Cole Hamels was straight dealing last night against the Marlins. The offense was straight rolling, ringing the bell at Citizen Bank Park like Sarah Palin's version of Paul Revere -- over and over and over.
But then Cole left the game a bit early and fear set it. Charlie Manuel and Cole quelled that a bit by saying his lower back was just a bit stiff due to the rain delay, cold weather, etc. and Manuel says he should be "all right." Good to hear, as Cole is simply one of the best pitchers in the game today.
"It tightened up on me," Hamels said of his back. "Rain delay, obviously it got a lot colder, my body temperature just kind of dropped. Everything was just kind of tightening up."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"I don't want to come out of a game, but I just want to be smart."
With a 9-1 lead, I'd say Cole did the smart thing.