Confused by Hamels May 7th, 2012 Cole Hamels is a very good pitcher, if you didn’t already know that you will this winter when you hear about the massive contract he’ll sign this off- season, if not earlier. But I was left puzzled by his comments following the Phillies 9-3 win in Washington regarding hitting rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch. "I was trying to hit him, I'm not going to deny it. That's something I grew up watching, that's kind of what happened. So I'm just trying to continue the old baseball because I think some people are kind of getting away from it. I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn't say anything because that's the way baseball is." Bud Selig is grumpy this morning. A pitcher admitting he hit a player on purpose without any real reason AND saying the rules are different for different players based on service time?    I pitched for a little while and I don’t ever remember learning from the crafty vets that whenever a rookie comes to the big leagues that it is part of the game to drill him for no reason. Who decides who gets the honor? Or does every team hit him once? Or every pitcher? Once he’s drilled does word get passed around the league? “Hey the Phillies got Harper, nobody else has to hit him now.” Despite the larger than ever media access and presence around sports we as fans don’t get to see or hear everything. There may have been a good reason to hit Bryce Harper and we may never know about it, but strictly being a rookie is not one. I will agree however that there was some old school baseball in D.C. last night. It happened in the 8^th inning when Bryce Harper “doubled” into short left field. Aside from that not much else qualified. Telling the media you hit a guy on purpose is about as new school as it gets. I get some of the animosity and jealousy regarding Bryce Harper. Just reading about him may cause you to dislike him, but watching him play you can’t help but love the guy. He plays the game hard and with an intensity that invokes memories of “old baseball.”  At least someone still understands what that means. Moyer - Jones Good stuff over the weekend from Colorado. Jamie Moyer accused Chipper Jones of relaying signs from second base. Chipper took great offense to the accusation. Pitchers can be both paranoid and whiny. Personally I’ve been guilty on both accounts.  When things don’t go our way we think we see things, strikes that are called balls, soft hits that are actually hit hard, players stealing signs, runners that are out called safe, wondering if we’re tipping pitches, etc. When things go wrong we look for anything (heads up, it’s coming to Boston re: Clay Buchholz). Chipper vehemently denied stealing signs, maybe he wasn’t, maybe he never has, but it does happen.  The onus is on the pitcher and the catcher to remedy the situation if they believe signs are being stolen. It’s really quite simple, change your signs and set up late if you think the runner is giving away location. But in the heat of the moment paranoia can make us do and say some crazy things.