Cole Hamels looks ready for a Cy Young season.

National League Cy Young winner for 2012 Cole Hamels? Why not?

In 2011, his 2.79 earned run average ranked sixth in the NL, his walks plus hits per innings pitched ranked second at 0.99, and he finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting.

When I picked Hamels to win the Cy Young last year, it was little more than blind faith and hope since he had never performed at quite that level previously. But there now exists 18 months of statistics to back up a Cy Young prediction.

I just hope he wins the award after the Phillies lock him up long term and not before the New York Yankees steal him in free agency.

Zimbio photo of Jimmy Rollins found on Google Images

News of the Rollins signing has had negative comments rising up in Philly Phans, who wished to see a faltering SS who had a horrible playoff and has a history of lackluster effort in jogging to first, go to another team for a cheaper option.

However, Rollins has had positive contributions to this team and for three years and an option for a fourth, he signed for cheaper than what the Brewers were offering. With Rollins back and Wiggington on the roster that also means versatile but weak hitting Michael Martinez will go to AAA where he belongs.

Image via Wikipedia

It also gives Freddy Galvis time to find his swing in AAA, as he did not impress so much last year and at 22 he still has time to develop, although he seems to be a subpar prospect at best. That will give the Phillies an option of waiting two years for Galvis and perhaps trading Rollins by the trade deadline in his 3rd year, or another SS turns into a good prospect or FA picture.

With Rollins now in place that means Polanco will man 3rd with help from Wigginton, and that barring any big signing; Mayberry Jr. will be the starting LFer. Polanco is old and fragile, Mayberry is unproven and last year seemed like a career year for a fringe player…but with a team that needs to win now before they become old in the rotation, getting Rollins aboard for 3 years is good for the timeline of the closing window of the Phillies being atop the NL East.

Rollins has hinted at being a HOFer, which is a stretch at best. He will not have another (disputed) MVP award season in him, but if he continues to improve his pitches seen per plate appearance to be top 30 in that category, he will still be a valuable leadoff hitter.

Image taken from Google Images

Former Red Sox Closer (since 2005 with 219 saves, most by any Boston pitcher) recently signed a 4 year (with a vesting option on a 6th) deal with the Phillies for $50M…

Photo taken from Google Images

With Cole Hamels on the mound Tuesday night, I bet you couldn’t keep your eyes off the little blue batter’s box on TBS with a teeny pitch count above it. We watched Hamels’ pitch count climb higher and higher, while Garcia finished his innings quicker than a trip to the bathroom.

By the third inning it was clear that Hamels was struggling.

Then Rich Dubee made some funny comments. Dubee praised Hamels for his poise and presence on the mound, the velocity on his fastball and the movement on his pitches. Were we watching the same game?

Wait a minute. Let’s think about this for a second. Maybe Hamels deserves the praise. He faced a very dangerous Cardinals team who showed us exactly why they have the best offense in the league. Yes, Hamels threw a lot of pitches, but that was his only choice against a patient Cardinals squad. I mean, look at what happened to Halladay and Lee when they left pitches over the plate, giving up 8 runs between the two of them.

Hamels explained his approach perfectly. “I was trying to make pitches and just keep them down. If I missed, I knew I got another opportunity. If you’re making your mistakes up in the zone, you’re pretty much going to pay for it really bad. But if they’re down, you give yourself probably a better opportunity to get out of the inning.”

You have two choices against an offense like the St. Louis Cardinals. You keep working the corners and watch your pitch count rise or you start creeping toward the middle of the plate and meet the same fate as Hamels’ opponent. Garcia made one mistake and it lost him the game. Hamels made none and wound up the victor.

“I knew that every pitch mattered,” he said. “Every inning mattered. They had a great pitcher on the mound . . . We were 1-1 in the series . . . We’re not in our home park anymore. You definitely focus and try to dig deep.”

Yet his performance has already been gone and forgotten. Go to philly.com and phillies.com and you will see what I mean. Only one article on philly.com about Hamels and none on Phillies.com. In fact, Cole Hamels name was mentioned exactly 4 times in three Game 3 articles on phillies.com. He has the second lowest ERA (1.81) in Division Series history and became the winningest pitcher in Phillies postseason history, yet he had a GRAND TOTAL OF 4 MENTIONS.

A World Series ring and 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP honors didn’t get Hamels noticed and neither did 4 postseason wins in 2008, 7 postseason wins overall, a 2.65 postseason ERA since 2007, or 6 shutout innings last night.

The question is, how many championships will it take before Hamels gets the respect he deserves?

Image taken from Zimbio

When did Michael Stutes all of a sudden become Adam Eaton?

Michael Stutes had one bad month in August and all of a sudden everyone is ready to toss him aside like yesterday’s sports page.

This weekend I heard two reporters (David Murphy and some other guy) agree that essentially Stutes is no more than a last resort or a “mop-up” guy.

Chris Coste said he would have chosen Herndon over Stutes for the final NLDS roster spot. Herndon?! David Herndon?! Admittedly, Herndon’s ERA (3.32) is better than Stutes (3.63), but c’mon! Tell me he hasn’t fallen that far?

Stutes ran into some big time struggles in August, surrendering eight runs in 12.1 innings and an 5.84 ERA for the month. But that was a month ago. Stutes bounced back with a 3.00 ERA in September and seemed to regain his form, but it apparently didn’t put him in favor of the Phillies media.

In some ways, you might say there is reason to have MORE confidence in Stutes, not less. In The Mental ABC’s of Pitching the author writes, “If you want to know who I am, watch me when things aren’t going my way.” Things clearly weren’t going his way in August. But Stutes’ ERA in September ranked 2nd out of his five full months and it was his third best month in BB/9, K/9, and WHIP. Stutes struggled for the first time in his young big league career and survived to find the light at the end of the tunnel. That speaks volumes to the character of Michael Stutes!

Maybe this argument would have been better BEFORE he gave up three runs in a third of an inning in Game 1 of the NLDS, but Stutes does not belong in the back of the bus just yet. You can argue that Madson, Bastardo, Lidge, Worley, and even Kendrick all belong ahead of Stutes, but just not Herndon.

Image taken from Phillies Sport Daily

The Phillies clinched the division with 12 games left and should still (we hope) have the most wins ever for the franchise.

Now imagine where they would be without Kyle Kendrick or Vance Worley.

Kendrick and Worley’s contributions to this Phillies team aren’t just nice stories; they changed the entire complexion of the Phillies season. Worley and Kendrick combined for a 16-6 record and a 3.01 ERA as starters. Think about that for a second. That is a 3.07 ERA for the FOURTH AND FIFTH STARTERS. Most teams would kill to get that ERA for their TOP starters.

The numbers are drastically different from the 2010 campaign where the Phils’ fours and fives went 22-19 with a 4.56 ERA, a difference of 1.55 points. Just taking the winning percentage alone, the Phillies would have 4 less wins. To put that in perspective, 4 less games at the all-star break would have put the Phillies 1 game back of the Braves.

Worley’s importance

The impact of Vance Worley runs much deeper than just four games when you consider the timing of his arrival. When Worley made his first start for the Phillies on April 29th, Oswalt had just gone to the DL and Chase Utley was still nearly a month away from joining the squad. Having now lost one of their aces, the Phillies were not hitting, had no idea if and when Utley would ever return and had a mess on their hands in right field. The Phillies needed a morale booster desperately. Enter Vance Worley and the story begins.

After getting shipped to Lehigh Valley upon Oswalt’s return on May 17th, Worley was brought back again on June 18th when Oswalt returned to the DL. Once again, Vance Worley to the rescue.

Kendrick’s impact

And don’t lose sight of Kendrick’s contribution. As a starter in 2011, Kendrick is 5-4 with a 3.21 ERA. After his Jekyl and Hyde performance in 2010, Kendrick has been rock solid this season, giving his team a chance to win each time he takes the mound. He bounces around from starter to reliever on a daily basis and never complains. Kyle simply takes the ball and does his job. Even the danger of living with a pregnant wife didn’t effect him.

Life without Worley and Kendrick

There’s no doubt the Phillies would have made the playoffs with or without Kendrick and Worley. But the Phils would certainly have had a lot less rest without them. And rest might be the most important thing for an old Philadelphia Phillies team entering the playoffs…