It's been said often that "a picture is worth a thousand words".
This is certainly true of the three photos of Philadelphia starting pitcher Cole Hamels (below).
I went behind home plate where I snapped the first shot of Hamels as he readied himself for his first inning warmup tosses to catcher Paul Bako. His facial expression tells the story of an upbeat, optimistic -- let's get this game started -- Hamels.
The second shot was from the camera well on the third base side. In this case, Hamels has given up several runs and things are not looking good. His posture tells the story of a dejected -- how can this be happening to me -- Hamels.
The third shot shows a disappointed Hamels leaving the game as manager Charlie Manuel signals the bullpen for a right-hander reliever.
The Braves hammered the Phillies Wednesday night, 11-1. Hamels lasted 4+ innings, giving up seven earned runs on nine hits.
Cole Hamels was the MVP of the Phillies 2008 World Series team. He is expected to throw shutouts and carry no-hitters into the late innings. He is supposed to stop losing streaks and win World Series. But Hamels has not been that pitcher recently, and people are wondering why.
Hamels is wondering, too.