Cole Hamels pitches a no- hitter
 

As a phillies fan Its great to see Hamels throw a no no.Now he will get traded by the end of the week.

Terrific game
 

That game was a blast for this long time Phillie fan too, Steve!

I thought he made a mistake with the high fastball to Ross in the 8th, but it stayed in and "Oddball " stayed with it .
Then when Bryant went deep with two outs in the 9th, I really thought it was going to hit the ivy. Oddball once again made our hearts drop to our shoes, but he stayed with that one too and made the catch!

Cole has been so great to watch, I really don't want to envision him in another uniform but it's probably best. I hate seeing Utley in this situation too, my favorite Phillie in a quarter century (since Michael Jack:D)

This game reminded me of the Phillie Run from 06 to 10. While I'm sad that it's over, I know that teams tend to have periods near the bottom more than they have periods at the top:rolleyes:

Go Phillies!

It was good to see Hamels getting some run support.If he would have gotten some run support over the last 2+ years he would have a much better record.

Does this mean that HE is the greatest active pitcher THIS week?

I just know we are all over Kershaw by now, right? :rolleyes:

I think you can get free pizza with mlb/pizza hut if are first in line

Kershaw, Greinke, Hamels sounds really good to this Dodger fan. I've thought Hamels has been a great pitcher on a mediocre team for some time and today he proved it. For those who watched the Phils in the early 70's (see Steve Carlton ) know what it feels like to have an Ace on the staff and not much to back him up. Which ever team he ends up with is going to have a great addition to the club . Congrats to Cole ! Fingers crossed he lands in LA.
Brett

funny though he did get pounded last 2 starts previously..would it really be a shocker if he doesn't deliver ace stats rest of the way?

If this is Cole's last start as a Phillies pitcher, he certainly left the City of Brotherly Love in style.

I am lifelong fan of the Baseball Club from Philadelphia and will truly miss him.

Since this thread is void of cardboard thus far, let me add this image of the best hurler to play for my favorite team since Steve Carlton.

Eric - You can make a good case for Hamels as the best since Carlton, but you should not so quickly forget Roy Halliday - he was considered by many as the best in Baseball at his peak in Philly. Honorable mention in third place (and my personal favorite) goes to Cliff Lee. Those three were supposed to dominate Baseball for several years, but Hamels was the only one who could stay healthy...it would have been fun to watch.

I forgot neither Halliday nor Lee...nor Roy Oswalt, for that matter. While the, "Four Aces" squad did win 102 games, their playoff performance left much to be desired. Yes, I do realize that Halliday threw a post-season no-hitter. However, "Cholly" made a huge mistake and swept the Braves during the final weekend of the season. In doing so, he forced the Phillies to square off against the Cards, the only team that had a winning record against them that season. 'Nuf Ced.

Beyond this, RAJ then pulled off trades that will ultimately get him fired, and he held onto an aging core that could not handle Saint Louis during the regular season or the playoffs.

It has been downhill ever since.

Best regards,

Eric

Eric- I sure don't understand that argument at all. '...made a huge mistake and swept the Braves in the final weekend of the season.

Halladay was the winning pitcher in the last game prior to the sweep in Atlanta, so how is it his fault?

In doing so, he forced the Phillies to square off against the Cards, the only team that had a winning record against them that season

Again, please explain how his effort and results made this his fault.

He won game one against the Cardinals and then lost 1-0 in the fifth game...you were expecting what?


Please don't get offended by my opinions, even though I am surely correct in this case and you are obviously incorrect. :D

I think he was referring to Charlie Manuel as to who's fault is was sweeping the Braves,not Halliday.

No offense taken. I certainly could have explained myself better. I tried to sum up the beginning of the Phillies' collapse in far too few words. Along the way, I made my post difficult to follow. My apologies.

"Cholly" is a reference to the Phillies former manager, Charlie Manuel. While he did some great things here in Philadelphia, he made a monumental mistake in 2011. Heading into the final three games of the regular season:

- The Phillies had 99 wins, already secured the NL East Crown, and were mathematically assured of having the best record in the National League
- The Atlanta Braves had 89 wins and a one game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card race
- Up to that point, The Phillies were 9-6 against the Braves and 3-6 against the Cardinals

Instead of resting his starters, coasting into the postseason, and ensuring a much more favorable matchup, the Phillies swept the Braves. This eliminated Atlanta (who they handled rather easily that year) and allowed the Cardinals (who they struggled against) into the playoffs.

St. Louis knocked the Phillies out in the Divisional Series and then went on to win the NLCS and World Series. Had Charlie Manuel eased off the gas pedal just a bit in the regular season's final series, things would have been much different.

- For starters, St. Louis would not have made they playoffs. Clearly, then, they wouldn't have won the World Series
- Phillies would have drawn Atlanta in the NLDS. While that would not have guaranteed a series win, the Phillies would have more likely than not advanced to the NLCS. Could they have handled the Brewers or Diamondbacks? We will never know :mad:
- There is a good possibility that Ryan Howard would not have injured his Achilles. I realize nobody can predict injuries; however, feel that Howard's case was situational and not just dumb luck. He tried too hard to run out a grounder to preserve the season. Simply put, I don't think he gets hurt if the Phillies weren't down to their last at-bat of the season.

So, anyway, that's my take on Charlie Manuel and the 2011 Phillies. Things got worse after that...much, much worse. Again, I tried to convey this in too few words before. Sorry about that.

I agree that Halliday was spectacular during his stretch with the Phillies, and certainly wasn't blaming him for anything.

Hope this all made sense. To turn the conversation back to Hamels, I attached another image here of the Phillies' (soon-to-be former) ace. Enjoy!

Best regards,

Eric

Well, while I can see some argument for resting starters - especially using defensive replacements late in games, a lot of bad things can come from loosing your last three games and going into the playoffs with that still on your mind, rather than blowing into the playoffs on a four-game winning streak.

Maybe, the long-time, successful Baseball man that saw how his team reacted to every game that year had a better grasp of how his team would react - kind of iffy to challenge that, huh?
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all things considered, I would much rather go into October on a high, but I'm only a fan.
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Managers are easy targets and players cannot get fired.
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Please don't say St.Louis it makes Kershaws neck hurt ! :rolleyes:

hmmmm....SF can win a WS with MadBum.......followed by Peavy, Hudson and Voglesong. It's all about chemistry and LA ain't had any of that in a long time (dugout bubble machine, notwithstanding).

So it took SF 54 years to get there chemistry together ?

Hey, someone in that 'loving' city killed the hitchhiking robot :(

I am glad that "Large Ass" Herzog did not suffer a similar fate. Perhaps we should keep him away from Philly.