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Phillies Cole Hamels admitting he plunked Nats Bryce Harper on purpose


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[u][color="#810081"][url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/cole-hamels-hits-bryce-harper-on-purpose-and-the-nationals-phillies-rivalry-begins/2012/05/07/gIQAmPzB7T_blog.html"]http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/cole-hamels-hits-bryce-harper-on-purpose-and-the-nationals-phillies-rivalry-begins/2012/05/07/gIQAmPzB7T_blog.html[/url][/color][/u]

The Nationals never had any doubt, from the moment Cole Hamels’s 93-mph fastball bored into Bryce Harper’s backside, that Hamels had done it on purpose. Afterward, in a statement that may earn him a fine and suspension, [url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals-vs-phillies-bryce-harper-steals-home-but-philadelphia-takes-charge/2012/05/06/gIQASGZs6T_story.html"]Hamels removed all ambiguity[/url].

“I was trying to hit him,” Hamels said. “I’m not going to deny it. That’s just — you know what, it’s something that I grew up watching, that’s what happened, so I’m just trying to continue the old baseball — I think some people kind of get away from it. I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn’t say anything just because that’s the way baseball is. Sometimes the league is protecting certain players and making it not that old-school, prestigious way of baseball.”

Hamels had no clear reason to hit Harper – “no clue,” Harper said. There was no incident over the weekend that would have given Hamels motivation to nail him. The Nationals’ take: The Phillies are worried about them, and Hamels’ beanball showed it.

[url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/mike-rizzo-calls-cole-hamels-fake-tough-calls-for-suspension-after-classless-gutless-act/2012/05/07/gIQAZPO07T_blog.html"]http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/mike-rizzo-calls-cole-hamels-fake-tough-calls-for-suspension-after-classless-gutless-act/2012/05/07/gIQAZPO07T_blog.html[/url]

Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo responded to [url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/cole-hamels-hits-bryce-harper-on-purpose-and-the-nationals-phillies-rivalry-begins/2012/05/07/gIQAmPzB7T_blog.html"]Cole Hamels’ admission he drilled Bryce Harper on purpose[/url] last night in harsh terms, saying MLB should suspend Hamels and calling out Hamels as “fake tough.”

“Players take care of themselves,” Rizzo said after I called him this morning. “I’ve never seen a more classless, gutless chicken [bleep] act in my 30 years in baseball.

“Cole Hamels says he’s old school? 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 rookie who’s eight games into the big leagues? He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”

Rizzo said player safety should take precedence and Hamels should miss at least one start.

“With all the bounty [stuff] going on in professional football, the commissioner better act with a purpose on this thing,” Rizzo said. “Players have a way of monitoring themselves. We’re not here to hit people and hurt people.
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