Left-hander Cole Hamels has been living in Philadelphia, not inside a cave amid some barren wasteland lately. So yes, he has heard his name mentioned daily in trade rumors.
“You hear your name. It’s kind of what happens in baseball,” said Hamels who showed the Mets and anyone else who cared to watch why he would be in demand with a masterful eight shutout innings in the Phillies’ 6-0 victory over the Mets Tuesday at Citi Field. “In this day and age there’s more trades made than having guys stick around on clubs. You don’t see the Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones situations as much anymore.”
Hamels would not come cheap. Plus, he has four years left at $22.5 million per season. If all that frightens off suitors, Hamels would be more than satisfied. He said he doesn’t want to leave the town where he won a World Series ring in 2008 — and the series MVP award as well.
“All I know is I signed here for an extended period of time and that’s what I’m going to uphold is to be a Phillie and try to be here as long as I possibly can because I enjoy it,” Hamels said. “This is the place I want to win again.
“These young guys, you can’t tell them enough, ‘This is the place you want to win a world championship because it’s the most exciting time you’ll have in your career, and I want to have it again here,” Hamels said.
Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg, admitting such decisions are above his pay grade, nevertheless would lead the “Keep Cole” fan club.
“Going forward, you need pitching and right now he’s our best,” Sandberg said. “It would be nice to have him.”
Anyone would want the guy who has pitched seven or more innings in 14 of his last 16 starts with a 1.97 ERA in that stretch. Hamels (6-5) won his third straight start, and fourth consecutive decision, by allowing the Mets just six hits — just one in his final five innings — while striking out eight.
Using what Sandberg called “a mixture of pitches — a power changeup, mixed in more curveballs and spotted his fastball” — Hamels drove the Mets nuts while adhering to the spring-training mantra of Phillies’ pitching coach Bob McClure: keep the ball down.
“Keep the ball down in the zone,” said Hamels, who missed the first three weeks of the season with left biceps tendinitis. “It’s a lot harder to score getting singles. You have to get three or four singles to get a run across.”
As the Mets learned, when you get one single (and it didn’t leave the infield) over five innings, scoring goes beyond hard.