Major League Baseball Notes 5/8/2012: Nothing “Old School” About Cole Hamels Drilling Of Bryce Harper

I think Cole Hamels might want to leave the tough guy act at home for a while.

In receiving a five-game suspension he not only hurt his team, which is currently 1-3 against the Nationals and Mets in their last four games, but also his own reputation. 

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo was every bit justified in saying what he said about the incident that took place Sunday. Need a reminder of?

“Cole Hamels says he’s old-school,” Rizzo told The Post. “He’s the polar opposite of old-school. He’s fake tough. He thinks he’s going to intimidate us after hitting our 19-year-old rookie who’s eight games into the big leagues? He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.” Mike Rizzo, Nationals general manager (courtesy MLB.com)

Hamels’ explanation? it was merely a “welcoming” gesture for the 19-year old to the majors. The Phillies took the game 9-3, but lost the war in class. Hamels needs to understand that there is a time for a pitcher to send one into the back of an opposing player, like the protection of a teammate. You don’t make it personal which, in Hamels case, he did.

Not to be outdone on the class meter Chad Qualls added his two cents:

Phillies right-hander Chad Qualls applauded Hamels on Twitter for his honesty. His former Houston Astros teammate, Morgan Ensberg, criticized Hamels and the Phillies, when he tweeted, “No honor there. Whoever is the leader of that team doesn’t have control.”

Qualls replied, “they hit cole right back but said not on purpose. Yeah right. At least cole was a man and didn’t lie about it. … A MAN. Not your actions but admitting to your actions. Not saying it slipped or I was trying to pitch inside. #manup for what you do.” (Courtesy MLB.com)

Man up? There was nothing manly about this. You’re up 9-3, you’ve already lost the series, and now you decide to hit Harper in the back? Real manly. If Qualls actual game was as good as his mouth maybe he would have better numbers since 2010. He might wanna man up on that mound.

I hope Charlie Manuel, Jimmy Rollins and some of the other real old-school players on that roster grab Hamels (and Qualls for that matter) and teach them a thing or two about how things are done.