit. People bitch about trading lee..well they gave up nothing originally to get him and got nothing in return when they traded him….Halladay for prospects and if you remember everyone in baseball wanted the prospect DBrown…prospects are risky business
How about some credit to Catcher Ruiz who caught his 4 No-Hitter as a Phillie
(2 from Doc, 1 from Hamels and a combo effort by 3 Pitchers) which has to
Put Chooch up there ..
Paul, I bash your many unfounded and stupid comments so I have to give credit for this astute comment. Chooch calls a great game. Has been doing it for years. My prediction next Philly manager is Sammy, bench coach Raul and chooch managing in the minors. Phil’s have finally embraced Latino players…. Sammy is the guy
Duly noted for the record HAC.. Give me a little time and I’ll post something stupid.. On a side note, you mean Juan Samuel as Manager?
I like that Idea as well as bringing in Raul Ibanez to the Coaching Staff or Manage in the Minors or part of Player Development…
Yes Juan to manage… He is smart, has command if the English language was a solid but not spectacular MLB player…
I always liked Juan Samuel as a Player and Coach and I can see where Phillies new Management Team would be interested .. I think an experienced Coach like Davy Lopes would be a great asset and help with the young players in both Defense & Hitting but utilizing there speed and Base Stealing which puts huge pressure on opposing Pitchers & Defenses ..
Another Key is getting the right Pitching Coach as the Phillies will likely have a Young Staff and need a true “Teacher of Pitching”
They can only go up from here but they do have some young exciting Talent to grow with andneedto rebuild from the ground up as they are currently doing..
Hey,I don’t know his or Lopez baseball mind… Just saying a Latino works
After attending today’s hall of fame induction and listening to Craig biggio talk I left thinking one thing – I hope and pray we don’t trade cole. He is still young and a very good pro. He is philly , he delivered us what we all dream about. I’ve hoped and begged for utley to be moved for 2 years now but because he had no future here. Cole still does – he and Nola and a free agent or two can help turn things around. And if he doesn’t well we can still see him pitch and support him while he is still dominating. He has several more years left and we aren’t getting dominant players for him if he is moved. We need to build our starters Around him and Nola along with asche, Franco , Crawford and other young guys.
One thing I can tell you from first hand knowledge is that Nolan Ryan helped shape, mold and coach Craig biggio as he grew into the majors and whAt Craig learned from him is irreplaceable. Nolan didn’t win with Craig but he helped him and the team develop by being a true pro. Cole is a lot like Nolan off the field – quiet , hard working , and probably does a lot you will never see.
I hope cole stays here in philly and helps us build
Papelbon can suck a dick though.
Please everyone excuse mhenski – for his childish behavior
G. Cobb – I counsel players throughout the NFL and I encourage them to ask themselves if they would be willing to have their name associated with everything they do. Hey Fellas here on this website, let’s have some fun, but respect each other.
Your site was a lot cooler when you weren’t playing dad on it. For the 5 years I’ve been on here it’s been a lawless troll fest and now you wanna play dad????
If u don’t like curses in the comment section ban people who curse, get rid of the comment section or figure out how to implement word filters. Considering the fact I’d tell anyone on gods green earth that john Papp is a cancer and a scum bag person and he can s a d, yea I’d put my name behind it but thanks dad
if cole is traded my dream trade
phillies trade cole and jp crawford to dodgers for seager, puig and schleber