Ryan Howard is set to return to Phillies camp in Clearwater, Fla., at some point today.

But he won't resume his rehab process for at least a few more days after undergoing a procedure that removed an infection from the wound at the site of his Achilles surgery.

Perhaps the biggest news that came from head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan's medical update on Howard: the surgically-repaired Achilles' tendon was not compromised.

"That's great news," Sheridan said.

Here is more from Sheridan:


"Ryan Howard saw Dr. Myerson (in Baltimore) on Monday. When he was up there Dr. Myerson did a small procedure to clean out his sutures and clean out this wound that he has," Sheridan said. "Dr. Myerson has consulted with infectious disease doctors. Ryan is going to be placed on antibiotic medication. And we’ll be consulting with Dr. Myerson in the next couple days about how this is going to affect the rehab program. The biggest thing right now is we have to protect the wound and make sure the healing occurs and then begin to move forward from there.

"He’s going to be inactive for a few days. He’s going to be back here later today and we’ll keep on treating him here. We have some people her in place to take care of him when he gets back here.


Q: Is this considered a setback?

Sheridan: "I don’t prefer to use that word. I know that’s what everyone wants to use. We never established a particular time frame for him and right now, its one of those things that happens in the rehab process and we have to move forward from it."

Q: Did the infection affect the integrity of Achilles?

Sheridan: "That was our biggest concern going into this and that was one of the things during the procedure that he did confirm, the Achilles tendon is intact and not compromised. That’s great news."


Howard, of course, suffered a complete tear of his left Achilles on the final play of the 2011 season in Game 5 of the NLDS against he Cardinals. Dr. Myerson performed the surgery on Oct. 12.

You know it's time for the games to begin when pitching coach Rich Dubee unveils his carefully crafted spreadsheet of pitchers and what days those pitchers will pitch. Or, you know, the pitching schedule.

So if you're wondering who will pitch when, wonder no more. The Grapefruit League schedule begins Saturday with Cole Hamels taking the mound against the New York Yankees.




SATURDAY, MARCH 3 vs. Yankees

Cole Hamels
Dave Bush
Jonathan Papelbon
Dontrelle Willis
Raul Valdes
Mike Stutes
Chad Qualls




SUNDAY, MARCH 4 at Yankees (Tampa)

Roy Halladay
Joel Pineiro
David Purcey
Antonio Bastardo
Phillippe Aumont




MONDAY, MARCH 5 vs. Yankees

Joe Blanton
Scott Elarton
Austin Hyatt
Brian Sanches
David Herndon



TUESDAY, MARCH 6 at Blue Jays (Dunedin)

Cliff Lee
Kyle Kendrick
Jeremy Horst
Michael Schwimer
JC Ramirez
Raul Valdes



WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 vs. Astros

Vance Worley
Pat Misch
Jonathan Papelbon
Dontrelle Willis
Mike Stutes
Chad Qualls



THURSDAY, MARCH 8 vs. Pirates

Cole Hamels
Dave Bush
Antonio Bastardo
David Purcey
Phillippe Aumont



FRIDAY, MARCH 9 at Tigers (Lakeland)

Roy Halladay
Joel Pineiro
David Herndon
Brian Sanches
Jeremy Horst
Raul Valdes

The second week of Camp Clearwater began with Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt's chat with the media yesterday, and it has continued with a little debate started by Schmidt: which era of Phillies baseball was/is better, the 1976-83 Schmidt-led years, or the current, Charlie Manuel-managed era?

Good water cooler talk.

Schmidt says the current Phillies run is better. And without doing any research, that was my gut, too.

But then I looked at it a little and the similarities are startling.

The '76-'83 Phillies won five division titles, two NL pennants and one World Series championship. The '05-'11 Phillies won five division titles, two NL pennants and one World Series championship.

If you take away the win total from strike-shortened 1981 season, that era of the Schmidt-led Phillies won 646 games in seven seasons (1976-80, 1982-83). Coincidentally, Manuel’s Phillies have also won 646 games in his seven years as manager (2005-11).

Since the Phillies appeared in their most recent World Series, the team's failure to return has often been blamed on the declining offense. Charlie Manuel has made a point to change that this season by bringing in each of his core, veteran position players into his office to talk about their respective and collective hitting approaches.


And those Phils veterans sound like they're buying into Manuel's message.

But it is interesting to go back and compare this current run's offensive output with the Schmidt-led era's. Without looking, which group do you think scored more runs, the group led by a Hall of Famer in Schmidt and the game's all-time hit king in Pete Rose, or the current lineup that features a pair of former MVP winners?

Once again, we'll take away the 1981 season since the fact that is was shortened by a strike gives it an "Incomplete" grade when adding up stats like wins and runs.

The Schmidt-led Phillies scored 5,096 runs in seven seasons ('76-80, 82-83). The Manuel-managed Phils have scored 5,668 runs in the last seven seasons ('05-11).

I'm not sure that or any other stat would provide the definitive answer to which era has been better, but at least it gives you some baseball to talk about in February, right?

Last week, Charlie Manuel brought Jimmy Rollins into his office. He wanted to talk to the longest-tenured player on the team, the leadoff hitter, and one of the strongest voices in his clubhouse about the team's collective approach to hitting.

When talking with reporters later that day, Manuel said he talked with Rollins about not giving away at-bats, talking hitting more as a team and bringing a more consistent approach to the plate with each at-bat.

The question worth asking: can you teach old ballplayers new tricks? Are they set in their ways - or are they open to altering their approach.

Rollins sounds like he's on board with Manuel's message. So does he have to change his approach as a hitter?


"An approach, not in a mechanical sense, but giving away less at-bats," Rollins said. "When you have the count in your favor, you have the right to be that much more picky on which pitch you want to choose. And for years, you’d get ahead in the count and the mentality is, ‘I get a free swing.’ It’s only a free swing if you hit the ball fair. You hit the ball foul and you’re like, why did I swing at that pitch? And you’re lucky you hit the ball foul, because, overall, 2-0, 3-1 swings, it’s a ground ball somewhere. Maybe you’re looking fastball and it’s not the right location. And you’re up in the count and you figure you got a free swing. But it’s not a free swing if you’re walking back to that dugout.

"The point is, when that count is in your favor, you’ve got to know what you hit best, what you handle best and look for that pitch in that one. If its not that pitch in that zone, be disciplined enough not to swing. And that’s not giving away at-bats. Because we’re up there to get hits, to get on base and if they’re not giving you anything to hit, understand that. Don’t give that at-bat away trying to make something happen when they’re clearly saying, we’re going to pitch you tough, but we’re not going to give into you because we can get the guy behind you out. You know what, its going to be on that guy behind you. Don’t give up that at-bat because they don’t want to give into you. So those aren’t mechanical things, it’s just knowing yourself, knowing the situation and knowing if you’re guy is hot, and this guy is not, with 2 outs and a runner in scoring position, they might not intentionally walk you, they might pitch you tough, but if they don’t want to pitch to you, understand that.

"The term ‘giving away at-bats,’ it's more about putting at-bats together that are going to benefit you and the team. It’s more of a mental thing. Just being able to concentrate.

"It's about being consistent, knowing day in and day out, you can score 4-6 runs day in and day out, you’re going to win a lot of games with this staff. If we do that, if we score 4, it's just barely enough. If we score 6, then we have this super good offense.

"The difference is getting a break here and there and knowing the situation in that one at-bat. That will swing a run or two between a good offense and a great offense, and that’s all it is. That’s what Charlie is talking about in giving away at-bats; if they don’t want to pitch to you, don’t make an out. The guy behind you, lo and behold, could step up and get a hit. Then you have runs. Instead of that guy leading off the inning and we’re struggling. It’s different. If I’m up there, I’m struggling, but this time would be a good time to go get a hit. It happens."

It happens every spring...

The most decorated player in the history of the franchise arrives in Clearwater and fields questions on a variety of Phillies and Major League Baseball topics. Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt showed up in Clearwater Sunday, the start of a near-monthlong role as a roving hitter instructor.

Here is some of what Schmidt had to say during a chat with the press corps Monday:


Q: You're going to be in camp longer this year, right?

Schmidt: "The intentions were to be here through the middle of the month, but I might be here even longer than that."


Q: Did Charlie talk to you about doing more?

Schmidt: "I have a little bit more a tighter job description than I did in the past. What it will lead to I'm not sure. They asked me to be a little more involved than I have in the past with hitting programs. I've been involved in past years, but this year might be a little more one-on-one with guys just chatting more specifically about in-game hitting strategy.
There will be times when I chat with guys about mechanics, but for the most part the additions I'm going to offer this year are in-game strategies like, 'Let's be more aggressive in fastball counts, let's be tougher to strike out, let's figure out a way to give up fewer at-bats.'"


Q: Is it possible to teach veteran guys to change their approach?

Schmidt: "It depends on how you define approach I guess. When you say approach, if you're talking about his mechanical style or his mental approach. You can get a guy to think more about his craft. You need to come to the park and you darn sure better know who's pitching tonight for starters.
I've heard stories that there have been an occasion where a guy would come to the park and ask the hitting coach who is pitching tonight. I can't even fathom that. We used to know who was pitching four weeks down the road. We'd start formulating our game plan with a guy a week ahead of time.
I changed and I was very stubborn throughout my career. I was in my 14th year and made major change to my approach both mentally and physically. I became maybe the best hitter in my career in my last couple of years. That's another thing. Guys need to want to improve. Guys want to not be satisfied with where they are."



Q: Comparing Phillies eras: is this team is best era of Phils baseball, or yours?

Schmidt: "Oh sure there’s no question that era this current run of 5-6 years is the strongest baseball era in Phillies history. To be on top for as long as they have been, gosh, since Charlie has been here, this is by far the top era in Phillies baseball."

Q: Why better than yours?

Schmidt: "They’ve contended more, won more games. With all due respect to the Vet and all the years that we’ve had, they were great years. The environment around Phillies baseball right now, I don’t see how it could have ever been better. A full stadium every night, sold out. Pitching staff they have no is maybe one of the greatest ever in the history of the sport. A team full of potential All-Star players – almost all of them have been All-Stars at one point. We had that to a degree. But I think they’ve separated themselves over the last 5-6 years from the rest of the league much more so than we did."



Q: But you had three Hall of Famers on your team...

Schmidt: "Yeah. There is potential for that. In my lifetime I would think that there is a block of guys on this team right now that I’ll see at Cooperstown sometime. All things progressing as they have. Surely Utley and Howard and Rollins. As time progresses and they apply themselves and have 15, 16, 18-year careers, they would project out to be in that kind of Hall of Fame-caliber player. It’s a little early to talk about that, but if you look down the road 10, 12 years from now, why wouldn’t they?"



Q: Did you watch Phils-Cardinals playoff series?

Schmidt: "Yes I did. And I stared at that TV for a half hour after it was over (laughs), I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Just like a lot of the fans in the stands, staring at the field. Kind of dumb-founded. I guess that’s why they play them, they play the games. I was thinking on the way in here what you guys might ask me. The Phillies won 102 games last year and the better part of the season, especially early on, and all due respect to those guys but they played 3 guys on a regular basis who were technically supposed to be extra men or bench players, right? I mean, imagine winning 102 games when you played almost 1/3 of the season, in fact, when you think about guys like Valdez and Martinez, one of those guys seemed like they were in the lineup the entire year. The entire year! So to still win 102 games I mean, in my estimation the Phillies won the regular season, they won the 162-game test, they were the best team in the National League over that period. They just lost the tournament. They lost the tournament to a hot team, sort of the team of destiny. And who knows what would have happed had they beat St. Louis. But Cliff Lee with a 4-run lead in Game 2. I was looking in the Cardinals dugout on TV and it was like, those guys, in their eyes, it was like, “Can we throw the towel in and get the heck out of here. We surrender. That’s kind of the way it looked. And then the great game of baseball changed it. Boom, boom, boom, ball drops into CF and the whole complexion of the postseason changes just like that."


Q: You also have playoff failures. Harder watching on TV or living through it?

Schmidt: “Oh, I’d say on the field. I’m a big fan and watch every inning of every game pretty much, but I’m not an immediate member of the traveling party and living with them day in and day out. It was hard, and I can imagine how hard it was for them, for sure.”


Q: Your reaction when you guys lost?

Schmidt: “You guys remember the numbers better than I do, but I just remember the final game and Carpenter shut them out 1-0. You remember the final game, the final at-bat – you sure remember the final at-bat with Howard.”


Q: Yeah, but what about your games?

Schmidt: “I always go well we lost it because of me. That’s what I always did. We’d have probably won them all if I’d got hot. I wasn’t even close to hot in any of those postseason series. I don’t even think I got an RBI – maybe one or two. But my postseason record up until 1980 was pathetic. You’d think if the cleanup hitter had maybe hit a home run or two here and there or maybe broke a game open, we probably would’ve won. So I had to answer questions about the team, but in my own mind I always blamed myself.”


Q: Can you identify with Howard?

Schmidt: “Absolutely. Are you kidding? I’ve been right in his shoes. I’m a little short on the financial side. But for in my day, I was making more money than him. I was the highest-paid player. I could feel his pain without a doubt.”



Q: Talk to Ryan about it?

Schmidt: “Yeah. I haven’t talked to him specifically about the actual happening over the last two years, and how he felt, and I’ve been there and felt that way. But in the past, we’ve had one-on-one chats where I’ve used myself as an example about being where he is at that time in the season. We’ve chatted, and hey I’ve been there Ryan and I know what it’s like, and I think he knows he and I are very similar in that sense in that we’re the cleanup hitters and the guy expected to come through and the guy making the most money. We probably get the most opportunities to make things happen and so we probably fail more than anybody. The focus is probably on us more than anybody else, for sure.”


Q: Phillies added another pretty good power hitter in Jim Thome. It's tough to compare hitters of different eras, but he's a future Hall of Famer, so where does he rank for you in all-time power hitter, home run hitters?

Schmidt: "Well, he’s about No. 7 or 8. That’s where I was when I retired. I was seventh when I retired. Where is he? Golly. How do you describe Jim Thome? First of all, he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer. I guess maybe Jim kind of gets overlooked when you’re talking about the all-time great hitters and should not ever be overlooked. A 21-year career is pretty darn long. I guess Jim hasn’t played in LA or New York. The closest he’s gotten to the big time is Philadelphia. His personality, he’s a quiet guy, quiet family man. He doesn’t bring a lot of attention to himself. He keeps things simple in his interviews. He’s a pretty simple guy. Very clean career and life. He’s stayed out of the headlines. Having said that, Jim’s power numbers far surpass mine. So whatever you rate me in history as an offensive player, he’s better. The only difference between me and him is I was sort of a skill position player, so on the defensive side I probably have some plusses in that part of my game. You’ve got to rate him quite high."

The Phillies are about to hold their first, full-squad workout of the spring. Everyone is here.

Not too much to talk about this morning, but to hear a bunch of the hot topics in camp, check out the radio interview I did this morning with 94-WIP morning team a couple of hours ago. Angelo Cataldi and Rhea Hughes did a great job covering all of the questions every back home wants answered.

So, give it a listen right here:

---------------------



I read earlier this week that we've just passed the 20th Anniversary of one of the greatest Simpsons episodes of all time.


With the start of baseball season officially here (first full-squad workout), I plan to have this song in my head all day:

I am not a photographer. I don't play one on TV, either.


But plenty of people over on the Twitters have enjoyed them, so I figured I'd post a bunch here. Enjoy.
























































Anatomy of a Roy Halladay bullpen session:

The makeup of the new-look Phillies bullpen is still to be determined - yes, we're here in Clearwater for another 5 1/2 weeks - but one thing is clear: most of of the competition features a bunch of 20-something, promising, arms hoping to carve a permanent spot in the big leagues.

Guys like Mike Stutes and Antonio Bastardo and David Herndon and Michael Schwimer and Phillippe Aumont and Justin De Fratus and, well, you get the point.


But along with new closer Jonathan Papelbon, there is at least one guy who has plenty of experience in a major league bullpen. His name is Chad Qualls and he signed a one-year, $1.15 million deal to add durability and experience to the Phils' pen.

But the fan reaction was mixed when Qualls signed at the end of last month. You don't have to tell Qualls the reason, however.

His wife told him.

"My wife brought that up - she said, you know, you don’t have good numbers in Philly," Qualls said Thursday morning.

Mrs. Qualls was not incorrect.

Her 33-year-old husband, who has been one of baseball's most durable relievers in the last half decade, has an Achilles heel and it's name is Citizens Bank Park. In 13 games at CBP, Qualls is 2-2 with a 11.12 ERA.

The Phillies hit .420 with a 1.343 OPS off Qualls at CBP. Qualls has served up seven home runs in 11 1/3 innings at CBP.

There are only two major league stadiums he has allowed more home runs in: Chase Field and Minute Maid Park. And, well, that makes sense since he's pitched most of his career as a member of the Diamondbacks and Astros, respectively.

To be fair to Qualls, those numbers are somewhat skewed by one, awful outing from last season. On July 23 in Philly, he gave up five runs on four hits (three home runs) and a walk in 1/3 of an inning.

Qualls tried to explain his awful Philly numbers to his wife when she pointed all of this ugliness out.

"I said, well, if you looked at my numbers in Arizona before I was traded there I had like an 9.00 ERA in Arizona and then that next year I finished with a 2.9 ERA (2.81, actually) or something like that and threw the ball really well there before I got hurt," Qualls said. "So, I don’t think it’s the ballpark. I think it’s the lineup I kept having to face. So now I’m on there team. It’s a lot better not to face them."

For the first time since stumbling out of the batter's box and then collapsing to the ground at Citizens Bank Park on Oct. 7, 2011, the final night of the Phillies season, Ryan Howard stepped into a batter's box.

He fell right into a hitting group with Chase Utley, Jim Thome and Juan Pierre. He looked comfortable.

Ryan Howard is more than four months removed from surgery to repair a torn left Achilles, performed on Oct. 12. On Wednesday, two days before position players will hold their first official workout at the Carpenter Complex, Howard was in line with the rest of his early-to-arrive teammates in pre-spring training batting practice.

So is he ahead of schedule?

"I feel good, where I am right now," Howard said in a post-practice press conference. "I mean, I don’t know what everybody else’s expectations were for me to be at this point, but I feel good. (It's) not exactly where I want to be yet, there is still a lot of strengthening that needs to take place, change of direction and working on those kinds of things, but I feel all right."

Howard is expected to begin the season on the disabled list. Before spring training began, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that if his former MVP was back at some point in May, he'd be happy.

When asked if he had a personal goal in mind for returning to the field, Howard didn't commit to a date, but instead to a full recovery.

"Obviously the goal is to want to get out there as soon as possible," Howard said. "But at the same time, with this, I’m just listening to my body and it will let me know when it’s ready. I’ve been talking with the training staff and I’ve been able to do some things, taking some ground balls, doing some hitting, doing baseball-type movements, it feels good to be able to do that, but at the same time we have to get the strength and mentally get to the point where, hey, I don’t have to worry about it."

Howard began full baseball activities earlier this week, taking ground balls at first base and doing some light jogging exercises on Monday.



More in tomorrow's Daily Times and on delcotimes.com. Here is some video from Howard's press conference today.

Charlie Manuel calls him "Polly Polanco" so I'm going to go ahead and call him the same this morning.

Polly Polanco, also know as Placido Polanco, showed up in Phillies camp today. The reigning National League Gold Glove winner at third base had double sports hernia surgery after last season, a season that was mostly lost due to injuries.

Polanco played in 122 games in 2011.

After he checked in to Camp Clearwater, Polly Polanco talked about his health with the press corps.

(Oh, and like Roy Halladay a day earlier, who said "165 games," he also apparently didn't know how many games a major league plays each season. Weird.)


Q: What have you been up to?

Polly: I've been taking ground balls, hitting, running. I think I'm good to go.


Q: How much do you want to put behind from last year?

Polly: Everything. Everything but the Gold Glove.


Q: Why confident you can stay healthy?

Polly: You have to think like that. You can't think, 'Oh, I'm going to get hurt.' I got fixed. I did a good rehab. So, we'll see. I think I'm going to stay healthy.


Q: Will you be limited in what you can do because of the surgery in October?

Polly: No.


Q: How much pain?

Polly: After surgery? A lot of pain.


Q: No, how much pain while playing down the stretch last season.

Polly: There was a little pain. But I was really weak.


Q: How bad were the tears?

Polly: They told me one of them was really bad. The other one was starting to tear. So I did what I had to do.


Q: How frustrating has it been to have the injuries in last two seasons?

Polly: Even when you're 100 percent, sometimes you can't perform. This is a tough game. When you're hurt, it makes it harder.


Q: Is is better to play like 130 games in order to stay healthy at this point, get some time off?

Polly: The goal is, how many games do we play?


Q: Baseball teams play 162 games in a season.

Polly: 162. That's the goal.


Q: But better off with less work this spring?

Polly: We'll see. I think it's too soon to talk about. I'll discuss with the trainers. I'm very positive. I feel good.


Q: Where does the pain affect you?

Polly: When you have a tear in the abdominal, you know it's there. When you're hurt in that area, you know how much you use it. Sometimes you take it for granted. When you hurt your elbow, you can't move. You use your abdominal for everything. And when I had surgery, I really noticed it. Every time I coughed, every time I laughed, it hurt. It's a small muscle, but you really use it.


Q: How much work this spring? Charlie mentioned holding you and Utley back some.

Polly: I think I'm OK. We'll see what Charlie and the trainer has in mind. We'll see. I don't know.

Shane Victorino may have a future in acting, fresh off his appearance at the top of Monday night's "Hawaii Five-O" episode.


But he does have a future in baseball, and like teammate Cole Hamels, is playing the 2012 season without a contract beyond the year.


Q: So have you thought about the fact that you're a free agent after this season?

Victorino: You definitely think about it, but you have to stay focused on what's ahead of you. It's a big year for all of us. Not just free agency, but us getting back to where we need to be is very important. There are a lot of expectations.... and we want to keep this team as long as we can. But there's a certain point where other stuff comes into play. I've definitely thought about it.

Q: Has there been talks?

Victorino: No.

Q: Plan on talking?

Victorino: Yeah, I don't plan on going anywhere else.


So that, as they say, is that.


-------------------------------------------

Perhaps the most entertaining thing to happen today was Roy Halladay's chance to set the record straight.


In case you hadn't heard - and I highly recommend Zoo With Roy's retelling of the story, especially the picture summary at the end - Halladay got into an odd excursion on a fishing trip this offseason. He helped save a naked man in the Amazon who had been attacked by an anaconda. Really.

Here is the video of Halladay re-telling the story. Enjoy.

Camp Clearwater, Day 3.

The only new face - "new" as in since camp opened - was Domonic Brown. Brown chatted with teammates at his locker stall and greeted Hunter Pence, the guy who eventually took the everyday right field from him, with a handshake and man-hug.

Coming off a year that began with him pegged as a front runner for the right field job a year ago, then set back with a hand injury, then set back further with struggles at the plate and in the field, Brown is expected to begin the season at Triple-A. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said all winter that Brown would benefit from playing the majority of 2012 in Lehigh Valley.

But.... don't tell Domonic Brown that.

He cut off a reporter who started a question by asking if Brown would be "almost at peace" with starting the season with the IronPigs.

"Almost at peace?" Brown interrupted. "No, I’m not almost at peace if I start at Triple-A. I think you got me wrong there. I’m coming to win a job, I’m fighting to win a job here, and that’s the goal. But if I start at Triple-A, I start at Triple-A. It’s that simple."

My take: I'd consider Brown a dark horse for the left field job. A lot can happen at spring training (as we saw with Brown's injury last year), so while the plan might be to start him at Triple-A, plans can change, too.

Ryan Howard won't be starting the season at 1B, John Mayberry Jr. still hasn't proved he's an every day major league player and the rest of the guys fighting for regular time include Ty Wigginton, Laynce Nix, Juan Pierre and Scott Podsednik.

------------------------------------------------


The other morning news: Jose Contreras threw his first bullpen session since undergoing elbow surgery at the end of the 2011 season.

The Big Truck looked happy as he walked off the mound. I'll chat him up about it later.

Cole Hamels was the third Phillies player - following Jonathan Papelbon and Kyle Kendrick - to sit in the media lunch room/press conference room at Bright House Field in the last three days.

Why Hamels? Well, in case you haven't heard, he signed a one-year, $15 million deal last month that puts him in posiiton to hit the free agent market when the 2012 season ends.


And, it's safe to say he'll also be in position to become a very, very rich man. (Hello, Cliff Lee).

Anyway, here is everything Hamels had to say today:


Question: Did you come close to a long-term deal this offseason?
Hamels: No, no. We didn’t even really discuss one. We were really focused on getting through the arbitration process and discussing the one-year deal. That’s kind of what my agent and I, along with the Phillies, were really focused on. We were just really happy we were able to get that done and not have to go through the strenuous case process.

Q: How important is it for you to take that next step, get something long-term done here. Of are you willing to wait it out?
Hamels: I understand in baseball it’s a difficult process. I think most of the time I just go out and I just need to play. And I think I’ve really turned my focus on going in the day in and day-out activities and not really focus on the contract talks. Because if you’re able to go out there and play, things will get done. I know that’s why I have an agent. I don’t see too many players who know how to be a player and an agent at the same time. That’s why I’m very confident in my agent, John Boggs, he’s going to discuss things with the Phillies and the Phillies will discuss things back and forth. All I have to really worry about is just going out and playing.

Q: Are you setting a deadline for negotiations?
Hamels: No. No, I don’t have any deadline. I think the only deadline that is set is by major league baseball with five days after the World Series.

Q: So no opening day deadline?
Hamels: No, no no. I'm just going to go out and get ready and prepare for spring training and eventually prepare for the season and I can really ask for out of myself physically and mentally. Anything else I think can become a big distraction, and that’s not what I want to do. My teammates are going to count on me. The fans are obviously going to count. I just want to let them know that I’m here to play as hard as I possibly can and I’m not really thinking about that, and that’s why I have an agent.

Q: Because of retained core players and have brought in stars from the outside, confident will work something out?
Hamels: Ever since I’ve been here they’ve been able to do a really good job of keeping the guys that they draft, especially the guys that they like. I just hope I’m one of those guys that they like.

Q: Tell us about what you were like a few years ago?
Hamels: Probably said a few things too quick. Probably didn’t look at the bigger, broader picture before I said things. It’s just learning the game of baseball, how it works. The business side I don’t really try to focus as much on because it can get you in trouble. It’s a hard game. Four years ago we were winning the World Series and we were on top of the world. We haven’t been able to get back there and been able to win it when we’ve been so close. You think you have the right team and everything has to go the right away and I’ve seen that you might look really good on paper, but eventually you don’t have that sort of edge to get it done. I’ve been trying to keep that edge on, keep the positive mojo throughout the clubhouse, just being a guy that guys can count on when it’s my turn.

Q: Have you learned more about taking care of yourself physically?
Hamels: I think I know how to manage it a lot more. I know how to get things done when they need to be done or before something comes up or becomes too stressful on the body. I know how to make sure I take care of it and pitch every 5 days.

Q: Have you received advice from someone in similar situation, entering free agency?
Hamels: I really haven’t. Even the whole offseason, it wasn’t really a focus of mine. I was trying to recover from the two surgeries that I had. I feel like I’ve done a really good job of that. I feel really good. That’s just been the focus. The initial talks with getting the one-year deal, that was between my agent and the Phillies and we were able to get it done and I think that’s just kind of where I’ve been able to move on and get ready for the season.

Q: How serious was discomfort in elbow last year?
Hamels: I definitely knew it was there. I know there was a couple days where I didn’t know if I would be able to pitch as well as I was able to. Our trainers stayed on top of keeping me in good enough shape to get through it. I guess it feels a lot better now.

Q: When did the pain start?
Hamels: Spring training and I think a lot of players have bone chips and it’s not necessarily…they don’t notice them until it starts to affect what they’re able to do in their range of motion. The doctor said I had it for a couple years and it just eventually crept up and started affecting things. We were able to take care of it and get through the season.

Q: Amazed, since you had best season?
Hamels: It’s a great thing. But at the same time, when you’re so focused on getting ready, even when you’re not at y our best, I think a part of you enables you to go out and focus a lot more and fight till the very end and I think that’s kind of what it taught me. I’m just going to try to take that same mentality this season.


Q: Imagine how good can be if healthy all year?
Hamels: It’s a great thing but I think at the same time when you’re so focused on getting ready even when you’re not at your best, something, a part of you enables you to go out and focus a lot more and fight until the very end. I think that’s kind of what it taught me and I’m going to try to take that same mentality this year.

Q: Some guys get tired up or motivated about free agency. You?
Hamels: Truly I’ve just never even thought about it. I’ve been so focused on trying to get healthy and because of the way the season ended last year and not being able to go to the World Series and win it with the expectations, I’ve been more fired up about that.

Q: How delayed throwing program?
Hamels: Four weeks. I think that kind of – it hurt, but I knew because we were knocked out earlier I had those four weeks to do it. So I think it was a blessing in disguise.

Q: Also hernia surgery?
Hamels: Yeah, I did that the same day. I got two-for-one.

Q: How did that affect pitching?
Hamels: They were both uncomfortable. That was the best way I can describe it. Every day you didn’t have that spunk or that feeling that you knew you were going to go out there and have a great day. You’re just working through the process of getting ready. But I feel a lot better right now, so that’s the best.

Q: Willing to take less to stay here?
Hamels: The only way to answer that is I don’t know any better. All I ultimately want to do is play for a winning team, and the Phillies want to be a winning team. That’s ultimately the best way I can describe what I want to do is I want to play for a winner, and the Phillies want to win. They have two great pitchers that are here. What better way to get mentored by the best of the best? You can’t ask for anything more. To compete at a level where you’re playing with the best players, it ups your game even more and I’ve been able to learn from that and take it into my game.

Q: Take less this year to get arbitration deal done (17 vs. 15 mill)?
Hamels: I was kind of being educated about the whole arbitration process and trying to find a middle point. I know I’m no Tim Lincecum. I don’t have any Cy Youngs under my belt where you can ask for a little bit more. But my agent put together the scenarios and where to get the best financial way of what a contract should be, and I trust him with everything I have. He’s done a great job for me ever since I signed with the Phillies and he represented me. I trust him to the full extent.

Q: How do you weigh health and the ability to secure a long-term contract?
Hamels: Baseball if you do it really well you can make a ton of money, but ultimately I play this game because I love to do it and I want to be the best at it. If you’re able to do that, the money obviously comes. But I’m a pretty conservative guy, and money’s not the ultimate answer to anything. It’s really about going out and enjoying where you are, your teammates and the city and I seem to really enjoy Philadelphia.

Q: Are Cy Youngs, awards, etc., more important than before?
Hamels: Man, I think, of really seeing what it takes to be the best, it’s great, because ultimately that’s what I really want to do, I want to be the best. But I would trade every award possible for a WS ring, that’s the ultimate goal and that’s the greatest moments that you could ever have in any baseball career is to be in a WS and win a WS. Any player that’s ever retired and never won a WS would probably do anything possible to get a chance at it again and any player that has won a WS would love to be back in that moment. That’s kind of where I’m at, is I want to be back in that moment and the Phillies want to be back in that moment, and I’m just very happy and pleased that I can hopefully help them get there.

(losing WS, losing NLCS, losing NLDS) I guess they just keep getting more disappointing (laughs). I think our team’s gotten better, but unfortunately we just haven’t gotten, what Charlie normally says, the game, it’s about inches and we just haven’t had the ball take the inch in our direction. It’s just been very tough because every off-season, you go away from something and you feel like you were the better team, but ultimately you weren’t because you got beat by the team that was the better team and you want to be the better team and I think that’s kind of where it is, we’ve taken a notch in an opposite direction of where we want to be. Hopefully it’s motivated all the guys in the clubhouse because I know it’s motivated me.


Q: You've been here 10 years, but grew up out west. Are you West Coast or East Coast?
Hamels: I know I have to go visit my family all the time, so I know I gotta be real careful in my words otherwise they won’t like me anymore (laughs). No, I’ve been on the EC and I’ve enjoyed it. Ultimately the EC has some of the best sports markets in the world and it’s fun to go to some of those big cities and play and I think Philadelphia’s become that big city to want to come and play, and I’ve enjoyed every moment and I’ve actually got to see the process of going from a team that has just kind of been on the cusp to finally winning and still trying to win. That’s where I want to be, it’s where we’re winning and wanting to win for a long time, because I don’t think anybody wants to sit in a clubhouse in spring training and know you’re already out of it, I think that’s kind of depressing knowing that you have to play for the next 6 months and you don’t really have a shot of winning or you’re gonna get traded. To be here in the Phillies organization, you know you have a shot every single day and I think that’s the greatest momentum and motivator you could possibly have.

Q: Can you describe your relationship with Phila fans?
Hamels: It’s been great, there were a lot of expectations when I got drafted and coming up through the minor leagues, wanting to I guess being sort of that top prospect that everybody wanted to see, so that was exciting that people knew who I was even before I was in the big leagues. And then being in the big leagues, having the early success, having the down years, they do, they get on you, but at the same time they’re honest. Some people don’t want to be honest with themselves, but they just keep motivating you to get better, and I think that’s ultimately the best, you know you have a great fan base when they want you to succeed really bad and when you don’t, they’re pushing you behind, keep going, keep going. I think that’s the way I’ve always viewed Philly. It’s the best city in the world when you win. Even when you’re not winning, they’re still looking forward to that next year to see you and hope that you’re gonna win and be that winner.

(2009, say things taken out of context… frustrating to you?) I’ve learned (laughs). It was but at the same time it was a blessing in disguise because it really made me discover who I was and how I can prove people wrong I guess and how to work even harder to get better. That was the best stepping stone I could ever have in my career to really dig down deep and work harder, and to go out there and not to really prove to everyone else that I can be better but to prove to myself that I know I’m capable of doing it and this is what it takes in order to do it, and obviously with having some other great pitchers to be able to watch and learn from has also helped my game out even more.

Q: Given fact you’ve have some nagging injuries over the years, do you view signing later as a risk at all?
Hamels: No, just for the fact that when you do get injured, and I’ve been injured a few times … I guess, yeah, the weird nagging injuries that you don’t really expect, I really haven’t had the serious surgeries. I know how to overcome them. I know how to rehab. I know how to get through them. They’re not going to mentally take me down. I know how to come back and be just as strong or as capable as I always was.

Q: Priority: years or money?
Hamels: I think just probably more so the sort of chemistry that you’ll have with the team and an organization. Just kind of the acceptance and the want from an organization. To be a part of the team and to know what type of players you’re playing with. You don’t want to be playing with the type of team that’s going to crash in the end, or doesn’t have that sort of energy to go all the way and even fight or dig down deeper. That’s kind of what we’ve always had in this clubhouse. The organization has done a really good job of giving those types of players that don’t buckle under pressure. I think that’s kind of where you want to be. Being around great personalities, but also strong personalities. Guys that don’t buckle under pressure, and that’s kind of what we have here.

Q: It sounds like you’re saying, I’m going to be here no matter what. I’m going to make this work, period.
Hamels: And that’s obviously what my agent and Ruben are trying to work out. It’s kind of a matter of them getting the job done, and once it’s done everyone will now.

Q: Are they negotiating currently?
Hamels: I know they’re supposed to. (laughs) That’s all I can say. I know they’re supposed to.

Q: Did they do anything else to the elbow after cleaning out the bone chips?
Hamels: No, no. They just had the chip that they cleaned out. Dr. Ciccotti, our team doctor did it. I think he did a very good job. He said everything looked structurally fine. I just happened to have a chip that happens to pitchers from throwing so much.

Q: At this point you’re further along in spring training?
Hamels: I feel like I’m the same as last year. I think that’s really good. That’s kind of what I based everything off of was 2010, just the way I came back from there. And 2011, I really feel like I’m at the same sort of level. Now it’s just a matter of getting there and getting into the games and kind of perfecting things. Because you’re always going to have the kind of timing issues when hitters step in. You can’t simulate that in the offseason when you’re throwing in a gym somewhere and it’s cold outside and you’re throwing outside and nothing is around.


Q: When did you start throwing after the surgery?
Hamels: Nov. 6? Around there. It was about four weeks. It was pretty much on the nose about four weeks.

Q: Pain in that last start against St. Louis?
Hamels: I wasn’t comfortable. Throughout the whole year I wasn’t very comfortable, but there were days when things were good. It’s a matter of knowing how to control what you have that day. But that last start, they definitely made me work. You learn something there. You had a very hot team and obviously they showed why they were the best. It’s just damage control the whole time.

Q How do you feel? 100 percent?
Hamels: I hope I’m 100 percent, but I don’t think I’ll know that until I get through a few days of doing all these drills because it wasn’t like I was at home running PFPs and springs and throwing bullpens. As close to 100 percent as I can get.