PHILLY (Loosely Related to The Philadelphia Phillies)

Jearlpam0925 said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Indifference71 said:

What the fuck is scrapple??

Think about the shit they refuse to put in hotdogs.

But 1000x better.

Jearlpam0925 said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Syrup on scrapple seems weird to me.

Do you put syrup on bacon or sausage?

The Juggler said:

cole hamels is awesome. though it makes sense to trade him, he's on the only guy I do not want to see leave...

http://crashburnalley.com/2014/07/21/cole-hamels-is-on-his-way-to-phillies-immortality/


Cole Hamels Is on His Way to Phillies Immortality

by Bill Baer on July 21, 2014


Cole Hamels has been bandied about in trade rumors, despite having signed a six-year, $144 million contract extension with the Phillies nearly two years ago to this date. The Phillies’ future is looking bleak, and their other trade chips aren’t expected to bring in a franchise-altering haul. Hamels, on the other hand, could bring that kind of a return to help set the team up for a return to prominence several years from now.

Hamels limited the Braves to one run over seven innings on Saturday night, continuing what has been a great season for the 30-year-old lefty. Since the start of June, Hamels has posted a 1.81 ERA with a 71/23 K/BB ratio in 69 2/3 innings across 10 starts. On the season overall, he’s sitting on a 2.83 ERA, which is only slightly below his FIP and XFIP, showing that his results are more or less lining up with his performance. While the shoulder tendinitis that caused him to miss the first few weeks of the season, as well as his slow start, caused some worry, Hamels has shown he is still the same dominant pitcher he has been since the start of the 2010 season. It’s easy to see why he would draw significant trade interest.

The Phillies are under no obligation to make Hamels available, however. Hamels is signed through 2018 and while the Phillies may not be legitimate contender until 2017, realistically speaking, it would be nice to have Hamels around to lead the rotation if and when that happens. The Phillies can also explore moving him during the off-season, or at this time next season as well. Hamels is one of the few veterans on the roster who motivates fans to show up to the ballpark.

Should Hamels stay throughout the duration of his contract, he could challenge for the title of “best Phillies pitcher of all-time”. To be fair, that honor is less impressive than if he had spent his entire career in the Yankees organization, but nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning.

To date, Hamels has logged 1,711 innings and posted a 3.34 ERA. Adjusting for league and park factors, that comes out to a 123 ERA+, which is significantly above average. That’s currently the third-best ERA+ among Phillies starters to have logged at least 1,000 innings:

As far as traditional stats go, Hamels just won his 103rd game, which ranks sixth on the Phillies’ all-time leaderboard. Steve Carlton and Robin Roberts are the only two above 200 (241 and 234, respectively), and he still trails Pete Alexander (190), Chris Short (132), and Curt Simmons (115). Hamels is third on the strikeouts leaderboard with 1,624. He trails Carlton (3,031) and Roberts (1,871).

It’s hard to see Hamels racking up the counting stats unless he stays in a Phillies uniform throughout the entirety of his contract while remaining healthy and productive, all of which are unlikely to occur in tandem. Hamels certainly won’t reach the 200-win threshold. However, the game has changed and fans’ understanding has as well, so his wins total won’t be the defining statistic of his tenure in Philadelphia.

A summary of Hamels’ career isn’t complete until going over his post-season success. He was, of course, a big reason why the Phillies ended their playoff drought in 2007 and their championship drought the next season, earning World Series MVP honors with two fantastic starts against the Tampa Bay Rays. Over 13 career post-season starts, Hamels has a 3.09 ERA with a 77/21 K/BB ratio in 81 2/3 innings. Carlton’s post-season numbers with the Phillies? 13 starts, 3.32 ERA, 76/48 K/BB ratio over 89 1/3 innings.

If the Phillies decide to trade Hamels, the reasons for doing so are understandable even if tough to swallow. But if the Phillies opt to keep him, there are certainly worse things than watching him take the mound once every five games on some abysmal teams. He’ll be to these upcoming Phillies seasons as Curt Schilling was from 1996-99.