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Phillies try to escape the shadow of 1980
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The reminders are everywhere.
There is the Mike Schmidt statue outside the third-base gate at Citizens Bank Park, with the Steve Carlton statue just around the corner, outside the left-field gate. Dallas Green, the only man to pilot the Phillies to a World Series championship, works in the front office. And, of course, there is the red championship flag that flies in right-center field.
Ah, 1980.
“I think if you come to a Phillies game, they celebrate that every year,” Manager Charlie Manuel said Tuesday at Tropicana Field.
Lefthander Cole Hamels said, however, that “getting to know the city of Philadelphia, we want to be our own team. We don’t want to hide in the shadow of 1980. That’s something where, if we believe in ourselves enough, we’re going to be able to go out there and do it.”
Hamels can lead the Phillies down that path on Wednesday night when he pitches against Tampa Bay Rays lefthander Scott Kazmir in Game 1 of the World Series. The Game 1 winner has won 63 World Series (61.2 percent), including 10 of the last 11 and 17 of the last 20.
Hamels, who is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three starts in this postseason, has been good so far at not letting his emotions get the best of him, so don’t expect him to be caught up in the moment.
“For us, the World Series is something that you look back on, not when you’re playing,” he said. “It’s something that I think I will cherish probably 10 years from now. I’ll probably go through my head with what was going on, what I was thinking, who I was playing, what results I had.
“When you play 10, 15 years and never make the World Series, then I think this kind of stage becomes a little bit more burdening or exciting. For me, because I’ve played three years, been in the playoffs twice, the World Series once, I think it’s kind of a normal thing, and I hope it is.”
Cool Cole Hamels. Nothing seems to bother him.
“That’s just his demeanor,” first baseman Ryan Howard said. “Cole handles himself. He prepares for the games, he knows what he wants to do and he goes out there and does his work.”
“In a word, he’s cool,” catcher Chris Coste said. “I don’t think anyone’s ever questioned that from the day he got to the big leagues. He made his debut and he looked like he had 12 years in the big leagues.”
But coolness will get Hamels only so far Wednesday night. The Rays were 57-24 at home this season, the best record in baseball. He will need to pitch well, using his fastball, change-up and curveball as effectively as he did against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, for which he won series MVP honors.
“Any time you come into somebody’s home, it’s going to be louder,” Hamels said. “They’ve done very well here. You have to be prepared to deal with the crowd, but also with the team. You just have to go out there and be very narrow- minded and really try to get the job done because this is Game 1. It sets the table and the tone for what the Series is going to be like.”
Most people are picking the Rays to beat the Phillies in the World Series: Vegas, the networks, the national media.
“I think we’re very even,” Hamels said. “I guess the American League East is always the talk of the town any time baseball season comes, because of Boston and the Yankees. Any team that can beat Boston and the Yankees is pretty impressive. … I don’t know what they’re really looking at, but I just think we’re very equal. I can’t say who to favor, but I’m going to pick my side, no doubt.”
If the Phils win the Series, they can raise a 2008 flag next to the 1980 flag.
And they can finally escape that ‘80 shadow once and for all.
Mcclatchy-Tribune