Hamels’ Elbow Passes Minor League Test
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Phillies ace lefthander Cole Hamels gave his left elbow a go 9 days after complaining of discomfort. Hamels threw 3 2/3rd innings in minor league competition against Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguers at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater. The elbow apparently passed with flying colors as Hamels expressed: “It felt good… and I felt great.”
Hamels had complained elbow discomfort after his last start on March 15th and the club sent him to Philadelphia for examination by the team physician and for an MRI which came through as negative.
The report on Hamels’ performance on Tuesday came through too late for inclusion in the previous blog post.
Hamels’ performance against the Pirates minor leaguers was impressive as the AP report notes:
Hamels allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five of his 13 batters. The left-hander threw 35 of 48 pitches for strikes.
“Performance-wise, we thought he threw OK,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “It was a pretty positive outing.”
Hamels is tentatively scheduled to pitch in a Grapefruit League game Sunday against Boston.
If all goes well, Hamels would pitch again a day or two before opening day, meaning he wouldn’t be on the mound when the World Series champions open the season April 5 against Atlanta.
As was noted in Tuesday’s blog post on the Phillies win over Toronto, management is aiming for a Hamels debut on April 10th against the Colorado Rockies in Denver, although the later AP report indicates that they have not, as yet, completely ruled Hamels out of starting the season opener.
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