Game One Recap: the Cole Show

by dajafi on Oct 1, 2008 6:19 PM EDT

In the biggest start of his life, Cole Hamels pitched arguably the best game of his life.

That might sound like hyperbole, but against a lineup that smacked around lefthanders at a .269/.348/.458 clip during the regular season, Hamels put up eight innings of scoreless, two-hit, one-walk ball, striking out nine. (And for the sake of my stomach lining, seeing him go for the complete game might have been nice.)

In earning the first Phillies postseason win since Curt Schilling's 147-pitch (!) effort in Game Five of the 1993 World Series, Hamels silenced the doubters who had pointed to his so-so performances in two earlier tests: last year's playoff opener and his early-September showdown against the Mets and Johan Santana. This was the biggest of stages, and he stood taller than any Phils pitcher since Schilling on that October night fifteen years ago. Signs of Hamels' growing maturity--staying healthy thanks to great diligence in his pre- and post-game conditioning, staying focused despite a painful lack of offensive support for a six-week stretch over the summer--have been evident all year. Today was the payoff, and perhaps the coming-out party of Philadelphia's next legendary pitcher.

As for the offense, they were opportunistic and patient in key spots, taking advantage of shoddy defense and Yovanni Gallardo's wildness to score three runs in the third inning. But against a supposedly shaky Milwaukee bullpen, they went down quietly again and again, putting just one runner in scoring position. With CC Sabathia looming tomorrow, a quick turnaround seems unlikely--but eventually the bats will have to deliver if the club is to play deep into the month.

Three runs and four hits won't often be enough. Thanks to Hamels--and to Brad Lidge, making huge pitches when he absolutely needed to--it was today.

Tweet Comment 13 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

nailed it

You nailed the recap, Cole was simply untouchable. I was screaming at Lidge but deep down (unlike past years) thought he would get it done. It was the right move if we need Cole for Game 4, but 30+ pitches by Lidge for about the 4th or 5th straight time had me reaching for the Rolaids (so the name of the award). Please Brad let your string be broken next year but give my heart and gut a rest next time

by suffering on Oct 1, 2008 6:59 PM EDT reply actions

How could they have possibly not realized 15 years ago that throwing 150 pitches in a game is probably not a good thing?

by FuquaManuel on Oct 1, 2008 7:59 PM EDT reply actions

In Game 5 of the World Series, there might be some cause for it.

Fregosi had quite a record of abusing pitchers for no good reason, but that game isn’t really a good exemplar.

by taco pal on Oct 1, 2008 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions

You’re right. Once you get to October, pitch counts don’t matter… but effectiveness does, of course. What I recall about that game—and the link bears this out, though it looks less severe than I remember it—was that Curt got into trouble in the 8th inning. He would have had to be at least around 115-120 at that point; I didn’t know the pitch count, but I remember thinking, “he’s cooked.” Fregosi stayed with him, though, and it worked.

And I remember him saying in the post-game interview that he would be available out of the bullpen in the last two games, for that matter.

I do wonder how much that one game had to do with Schilling’s very limited availability over the next three seasons, though.

by dajafi on Oct 1, 2008 9:16 PM EDT up reply actions

now you've got me thinking about this...

In his two NLCS starts against the Braves, Curt threw 135 and 131 pitches. Williams blew both leads in the 9th, of course (and “won” both decisions… no wonder Curt put the towel over his head).

During the regular season, he threw 132 in his second start of the year, April 11… 134 twelve days later… 131 on May 25, and topped out at 139 on September 20… in a 7-1 complete-game win over Florida, in which the Phils led 6-0 after two innings. There were six other games that season in which he threw between 120 and 129.

I assume it occurred to Schilling and Tommy Greene later on how much money Fregosi probably cost them by that sort of use. At least Schill had a great career after losing parts of those three seasons. But Greene—who threw 142 in a 6-3 win over the (terrible) Mets in late May, and had consecutive starts of 128, 135, 133, 84, and 142 from Sept. 3 thru Sept. 24, was never any good again.

by dajafi on Oct 1, 2008 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, the Green(e)s, Tommy and Tyler, are Exhibits 1 and 1A of Fregosi’s utter reckless disregard for the careers of his pitchers. If the medical science were a little more advanced, maybe they could have sued.

Exhibit 2 would be Jose DeJesus.

by taco pal on Oct 1, 2008 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions

What are you saying—that his 144-pitch effort on Oct. 2, with the team miles from playoff relevance, was somehow excessive or foolish?

(Wow. I don’t even remember Jose all that well—between about 1988 and 1992, when the team was cruddy and I was in late high school/early college, was probably the low point of my Phillies fandom—but I do remember that he looked promising, and then all the sudden he was out of the picture. Guess we know why.)

by dajafi on Oct 2, 2008 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions

The shame of it is that we acquired DeJesus for Steve Jeltz, possibly the Worst Player In The History Of Major League Baseball. If DeJesus had been allowed to reach his potential, he could have been one of the all-time greatest steals ever.

I thought Bobby Munoz’s story would be similar (looked promising in 1994, then suddenly flamed out), but as it turns out Fregosi actually treated him pretty reasonably.

by taco pal on Oct 2, 2008 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah. What I remember about Bobby Munoz—other than that I thought he looked like my brother—is that he had unsustainably amazing numbers with runners on base in ’94. As with Kyle Kendrick, that was, well, unsustainable…

by dajafi on Oct 2, 2008 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Also, you have to remember that that was one day after the 15-14 loss in game 4. The bullpen probably needed a little bit of rest and, I’d imagine, Fregosi didn’t have much confidence in them.

by yosoysean on Oct 2, 2008 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions

who else was at that game in ’93? my memory is of course fuzzy after the years, but schill really seemed dominant the whole night.

by Putsy Caballero. on Oct 1, 2008 9:22 PM EDT reply actions

Box score and play-by-play are here. First two Jays singled in the 8th, but Schilling retired the next three batters.

Danny Cox pitched in that game? I had no memory of that. And that was after his unfortunate stint with the Phillies. And he struck out the side in the ninth!

by taco pal on Oct 1, 2008 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions

from Todd Zolecki's postgame notes column

link

Brewers seeing something?

The Brewers seemed to lay off Brad Lidge’s slider in the ninth inning, which is tough for most hitters to do. Could the Brewers be picking up something in Lidge’s delivery that is tipping his pitches?

“If they weren’t late on my fastball, maybe,” Lidge said. “But they make an adjustment. They start laying off sliders in the dirt, let’s come back with a fastball and see if they’re on that, too. If they’re on that, then maybe I’m tipping my pitches. But they weren’t.”

by dajafi on Oct 1, 2008 10:14 PM EDT reply actions