Cole Hamels

Ah, it's good to be back...

Last Night Rewind

What else is there to say about the starting pitching and, more specifically, Cole Hamels?

The guy has been lights out for most of the season, and appears to be more focused than he's ever been during his time in Philly. The immature side-issues seem all but gone, he appears to have grown up, and he seems to really be hitting his stride as a consistent pitcher.

Now, Cole Hamels can be considered the best 8-10 pitcher on the planet. 

After completing a masterful six-hit, no walk shutout on the road against his hometown Padres, the lanky lefty snapped his improbable eight-game winless streak to lead the Phillies to a 5-0 win.

Everyone knows what it means: your team is flush with money and run by talentless slobs, who can make up for an inability to develop high quality talent within the farm system by simply buying other team's high quality talent.  

You are the evil empire, pricing every other team in baseball out of the market for the best players in the game.  

Cole Hamels is back. The World Series MVP we had come to know and love is pitching the way we know he can. There is no more of that mental crap from last year. He has been on fire. His stats show that—well, at least in every category except wins.

Not everyone can be a winner.

These ten pitchers have found this out the hard way this season. Despite pitching very well for their teams this season they each have a losing record.

These ten pitchers have suffered from a lack of run support, poor defense behind them, and a case of bad luck.

Three of the pitchers on this list pitch for teams that are last place in their divisions, two play for teams that are still in the playoff hunt, and one pitcher on this list is actually on a first place team.

Check out Sammy's video preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9xHB81eJjg&feature=youtube_gdata

NEW YORK—The last time the Philadelphia Phillies came to Citi Field, they left without scoring a run. No, not just the last game they played—the entire series they played back in May.

Let’s face it, we’ve all had those moments during the 2010 Phillies season.

Charlie Manuel casually strolls to the mound, head down, and then signals to the bullpen to send some relief for his reliever.

As we watch another bullpen arm head for the dugout, we reiterate that nobody in the Phillies front office listened to our concerns about relief pitching at the trade deadline and beyond.

This morning I was greeted by a hair ball, a pet puke, and an offensive odor.

Speaking of offensive, I should blog. I’ll start by singing the accolades of my favorite major league catcher.

Wait, my husband says it’s too early in the day for me to sing. Actually, he says there’s never a reason for it.

Back in December, the Phillies traded for Roy Halladay and promptly signed him to a three year, $60 million dollar contract. They were willing to make the commitment to the 32-year-old ace because of his track record as a dominant pitcher who takes pride in spending as much time on the mound as some of the greats from an earlier era.

The first eight months of Halladay’s tenure with the Phillies have only confirmed his reputation as an old-school workhorse.