Thursday, October 15, 2009

Perfect weather for Hamels

It was exactly one year ago today that we were celebrating the Phils’
NLCS championship over the Dodgers.

Yes, baseball continues to play later and later. Imagine this. The Phils and Yankees are in the World Series. Game 7 is set for Lincoln Financial Field. It is Nov. 5. You read that right.

Now, with all this talk of Nor’easters and a bad winter, let’s say the East Coast gets hit with a major winter storm. New York City and Philadelphia are sitting under 6 inches of snow. Then what? Put the game off for a couple of days? Pick it up in spring training? Baseball keeps rolling the dice with Mother Nature. Occasionally it comes up snake-eyes. Like last year’s suspended final game between the Phils and Rays. Like last weekend’s game that was snowed out in Denver.

It’s only a matter of time.

Of course, if L.A. keeps making the post-season, a lot of those problems will go out the window. It will be shorts and T-shirts tonight in Chavez Ravine, with a game-time temperature of 79 degrees.

Which should suit Cole Hamels, Mr. Cool, the Laid Back California Kid, just fine. Fans are wondering which Hamels they will get, the MVP of last year’s NLCS and World Series, or the wildly inconsistent, and mediocre pitcher who went to the hill so often this year.

Actually we might get both. The game is starting at 5:07 in L.A. That’s daylight. In case you missed it, Hamels went 0-6 in the regular season this year in the daylight, and got roughed up by the Rockies in the daylight in Game 2 of the NLDS last week.

But the game will end at night in L.A., meaning if Hamels can survive the early going, he might be able to take control.

Hamels, who just celebrated the birth of his first child with wife Heidi, needs to be the man for the Phillies tonight.

This nugget from the New York Times: Of the seven pitchers who have started in the playoffs for the Phils and Dodgers, only one started a game in last year’s NLCS. That would be Hamels.

It’s time for Hamels to stake his claim to again being the ace, and drive a stake through the Dodgers’ hearts.

Prediction: Phillies in 5.

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