After the fall, Hamels is getting back up

CLEARWATER, Fla. - After the 2009 World Series had ended and the noise of an irritated public and his own self-doubt quieted a bit, Cole Hamels went home to his wife and new son. Caleb Hamels was born on the frantic afternoon of Oct. 8, when his father lasted just five innings in a division series loss to Colorado, and spent his first days in the world with a dad facing incessant adversity.

In November, when the Phillies pitcher was finally able to exhale and spend time with his first child, he was impressed by Caleb's resilience.

The baby stared at unfamiliar objects with fierce interest and approached challenges with a determination that struck his father as admirable. And after enduring the most serious setbacks of his athletic life, Hamels embraced the inspiration.

"Kids never quit," the pitcher, now 26, said last week, smiling when asked about his son. "They're going

to fall down a million times before they learn how to walk. There's something I can learn from that in baseball, about how you have to get beat down in this game before you finally fix yourself."

Hamels had risen from emerging prospect to budding celebrity in 2008, then suffered an agonizing fall last year. Still profoundly talented but confused and not entirely healthy, he saw an inconsistent regular season devolve into a horrific October.

Hamels spent the most recent winter adjusting his physical routine and reflecting on his emotional response to struggle, and arrived at the current spring training feeling refreshed in body and mind. He hopes to achieve a new balance this year - and his teammates and adopted city eagerly await the results.

Not what he meant

There was a huge gap between intent and effect in what Hamels said after Game 3 of last year's World Series. The lefthander stood in the middle of a thick cluster of reporters and cameramen on Oct. 31, having just squandered an opportunity with what could have been a redemptive performance against New York.

With the Phillies and Yankees tied with one win apiece, the lefty had blown a three-run lead, allowed five runs in 41/3 innings, and was charged with the loss. The 8-5 win gave the Yankees the Series lead, and the Phils never recovered, falling four games to two.

The game also had extinguished any hope that Hamels could float back into his postseason trance of the previous fall. In 2009, it was not happening for him.