this is my new favorite show

did he say a picture of Jay Happ? http://www.thefightins.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/happ.jpg

i love these.

The fucking voices ARE AMAZIZING. Well done, although I don’t fully agree.

These videos are hilarious. Definitely keep them coming.

Once again, it’s hilarious, yet somehow descriptive of the debate. Well done.

@Poster Nutbag…. He gets so many foul balls because of his lack of a “trick” or “out” pitch. He’s a changeup/fastball pitcher and is always around the strick zone. That means that most people can make contact unlike swinging at a pitcher who throws an effective slider outside of the strick zone. If your only throwing fastballs the majority of the time, the percentage of pitches that made contact with is going to go way up. That’s why they had him working on a curveball in the offseason.

I don’t understand how people can possibly debate about Cole this year, he’s been very good. He’s making 2009 a distant memory, and I was a huge critic of his last year. Also, you don’t need to be a SABR genius to tell that he’s been pitching better.

…and yes, he does have the voice of a fairy.

Poor single J.A. Happ
I wonder if he will play Call of Duty with me…

Capt. Murdock, a lot of that has been the sorry excuse for an offense. Look at those games:

7/6: 7.0 IP 3 ER (L)
7/1: 7.0 IP 3 ER (L)
6/26: 4.0 IP 5 ER (L)
6/19: 7.0 IP 3 ER (L) (bullpen gave up 5 runs in the 9th)
6/13: 7.0 IP 1 ER (W)
6/7: 8.0 IP 2 ER (L)
6/1: 0.2 IP 3 ER (L)
5/27: 6.1 IP 2 ER (L)

Only two of those are legitimately bad starts. If you get a 7 IP 3 ER line from a starter, you’ve got to win at least half of those games. It’s not exactly Roy Halladay territory, but it’s above average.

i dont know, i love cole. He’s not the “pussy” some broskies say he is. He hussles, plays his position well.. never shows signs of being shy on the field. I understand the doggie back-pack (thats funny), i understand the higher register-voice (no choice really). I understand the complaining about day games (indefensible).

But last year i saw this guy break up a double play late in the 7th inning,. astros maybe? How many pitchers do that? How many pitchers just run down the line and peal off. Cole slid, and he slid hard. He doesn’t get credit for that.. yet some of you guys would buy 3 kegs of natty and hold a party in his honor if Chase did something along those lines. Cole really wants to win and it shows. I have no stats to back up what im saying. just an opinion

Don I agree with you. With this line up you should expect to win most games when your starter gives up 3 over 7 but you know how people are. They don’t like Cole’s personality or his perceived “softness” so its easy to say that he the team lost 7 of his last 8 starts.

The other poster said there should be no debate. All I’m saying is his numbers do warrant a lil’ back and forth.

Cole has definitely been having a very solid year, and definitely a lot better than how his 2009 was. When you consider that the vast majority of his starts this year have been quality and some were even quite excellent, it’s really sad that he hasn’t been able to get better run support and more wins.

While he hasn’t exactly been Roy Halladay, he’s been a very good #2 pitcher and that’s really all that you need him to be.

Would it be better if we had Cliff Lee too? Obviously, but Cole’s having a very good year and it’s definitely quite possible his second half will be even better.

For all those in the “he’s unlucky” camp: could it not be that he was “lucky” in 2008? This is a serious question. I’d really like to understand how one gets to the conclusion that he’s unlucky.

Also, will.H: what about the “can’t wait for the season to be over” from last year?

i think that falls under indefensible as well. he never struck me as the most intelligent when it came to the media, kind of like Donovan. I think the birth of his child weighed on his mind/emotions a bit too much last season.

In response to the Lucky vs. Unlucky debate….You guys ever just think that maybe hitters figured him out? That possibly his changeup and fastball were so good that it really was all he needed and that Cole went out and thought it would work forever for him? Last year was the best thing that could happen to him because it’s forced him to work on the curve and develop a 4th pitch, the cutter. I hear people complain that he doesn’t have a slider, but the reason for that could have more to do with him being physically uncomfortable throwing it and worried it could lead to injury.

I think Cole is, and will always be a very good lefty that will have moments of greatness. He is not, however the second coming of 32 like so many thought or would like to have believed. I wouldn’t be surprised if his career consisted of a lot of 12-15 wins with a 3.50-4 era. Bottom line is that dude can pitch and that the better he gets with that cutter, the more he’ll have batters thinking about something else which will help him not get into jams as much.

For the record, I don’t believe in luck. Luck is a product of preparation, and being unlucky is just an excuse for not preparing hard enough.

Lynnie, Pat answered that query beautifully. Never be afraid of asking any question here, you are amongst Phillies Phriends. Why as my Pappy always told me “Lil Duber”, Pappy always called me Lil Duber. He said “Lil Duber there ain’t no such thing as a stupid question, there’s only stupid people that ask’em.” I sure miss my Pappy.

yeah i think it comes down to a simple conclusion.. Cole is unlucky when he struggles if you feel he’s predisposed to be good. If you think he’s predisposed to be average or bad, he’s lucky if he does well. Depends on your perception.. like most things i suppose.

@ Mike P

I like BAIP as a stat, but I think that using the work “luck” is a bit of a cop out. Last year Cole had a tremendously hard time hitting his spots (I wish there was a stat for that). This year he’s doing really well with hitting them, the Phil’s just aren’t putting runs on the board for him. I’m under the impression that your using the word luck loosely.

It cracks me up when people say a batter is “Unlucky” because he keeps hitting the ball hard but right at someone. Teams game plan for this stuff, which is why someone happens to be in the right spot at the right time.

I’m not trying to start anything, I’m just throwing my 2 cents in on how people associate luck with this good cole vs bad cole thing.

@ will.H

I think there’s a 3rd conclusion, which is that he’s good right now, but he’s still 26. We’re only going to understand his full potential in the next 2 to 3 years. He might not develop beyond what he can accomplish now–a guy who could win 15-18 games (when he gets more than 1 run from his offense per game!) with an ERA in the 3.50-4.00 ballpark–or he might grow some more, develop the curve and the cutter, and really take off.

Whole Camels

@PhillyPhaninChi – It’s not set in stone, but even if you look at guys who were famous for bad contact, Smoltz and Glavine had babips in the .280s. So they were better at preventing hits on balls in play, but not by a whole lot. Randy Johnson probably got as ugly swings at unhittable pitches as anyone, but his BABIP against is .295. I don’t think I need to tell anyone that Adam Eaton is a bad pitcher. His was .301.

I read #16 in a robot voice

I think too many people want Cole to be Steve Carlton,Randy Johnson, or even another young guy like Tim Lincecum who already has 2 Cy Young’s to his name.

Cole was absolutely crucial to our 2008 World Series win, and if he never does any other things on that same level again… people SHOULD be eternally thankful that he was here then to do what he did for us.

And even if he goes the rest of his career as a good if not great pitcher, I like him being here in Philly and I feel he deserves a lot more respect and support than he sometimes gets.

@ Phan Stuck in NYC

It’s called the Verducci effect and it says that no young pitcher should exceed 30 innings from the previous season. This in effect then says that it takes 3-4 years for a pitcher to develop into a “full-Time” starter.

@YankeesSuckARod

Completely agree. I’ll forever be thankful to Cole for what he did in 2008.

You also have to take into account that he was basically a kid when he won the world series. It was the longest season of baseball he ever pitched, and the most innings. THEN, he had banquets, parties, etc he had to attend. Look at Ryan Howard’s year after winning MVP. Especially when you’re a young player, its a lot of added responsibility you aren’t used to, and you haven’t been around the game long enough to really know how to manage your time. So he came to spring training already tired, his arm really never rebounded. I know you can say “blah blah professional athlete he should know better” but the guy was what, 24? I could see it being an unacceptable situation if it was a 30 year old vet who’d been in the league 8 years, but it’s a 24 year old kid who had his first taste of real fame. I think so far, though, he’s done everything the right way and deserves the benefit of the doubt that last year was a one time thing.

but I also agree with mike p

pat

i never brought up the word luck to begin. i was commenting on the perception of “luck.” I feel there’s an ebb and flow in baseball that equals out eventually. For every line drive out there’s a bloop double down the line.

Fans always have childhood memories of favorite players that they want new players to be, favorite once-in-a-lifetime plays they want re-played, HRs that should’ve been hit, catches that could’ve been “easily” made, etc. There isn’t a player alive who can live up to what goes on in a fan’s head, and their isn’t a player alive who doesn’t want to be the hero when the fan wants them to be. Bottomline, if they could’ve made the catch, hit the homer, made that same great play again – then they would’ve done it. But baseball isn’t that easy. If it was then everyone would play.

Unfortunately I think pitchers are in an odd position. Their job is done literally 100x or more during any given game alone, so fans and opposing teams can obsess over how they do this job. The positive or negative outcome depends so much on how capable they are at their job and/or how capable they are at hiding the doing of their job – more so than any other position.

As far as how Cole’s perceived, I’m normally an advocate of ‘hey just be yourself’. Generally if people don’t like you as you are, then – shrug – they’re never going to like you. But I’m not sure that’s worked for Cole particularly in Phila. IF he’s uncomfortable (I don’t know if is or not) and wants to be more “accepted” maybe he could consider different management or even a PR co. They can teach him how to talk to writers so he doesn’t say more deeply stupid shit like he ‘can’t wait for the season to be over.’

Get someone to screen commercials before he does them.

And a vocal coach.

Jeeze.

PhillyPhaninChi – Thanks. God Tom Verducci . . . okay.

will.h
i think i misinterpreted what you said. Anyways, I agree that it all does balance out in the end. Sometimes (and a lot of times) one season isn’t enough to balance it all out, and that’s where the chance/variance comes into play.

His xFIP, which uses a bunch of different fancy things like LD%, BABIP, K/9, BB/9, K/BB, etc this year is 3.85. His ERA is 3.78, suggesting he is basically neutral this year. Now with the strong Phillies defense behind him, maybe it should be a bit lower into the 3.50 range, but this is the Cole Hamels we should all get used to, and we should be HAPPY about getting used to it.

@ Mike P and Stickafork….I think you are both onto something. But also add on to that – every 5 days we get to see Roy work his magic. He’s at 90-some pitches in the 8 and 9th inning. Cole reaches that number in the 6th. We start comparing what we saw yesterday and think Cole is coming up short. In reality, its Cole being Cole, but our point of reference has changed.

Call it whatever you want, but Cole is having a solid year for a #2 pitcher, which is probably what he ought to be.
And yes…he needs someone to help him make non-baseball decisions cuz’ his way makes him look/sound like a fairy.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I’m sure I totally fucked up using that stat, since it tells you what percentage of his strikes come from foul balls. Oh well. I can’t figure out where to find exactly how many of his pitches went foul, so I’m going to abandon that venture to somebody who uses baseball reference, pitch f/x data, etc. more than me.

You would think Cole should have a better record this year then, since now he’s only expected to match other teams #2 starters instead of their aces.

And to Cole’s credit, he has pitched very well against some great #1-#2 pitchers this year like that great duel against Adam Wainwright for instance.

He truly deserves more wins, and more respect as well.

Hamels only pitched well at Fenway because he has a boner for it.

i love how it’s 3.5 and not 3 or 4.

Lemme know if anyone is coming out to LA for the Dodgers-Phillies series. I wanna know where the phillies fans are sitting, because there’s strength in numbers and the place is a warzone. Sick of being the only person in my section having to figure out which spanish expletive means what.

@ Greenman- Got my Tix for Sunday night. Stoked about seeing Doc pitch. I was blown away with tickets this year. I got insane Upper Box row 1 for 15 under face. I can’t remember the last time I paid face for a Cubs game that I planned on going to before the 3rd inning.

Awesome, I may get mine in that general area. Tickets are a lot cheaper on Sunday so I think I might hit up both of those games. Saturday’s prices are retarded, I’m glad I got mine early. People spend way too much money at that park.

D3 – I agree, I said as much. Hey, anything anyone doesn’t like about you truthfully can come down to being their problem, not yours. But with Cole it seems like the fan acceptance issue might extend into his head on the mound. Some personalities can block it out. A sports psych could help him “not care” I guess. I think I said IF HE’S uncomfortable w/Phila fans perceptions and he wants more acceptance, there are ways to deal w/the media. He doesn’t have to change himself and be slick. But he also doesn’t have to learn in front of the public by saying the wrong things. As for his voice, I mentioned it b/c he’s doing commercials. He can leave himself alone as far as I’m concerned. More to pick on, heh heh.

@L to the ance. what do you mean by sambos?

L to the ance, that’s not the proper way to be racist! What you need to do is find a black player who does everything right, but you threatened by, such as a Jimmy Rollins, and start stating how they are thugs who are only out for themselves. When someone asks you to explain, refuse. Also no matter what this player does always hate him, but forgive white players who are legitimately bad people and whenever a black athlete makes a mistake, whether directly or indirectly, call for them to be suspended.

That way you’re making the point, but the 300lb black football players you see every day just think about ripping your head off instead of actually doing it.

will.h , google Sit N’ Sleep. Worst commercials ever.

A lot of people are commenting on Cole Hamels’ “voice.” Of course this is just a euphemism; I guess these people are not comfortable saying that they think he’s effeminate or gay. What’s strange is that his personal life is very much out in the open. Cole Hamels would have to be a sociopath to construct this public image of himself as a family man just for the purpose of fooling you.
If you don’t think all that is true, then you should really pity him.

We got a new kinda troll to ignore now.

Home Run Derby is so damn boring. Is there a WNBA game on I can watch?

Look at all these solo homeruns. I’m literally drooling.

Berman and Morgan < TMac and Wheels

Mike Schmidt was viewed the same way til he won a ring, and when he hit his 500th nobody in the stands would admit to having ever booed him.

I think Cole shows he truly cares when he is doing poorly, sometimes to a fault.

McNabb never showed he even thought he was doing anything wrong, the occasional my bad tap of the chest but nothing more than that.

so i met cole hamels at the borgata last night. it was my birthday and i asked if i could get a picture with him. he said ‘no, im walking that way’ and just blew me off.

hes a dick.