Phillies extend Cole Hamels for 6 more years

Forget all the trade speculation: Cole Hamels is going to be a Phillie for a long, long time.  The Phillies announced this morning that they have signed their home-grown ace to a 6 year, 144 million dollar contract extension.  The deal also includes an option for a 7th year and a limited no-trade provision.

Forgetting that the Phillies are already paying 20+ million to two other pitchers, this is a great deal for both Hamels, who gets market value, and the team, who gets a great pitcher locked up for his prime years.  While he will certainly be on the downside of his career when the contract runs out, Hamels still has plenty of good years left in his arm and its awesome to know they will all be in a Phillies uniform.

What the Phillies do next will be interesting.  They have a ton of money locked into starting pitching for the next several years, so will they feel compelled to move Cliff Lee?  Will they ship out Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence?  If so, what are they going to do for an outfield next season?  With the trade deadline less than a week away, we will likely know their plan soon enough.

Phillies avoid arbitration, sign Cole Hamels to one year deal

The Phillies have avoided arbitration with Cole Hamels, signing him to a one year, 15 million dollar contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS.  This is a significant raise for Hamels, who made 9.5 million last season.

The next step for the Phillies will be to wrap up Hamels long-term, something that may be tricky given all of the other big contract already on the books.  Avoiding arbitration and the headaches and hassle that go with that will help the Phils stay on good terms with Hamels but they will still have to shell out big bucks over a number of years to keep Cole in Philly.

Wilson Valdez also reached an agreement with the Phils, leaving Hunter Pence as the only arbitration-eligible Phillie.  Expect Pence to get wrapped up very soon.

Ben Francisco the unlikely hero in Game 3

To win a World Series you need to get big hits from some unlikely sources.  Ben Francisco was that unlikely source for the Phillies tonight, driving in all 3 of the Phillies runs with one swing of the bat.  Here are my thoughts on the Phils huge Game 3 win:

-Is there any more improbable of a hero than Ben Francisco?  After a pretty terrible regular season, Francisco instantly made himself a Philly legend with his 3-run homer in the 7th inning.  It was just his second hit in his postseason career and his first home run since late May but Francisco now joins the likes of Matt Stairs in the Phillies postseason pinch hit Hall of Fame.

-Although the Cardinals really made him work, Cole Hamels certainly pitched like an ace tonight.  It would have been nice if he could have gone more than 6 innings before having to turn it over to the bullpen but you can't argue with 8 strikeouts and no earned runs.

-The Phillies bullpen is still something to worry about.  When the starting pitchers are forced to throw a lot of pitches early on the bullpen is going to be a factor and Ryan Madson is the only reliever that can be counted on at the moment.  Madson can't pitch multiple innings every night, though, so someone is going to have step up sooner or later.

-Man that double play in the 8th inning was huge.  It also saved Madson from having to throw too many pitches and allowed him to stay fresh for the 9th.

-Jaime Garcia was everything we feared he would be.  The Phillies just can't hit strike-throwing, soft-tossing lefties.  The Phils failed to work deep counts on Garcia as he cruised through the first 6 innings.  We all know what happened in the 7th, of course.  Wonder if Garcia regrets walking Carlos Ruiz to get to Francisco...

-How annoying is Ryan Theriot?  He is just a mediocre journeyman middle infielder but there he is, going 4 for 5 in Game 3 and raising his batting average to .667 in the postseason.  Thank goodness he didn't get a hit in that final at bat.  I would call him the 2011 Cody Ross but Theriot has zero power and his team isn't winning.

With the two Roy's pitching the next two games and Cliff Lee possibly available out of the pen, the Phillies are exactly where they want to be.  All the pressure is on the Cardinals to beat two of the Phllies aces in a row.  Good luck with that.

Cole Hamels to the DL but will start Monday

In your daily Phillies injury news, Cole Hamels has been placed on the disabled list due to his shoulder issues. While that would normally be reason to panic, the move is retroactive to August 13th and the Phils have already announced that Hamels will start next Monday against the Reds. It sounds like this is just a precautionary move that will allow Hamels even more rest and give the Phillies a roster spot.

Pete Orr was called up to replace Hamels on the roster. With Raul Ibanez dealing with groin issues, Orr will be a useful bench piece but shouldn't get any starts.

So far, despite there being a number of injured Phillies, there is no reason to worry. None of the injuries sound serious and only Placido Polanco seems to be having lingering issues. Keep your fingers crossed but the Phillies seem to be in good health coming down the stretch.

Roy Halladay will start for NL in All-Star Game

Even though basically everyone in baseball has made the All-Star team at this point, at least the best pitcher in baseball will be starting: Roy Halladay has been named the starting pitcher for the National League. Expect him to pitch an inning or two before exiting the game.

Halladay could end up being the only Phillie to play in the game. Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino are injured and won't play and Cole Hamels has already been replaced after pitching yesterday. There is a chance that Cliff Lee will pitch in the game but he did just pitch Saturday and would likely prefer to rest.

Even though this game "counts", it's nice to know I can turn it off after the second inning and likely not miss any of the Phillies in action.

Phillies pound Braves, enter All-Star break with best record in baseball

You couldn't have scripted a better way for the Phillies to enter the All-Star break. After two nail biters against the Braves, the Phillies demolished Atlanta, winning 14-1 to maintain their 3.5 game lead in the NL East.

It was an offensive explosion for the Phils, who knocked out 20 hits against Derek Lowe and the rest of the solid Braves pitching staff. It was a complete team effort as every starter had at least one hit and one run, with most scoring twice and picking up multiple hits. Raul Ibanez had a huge game, driving in 6 runs while hitting his 12th home run of the season. Michael Martinez and John Mayberry, both filling in for injured All-Stars, also were key contributors, combining for 7 hits, 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. When Martinez and Mayberry have games like that, you know things are going well.

Cole Hamels also put together one last dominant start before the All-Star game, giving up just 3 hits while striking out 6 in 8 innings of work. He picked up his 11th win, tying Roy Halladay for most wins on the team.

The Phillies now enter the All-Star break with the best record in baseball. After crushing the second best team in the NL, they have to feel pretty good about their season so far. They've positioned themselves in such a way that all they need to worry about is getting healthy for the playoffs. With their starting pitching, they are built for another deep playoff run as long as they get even league average offense. If they hit even close to how they did today, they might not lose another game.
(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

Four Phillies named to 2011 All-Star Game, Victorino needs our help

The best team in baseball is sending four players to Arizona for the All-Star Game: Placido Polanco, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Polanco was voted in as a starter while Halladay, Lee and Hamels were no-brainer additions to the NL pitching staff.

Polanco was the only Phillies hitter named outright to the team, and probably justifiably so. With Chase Utley missing a large chunk of the season and Ryan Howard not having a great year by his standards, it's hard to make a strong case for any Phillies hitter. Shane Victorino has a shot at making the All-Star team but, just like in 2009, he is a part of the Final Vote, so he will need our help! Click here to vote and get Victorino to the All-Star game.

As for other Phillies pitchers that could have made the team, Ryan Madson certainly has a case to be there, though his recent injury could have kept him out. Antonio Bastardo has had a great season but probably doesn't have the name recognition to earn an All-Star nod.

Click here to see the full rosters for both leagues.

Phillies offense flops as Giants take 2-1 series lead

Baseball is a simple game: no matter how good your pitching is, you can't win if you don't score runs. Such was the case for the Phillies today, who got a quality start from Cole Hamels but failed to do anything with the bats in a 3-0 Game 3 loss to the Giants.

For the first time since the 1983 World Series, the Phillies were shutout in the playoffs. Matt Cain was dominant for the Giants, allowing just 2 hits and walking 3 across 7 innings of work. The Phillies had their chances, like in the 2nd and 7th innings when they had two runners on base, but they just couldn't come up with the key hit. Really, save for a Jimmy Rollins single in the 9th inning, the Phillies just didn't make good contact at all.

Hamels actually put together a decent start, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings while striking out 8 batters. He had good stuff throughout the game but he got burned by a few grounders that found holes and a bad defensive play by Chase Utley. Phillie-killer Cody Ross of course made his presence felt again, singling in the first run of the game in the 4th.

The Giants now lead the series, 2-1, but it's hardly time to panic. While we haven't seen him in a while, Joe Blanton is a competent pitcher and the Phillies should be able to get some runs off of rookie Madison Bumgarner. Should the Phillies find get a win in Game 4, I like their chances with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Hamels taking the mound for Games 5, 6 and 7. Of course, entering the series, I would have never guessed that the Phillies would have lost Games 1 and 3 with Halladay and Hamels on the mound, but there is reason to expect them to be better the second time they face the Giants.

Sure, the Phillies are in the unfamiliar position of trailing in a series after 3 games. Sure, their offense looked terrible today. From what we have seen this team do the last few years, however, you have to keep faith that they will turn things around. Despite what you have seen the last 3 games, the Phillies are still the better team in this series. I still believe!
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Sweep! Hamels dominates as Phillies move on to NLCS

Another game, another dominating performance by a Phillies pitcher. Another year, another NLCS appearance for the Phillies.

Cole Hamels, doing his best Roy Halladay impersonation, dominated the Reds, going the distance in a 5-hit complete game shutout as the Phillies defeated the Reds, 2-0, and completed their first postseason sweep in team history. Hamels was brilliant all night, striking out 9 Reds on 119 pitches and walking none. It was about as smooth a performance as you can ask for as Hamels never had to work his way out of any tricky jams, although he did force the NL MVP Joey Votto to ground into a double play in the 9th inning.

As for the Phillies offense, there wasn't much to speak of. They got their first run in the first inning when Reds shortstop Orlando Cabrera made an errant throw to first base that allowed Placido Polanco to score and the second run came on a Chase Utley solo shot. The Phils did manage 8 hits on the night, though, and they also had a lot of hard hit balls that just didn't fall in, so there shouldn't be a sense of panic about the hitters.

The Phillies now move on to their third straight NLCS appearance and will face either the Giants or the Braves, with the Giants currently holding a 2-1 series lead. While neither team is particularly scary, the Giants do have a formidable pitching staff that could shut down the Phillies bats. Of course, the Phillies also have some pretty darn good pitchers themselves, with the big three aces ready to take the mound for Games 1, 2 and 3 in the NLCS. With the way they are pitching, it's hard to imagine anyone stopping the Phillies this postseason. 8 more wins to go!
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Hamels pitches Phillies to 4 game division lead

The second place Braves are in town. There is a bit of a chill in the air. The rally towels are out. Yep, we're getting close to another Phillies October.

Before the Phillies get to the postseason, however, there is the little matter of winning the division to take care of first. With a 3 game lead entering Monday and 6 games left to play against the Braves, it's still a bit early to be printing postseason tickets. After Cole Hamels' dominating, 8 inning, 6 strikeout, 1 earned run performance on Monday, though, the Phillies took yet another step closer.

For Hamels, it was just another solid outing, his 5th straight win and his 6th straight start of giving up 2 or fewer earned runs. On a team with three ace pitchers, Hamels has been the best down the stretch, picking up his game when it matters most, allowing only 2 runs in his last 36 and 2/3rds innings.

The win, their 8th straight, pushes the Phillies to 4 games up in the division. With Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt taking the mound the next two nights, it's hard to see the Phillies not at least holding that 4 game lead after the Braves leave town on Thursday. With 90 wins, a dominating pitching staff and a commanding lead over everyone else in the National League, everything seems pointed in the right direction for the Phillies. Can't wait for October!

Hamels cruises as Phillies pull within 1 game of first place

Much has been made of the bad luck Cole Hamels has endured this season. Despite putting up sparkling numbers for most of the year, including an ERA in the low 3's and a WHIP that is inching down towards 1, Hamels has gotten very little run support from the Phillies and thus doesn't have a winning record.

Of course, when he's nearly perfect, like he was against the Brewers on Friday night, he doesn't need much support from the bats. In a 1-0 win against Milwaukee, Hamels went 7 innings, struck out 7, walked 3 and gave up 3 hits in a dominant effort. The lone Phillies run came in the second inning when Carlos Ruiz grounded out and Shane Victorino scored from third. From there, the Phillies were shut down, not even coming close to swinging the bats like they did Thursday night in Colorado.

The win, coupled with a loss by the Braves, moves the Phillies to within one game of first place in the NL East and keeps them at least 2 games up in the Wild Card. It's amazing to think that, with all the ups and downs this team has endured all season long, they are right on the doorstep of re-claiming the top spot in the division. Perhaps even more remarkably, the Phillies are also just 1.5 games behind the Reds in the race for the best record in the National League.

There is still a lot of season to go but a few more starts like the one Cole Hamels put together tonight and the Phillies will definitely find themselves back in the postseason. Once they get there, it's going to be pretty special to watch the trio of Roy Halladay, Hamels and Roy Oswalt go to work on the rest of the league.

Who saw that coming? Phillies sweep Padres

Things looked pretty bad for the Phillies after they got swept in four games by the lowly Astros. With the offense struggling to score any runs against the mediocrity that is the Astros pitching staff, the Phillies headed to San Diego to face one of the best staffs in the league. Surely, the Phillies wouldn't be able to muster enough offense to beat the best team in the National League.

Not so fast. Behind great pitching performances by Roy Oswalt, Joe Blanton and Cole Hamels and some timely hits, the Phillies swept the best team in the NL in their own ballpark. While the hitting wasn't much better than it was against Houston, averaging 3.7 runs per game, the Phillies starting pitching rose to the occasion, allowing only 2 runs in 22 innings against a Padres team that has their own offensive problems. As for some good news when it comes to the Phillies bats, it was nice to see a little power on display on Sunday as both Mike Sweeney and Jayson Werth went yard.

With the sweep, the Phillies have pulled to just 2 games behind the Braves and remain in the lead for the Wild Card. Now headed to LA to face the Manny-less Dodgers, things are looking up once again for the Phillies as they should be able to handle a Dodgers team that is sliding right out of playoff contention. Of course, we all thought they would easily push the Astros aside and that didn't exactly work out as planned. Still, if the Phillies continue to get solid outings from the rotation, they will only need to muster up a few runs to continue their winning streak.
(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Roy Oswalt plays left field in epic 16 inning Phillies loss

In case you went to sleep before the end of the Phillies game late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, you missed a whole bunch of strange things in the Phillies 16 inning 4-2 loss to the Astros:

-Ryan Howard was ejected for throwing his bat after getting called out on strikes in the 14th inning. With Howard tossed, the Phillies were out of position players.
-With no one left on the bench, Raul Ibanez moved to first base and Roy Oswalt played left field. Yep, Oswalt played LEFT FIELD. He had a catch and even had an at-bat with the game on the line; unfortunately he grounded out. Oswalt was the first Phillies pitcher to play a position in the field in 39 years.
-Ross Gload was tossed from the game as well. Gload is on the DL.
-The game lasted 5 hours and 20 minutes
-The Phillies used every pitcher in their bullpen, right down to David Herndon, who had to pitch 3 innings of relief. Should the game have gone much longer, Kyle Kendrick was likely going to be used.
-While the umpires will be blamed for both of the Phillies losses to the Astros, the bats just haven't been there as they have scored only 4 runs in 25 innings against Houston. That's just not going to cut it.

Just about the only thing that wasn't strange about the game was that Cole Hamels had another solid outing, striking out 8 and giving up 2 runs, but once again got very little run support and got another no-decision. Hamels is now 7-10 on the season but has been one of the best pitchers in the National League.

What a bizarrely epic baseball game. You truly do see something new every time.

Phillies sweep their way to the All-Star break

You really couldn't have asked for a better finish to a rollercoaster first half of the Phillies season. Facing the NL Central leading Reds, the Phillies rode a strong performance by Cole Hamels on Sunday to win their second consecutive 1-0 game and complete a four game sweep of Cincinnati.

Pitching was once again the story as Hamels scattered 6 hits and 3 walks in 7 and 2/3rds innings. He didn't have his best stuff but he did manage to work his way out of some tight jams, including a bases-loaded and no outs situation in the 4th inning. Once Hamels was pulled in the 8th, the bullpen trio of Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge held on, allowing only one batter to reach base as they shut the door on the game.

The win capped a great series against the Reds where the Phillies seemed to get every key hit and catch every break. Given that the Phils only outscored the Reds 15-10 in the entire series, it's remarkable they were able to sweep all four games.

Now the Phillies enter the All-Star break with some real momentum. While some may argue that the All-Star break comes at the wrong time for the suddenly hot Phillies, I think any time off this banged up group can get is time they can use to heal and gear themselves up for a second half where they are going to have to be great if they want to make the playoffs. With the 4.5 game deficit they face in the division and 1.5 game deficit they face in the Wild Card, the Phillies are going to have to do some serious damage if they want to make the playoffs for the 4th straight year. More solid pitching performances like they have had over the last few days and a little more hitting will go a long way towards making that happen.

Phillies win as Hamels flashes 2008 form and Ruiz flashes October bat

Carlos Ruiz must be confused about what month it is. The Phillies clutch catcher, who usually comes up with big hit after big hit in the playoffs, hit a walkoff homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Phillies a 2-1 win over the Cardinals. For a man who has a month named after him (Choochtober), Ruiz sure picked a great time for his first home run of the season.

Despite the late heroics by Ruiz, the true star of Tuesday night's game was Cole Hamels. Hamels had his best start of the season, scattering 8 hits and striking out 8 while giving up 1 one run across 8 innings of work. While Hamels may have been thrown off his rhythm by some idiot fan (who I refuse to talk about), he showed flashes of the brilliant pitcher that he was in 2008. If he can get going, the Phillies might have the 1-2 punch they always dreamed of with Hamels and Roy Halladay.

While it's only May, wins like the Phillies got on Tuesday night against a good Cardinals club are big; sure, it might be just another W in the win column but it was nice to see they measure up against a team that is sure to be a playoff contender. Of course, if these two teams do meet in October, we know who is going to come up with the clutch hits.

Phillies win home opener; lose Rollins, Werth to minor injuries

(Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

It almost seems like nothing can stop the Phillies from winning this season. In their home opener on Wednesday against the Nationals, the Phils overcame a middling performance by a starting pitcher, an early offensive lull and injuries to two key players to still win the game, 7-4.

The injuries to Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth are likely to be the biggest story from the game. Rollins was announced as being in the starting lineup but was a late scratch due to a right calf strain. In his place, Juan Castro stepped in and played shortstop and led off. Werth's injury happened during the game; he left the game with hip soreness in the 7th after singling in the 6th. The Phillies have an off day tomorrow which will be good timing for each, though there is already talk that Rollins will have an MRI. I'm not one to speculate on injuries but both sound minor; we'll have to wait and hear about the results of Rollins' MRI but I would guess that neither player misses significant time.

As for the action on the field, it was really a tale of two innings. Cole Hamels looked solid for most of his 5 and 2/3rds innings but ran into issues in the 4th where he gave up three runs on a few weak hits by the Nationals, including a bloop double by pitcher Jason Marquis. While the good news for Hamels is that he wasn't hit particularly hard, the bad news was that he always seems to run into trouble at least once a game where he should have gotten out of an inning before any damage was done.

The Phillies offense also did most of their work in one inning as they scored 5 runs in the 5th. Juan Castro took advantage of the absence of Rollins and hit a one run double which was followed by a two run single by Placido Polanco and a two run home run by Chase Utley. For a Phillies offense that sleepwalked through the first three innings, they sure made up for Hamels' hiccup in a hurry.

The Phillies keep just keep on rolling through April. Sure, they haven't played a team with any real major league talent yet but it's still nice to see the Phillies beating up on teams they should have no problem with. You can only play the teams that are on your schedule and the Phillies are taking advantage of some weak opponents to help them get off to a great start. Hopefully it all continues when they play Florida and Atlanta next week.

Hamels falters again as Yankees take 2-1 World Series lead

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

For a few innings, the Cole Hamels from 2008 was back. Unfortunately, one bad call in the 4th inning and the ugly 2009 version of Hamels reared its ugly head. The Yankees capitalized on Hamels' turn as they downed the Phillies 8-5 and took a 2-1 World Series lead.

Hamels was brilliant through 3 innings, not giving up a single hit while mixing up his fastball and change-up. Then, in the 4th inning, while facing Mark Teixeira, Hamels threw a 3-2 pitch that was in the strike zone but was inexplicably called ball 4. Hamels was rattled from that point forward, giving up a "home run" (more on this later) to the very next batter, Alex Rodriguez, then 3 more runs in the 5th inning as he played around with his curveball. What started out so promising for Hamels went south in a hurry as he was yanked from the game after allowing 5 runs in 4 and a third innings.

Of course, there was some controversy in that "home run" by A-Rod. Rodriguez hit a shot to right field that hit a camera that was positioned just over the fence and in the field of play. The hit was originally called a double but after going to the replay, the umpires decided it was a home run. It's difficult to really tell if the ball would have cleared the fence if the camera wasn't there, so I'm not quite sure how the umps had conclusive evidence that it was a home run.

As for the Phillies offense, it was pretty well neutralized by Andy Pettitte on the night. Pettitte gave up 3 early runs but then settled in and allowed only one run after that. He was particularly effective against the Phillie lefties like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez, who went a combined 0 for 12 on the night with 7 strikeouts against Pettitte and the Yankee relievers. The one hitter who was on tonight was Jayson Werth, who continued his hot playoff hitting by bashing two solo home runs.

The Phillies now find themselves in a position they haven't been in for a few years: behind in a series. They have a tough challenge tomorrow as they face Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia in a must-win game, but there is plenty of reason to still have faith. Sabathia isn't unbeatable, as the Phillies have beaten him twice in the last two years in the playoffs, and he is going on only three days rest. The Phillies will be using Joe Blanton, who won Game 4 of the World Series last year, so hopefully he can repeat that performance on Sunday.

Game 3 was a tough loss for a Phillies team that isn't used to trailing in a series. It proved once and for all that the 2008 Cole Hamels is dead and won't be resurrected for 2009. Winning Game 4 now becomes critical as the Phillies will now look to extend the series back to New York. Don't worry, Phillies fans, there is still plenty of fight left in this team.

Hamels falters as Rockies even up series

(AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Today will be a memorable day for Cole Hamels but not for anything he did on the mound. Hamels, who everyone hoped would magically be the 2008 shutdown pitcher once again, had a poor performance in Game 2 for the Phillies, giving up 4 runs in his 5 innings of work. The Phillies eventually fought back into the game but the runs Hamels gave put the Phillies in a hole that they never climbed out of as they lost 5-4 to the Rockies. Oh, and the reason today will be memorable for Hamels? Heidi Hamels went into labor with the couple's first child.

Once Hamels was pulled from the game, Charlie Manuel started making some curious decisions with his bullpen. Instead of turning to the usual bullpen suspects, Manuel went with his starters, putting Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ in for the 6th and 7th innings. The move was a definite mixed bag as Blanton got through his inning unscathed but Happ got beaned with a line drive in the knee and had to be pulled from the game. The injury to Happ is the reason why you don't use all of your starters in relief. While Happ only has a knee contusion and X-rays were negative, he most certainly won't be in the mix to start on Saturday, forcing Manuel to go with a right-handed starter against the lefty-heavy Rockies lineup. Manuel still has two good choices in Blanton and Pedro Martinez but the Phillies have yet to announce who will take the mound for Game 3.

The Phillies did well to fight back in the later stages of the game but eventually fell short. Jayson Werth led the way with a homer as the Phils got all of their offense from their first 7 hitters. It would be nice if the team decided to score a few runs in the early innings but you can't fault the offense for this loss, they nearly had a win if Shane Victorino's line drive in the bottom of the 9th was just a little higher.

So the Phillies now head to Denver with the series tied at 1 game apiece. While some of the confidence of yesterday's loss has worn off, the Phillies are still in a great position to win the series. If they find a way to split the games in Colorado, they will head back home for a Game 5 and throw Cliff Lee out there in the deciding game. Of course, if they lose Game 3, they could always put Lee on the mound for Game 4 to ensure they won't get eliminated early.

Game 2 was a tough loss for the Phillies but there are plenty more games to be played in this series. Game 3 becomes the crucial game that gives one team a major advantage; let's hope the Phillies have a starter ready to give them some solid innings.

King Cole starts off September right

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Welcome back, Cole Hamels from 2008. It's been a while since you've graced us with your presence!

Hamels, who as you remember was the World Series MVP last year, has been anything but impressive this season, posting an ERA above 4.50 and a record that has hovered around .500 all season long. To say that Hamels has been a disappointment all season would be an understatement. That all may have changed on Tuesday night against the Giants, however, as Hamels put together his best start of the season, a complete game 2-hit shutout, in the Phillies 1-0 win.

Although it was against a very weak Giants lineup, Hamels was dominant all night, striking out 9 and at one point retiring 21 straight batters. Hamels even added to his performance with a stolen base, the first for any Phillies pitcher since 1997, and a sacrifice bunt.

While I am hesitant to say he's fully back, it is safe to say that the Cole Hamels from 2008 showed up on Tuesday night. That the Giants lineup he faced was below average isn't really an issue; the fact is that Hamels would have shut down the majority of the teams in the league with the way he pitched tonight. With Hamels looking strong and Brad Lidge showing hints that he is back to his 2008 form, the Phillies have all of the pieces coming together, and at just the right time. You add a resurgent Lidge and a dominant Hamels to Cliff Lee and the potent Phillies offense, you have the makings of another World F'n Champion.

Who needs a closer? Ryan Howard saves the day!

It looks like Ryan Madson isn't the answer at closer, either. One day after Phillies fans called for Brad Lidge's head after he blew his 9th save of the season, Madson proved that he wasn't much better in the role after he blew a 1 run lead against the Pirates on Wednesday. Madson, who got the save opportunity because Lidge was unavailable after pitching four days in a row, entered the game with a 1-0 lead in the 9th inning before blowing the save by giving up a homer. It was the 5th blown save in 9 tries this season for Madson.

Of course, who needs a closer when you have Ryan Howard? Howard, clearly annoyed by the inability of his pitchers to close out games, crushed a 3 run homer in the top of the 10th inning to give the Phillies a 4-1 lead they would never look back from. The homer, his 9th in the last 13 games, was further proof that Howard is warming up with the weather. The Phillies went on to win the game as Madson pitched a second inning in the 10th and "earned" the win.

Lost in all the closer craziness is the fact that Cole Hamels pitched a solid game for the Phillies. Hamels pitched 8 shutout innings, and although it was against the lowly Pirates, it was still a better effort than he has shown in quite a while. Hamels allowed runners on base all night but kept finding a way to pitch out of every jam he found himself in. We will see if this is a turning point for Hamels or if it was just the result of Pirate terrbileness.

So, those that want Brad Lidge out, if Ryan Madson isn't the answer at closer, who do the Phillies turn to? Some have suggested Chan Ho Park, who saved 2 games for the Dodgers last season. Others point to Brett Myers and his outing in Double A on Wednesday, where he struck out 5 batters in two innings of work. If Myers is healthy in the coming weeks, he is certainly an intriguing option.

Myers is still a few weeks away, however, so Phillies fans need to make their peace with Lidge closing games for the immediate future. Of course, if Howard continues to rake the way he is right now, having a closer might not really be necessary.