Cole Hamels is upset. On Sunday, March 2nd the Philadelphia Phillies renewed his contract for $500,000. Hamels called the renewal a ”low blow” and said he would not soon forget the slight.
Cole is a phenomenal pitcher, but he is getting ahead of himself. Does this conjure thoughts of Ryan Howard? It shouldn’t because the comparison is not an accurate one.
Be sure to check out Inquirer baseball columnist Jim Salisbury who today wrote a piece on Cole Hamels being out of line. Specifically Salisbury discredits the Hamels / Howard comparison, while using Chien-Ming Wang of the New York Yankees as a service class comparison.
Categories: Cole Hamels · Philadelphia Phillies · Ryan Howard
Tagged: Cole Hamels, Jim Salisbury, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard
February 27, 2008 · 1 Comment
Last week a historical baseball arbitration case caused quite a stir in Philadelphia. With spring training on the horizon Ryan Howard was awarded $10 million, a record for a player with less than three years of major league service.
The decision sent the Phillies to their first ever arbitration defeat and raised a number of comments on the urgency of structuring a long term deal for Howard.
He is the fastest to 100 home runs! He hits more home runs per at bat than Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds! This is the 2005 Rookie of the Year and 2006 MVP we are talking about! He has averaged 52.5 HR and 142.5 RBI over the past two seasons!
Scanning the Internet blogs and forums, Philadelphia is clearly worried about losing their prized slugger. In addition to Howard’s statistics, age-old fan favorite themes are used as support: the Phillies brass is cheap and they won’t do what it takes to win. It is the same old story.
One word – relax.
Focus your worries on something legitimate. Brad Lidge and his balky knee. The 5-spot in the starting rotation. Kyle Kendrick being traded to the Yomiuri Giants.
Why? It’s simple – the Phillies are doing the right thing. (more…)
Categories: Brad Lidge · Chase Utley · Kyle Kendrick · Pat Burrell · Philadelphia Phillies · Ryan Howard
Tagged: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Ryan Howard arbitration, Ryan Howard contract, Ryan Howard contract extension, wiz wit
