Brett Myers reportedly confronts frustrated Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels in Philadelphia clubhouse
BY Adam Rubin
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Tuesday, November 3rd 2009, 11:10 AM
PHILADELPHIA - Cole Hamels' frustrated declaration that he could not wait for his season to be over apparently struck a nerve in his own clubhouse. Teammate Brett Myers reportedly walked by Hamels in the clubhouse after Philadelphia's 8-6 victory in Game 5 on Monday night and blurted: "What are you doing here? I thought you quit," Yahoo! Sports reported.
According to a witness cited in the report, Hamels replied with an expletive and the two were quickly separated.
Hamels, last year's NLCS and World Series MVP, has a 7.58 ERA this postseason and was knocked out in the fifth inning of his Game 3 start against the Yankees.
He was quoted after losing the World Series start about the season: "I can't wait for it to end. It's been mentally draining. At year end, you just can't wait for a fresh start."
Some perceived that to mean that Hamels just wanted the World Series to quickly end, even at the expense of Philadelphia repeating as champions. Apparently Myers did, too. However, Hamels was speaking in frustration about his struggles this season and merely wanted to suggest he needed the offseason to clear his head.
The comment caught Phillies manager Charlie Manuel off-guard.
"I was surprised at that," Manuel said about Hamels' statement. "At the same time ... he was the MVP last year in the World Series, and that's what everybody talks about, and they kind of rave about that. Since Day 1, when he first came to the big leagues, he's been what they call a high-profile pitcher and everybody has always talked about him, and he had success right out of the get-go, and he was considered a top-notch pitcher.
"He did not pitch a whole lot through the minor leagues, and basically this year, I've said over and over, he's had kind of a weird season. And the more I think about it, what he's going through, here's a guy, all of a sudden he's having some problems. He's inconsistent, and he's kind of had an off-year for him. Basically, his struggles, this is the first time he's going through that."
BY Adam Rubin
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Tuesday, November 3rd 2009, 11:10 AM
PHILADELPHIA - Cole Hamels' frustrated declaration that he could not wait for his season to be over apparently struck a nerve in his own clubhouse. Teammate Brett Myers reportedly walked by Hamels in the clubhouse after Philadelphia's 8-6 victory in Game 5 on Monday night and blurted: "What are you doing here? I thought you quit," Yahoo! Sports reported.
According to a witness cited in the report, Hamels replied with an expletive and the two were quickly separated.
Hamels, last year's NLCS and World Series MVP, has a 7.58 ERA this postseason and was knocked out in the fifth inning of his Game 3 start against the Yankees.
He was quoted after losing the World Series start about the season: "I can't wait for it to end. It's been mentally draining. At year end, you just can't wait for a fresh start."
Some perceived that to mean that Hamels just wanted the World Series to quickly end, even at the expense of Philadelphia repeating as champions. Apparently Myers did, too. However, Hamels was speaking in frustration about his struggles this season and merely wanted to suggest he needed the offseason to clear his head.
The comment caught Phillies manager Charlie Manuel off-guard.
"I was surprised at that," Manuel said about Hamels' statement. "At the same time ... he was the MVP last year in the World Series, and that's what everybody talks about, and they kind of rave about that. Since Day 1, when he first came to the big leagues, he's been what they call a high-profile pitcher and everybody has always talked about him, and he had success right out of the get-go, and he was considered a top-notch pitcher.
"He did not pitch a whole lot through the minor leagues, and basically this year, I've said over and over, he's had kind of a weird season. And the more I think about it, what he's going through, here's a guy, all of a sudden he's having some problems. He's inconsistent, and he's kind of had an off-year for him. Basically, his struggles, this is the first time he's going through that."
