BY SCOTT LAUBERCLEARWATER, Fla. -- Over the past two days, almost every Phillies pitcher has thrown 40 pitches in live batting practice on the back fields of the Carpenter Complex.
Cole Hamels hasn't been among them.
Hamels, the Phillies' ace lefty and scheduled opening-day starter, is progressing more slowly than most pitchers in camp. According to pitching coach Rich Dubee, the club is being cautious with Hamels, who threw a majors-leading 262.1 innings last season (227.1 in the regular season, 35 in the playoffs). Even CC Sabathia, with all of those complete games, threw only 253 innings.
And, ordinarily, that wouldn't be a big deal. But Hamels has a checkered injury history. Last season was the first year he didn't spend time on the disabled list since 2003. Hamels also left camp today for personal reasons and will be back Monday, Dubee and Charlie Manuel said.
So, is there reason to be worried?
"He's just a little slow," Dubee said. "We're going to give him a little extra time. He took extra time off [in the offseason], and rightfully so. But he's basically on his same track as other spring trainings."
Dubee said Hamels likely will make his spring-training debut March 4 at Bright House Field against the Canadian team for the World Baseball Classic.
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On a related note, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated notes that the teams that reached the playoffs in 2008 were the teams that had the healthiest pitching. According to Verducci, only four teams had at least four pitchers that made at least 30 starts last season. All four -- the Phillies, Rays, Angels and White Sox -- won the division.
So, just in case you didn't already know how important Hamels is to the Phillies, there you have it.
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J.C. Romero will pitch for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
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