zambonir...with all due respect, Dave's example of a 2009 Pedro Martinez is precisely why the Phils should not worry about Hamel's legacy if [and we all agree on this point] he shows that he is healthy and ready to pitch again. Even as Phillie phans we all do have some Phillie teams that we are fonder off than others. For me, its 1964, 1977 and 2009. That 2009 team was just so offensively explosive...4 hitters with over 30 HRs and 2 others that hit over 20 HRs. Offensively, they were an absolute powerhouse.
But they lacked starting pitch depth that year, Hamels had a poor year, Blanton was up and down, same with Moyer and Happ, after an initial 7-0 start, was inconsistent the rest of the year. Clearly the Phils needed pitching.
To the rescue came Cliff Lee via trade, and Pedro Martinez as a free agent signing. You seem to dismiss Martinez efforts when in actuality he was a life saver. He started 9 games and the Phils won 8 of them, and many phans of that team believe the pinnacle moment of the season was that memorable Sunday afternoon doubleheader against the Mets when he tossed a brilliant 2 hitter in a 1-0 win, allowing the team to sweep the twin bill. He was equally brilliant against the Dodgers in the NL playoffs, leaving after 7 innings with a 1-0 lead, though the bullpen blew it in the 8th. Even his first start against the Yankees was a solid one, the Phils simply failed to hit as they had all year. And while you mentioned he received 6 runs a game, true enough but that Phillie team scored 820 runs [averaged over 5 runs a game] so it wasn't as if he got support that others didn't.
Equally worth noting, the Phils brought in Lee and Martinez with a 58-42 record, 6 games ahead of the Florida Marlins. For the rest of that season Lee won 7, Martinez won 5, Blanton won 5, Happ won 4, while Moyer and Hamels only won 5 games combined. The Phils finished 93-69 with the still same 6 game lead. While Lee got all the headlines, and deservedly so, a case can easily be made that Martinez's efforts were equally important.
I do not believe Dave is suggesting that Hamels 2021 is Pedro Martinez 2009, merely that the cases are weirdly similar...a long time standout at likely the end of his career, but with the potential to solidify a leaky bottom of the rotation standing. If Hamels looks good tomorrow and the Phils fail to pursue him out of fear of hurting his legacy, they are just as likely to hurt their 2021 legacy, which already wreaks of .500 mediocrity for a third year in a row. And to my way of thinking, even an average Hamels is a better bet to pitch effectively than are Moore, Anderson and VV.
I have no idea how he will look tomorrow. What I do know is that if he looks decent he will look much worse to me in a New York Mets or Atlanta Braves uniform.
