A pair of hosts on New York’s WFAN radio station interviewed Cole Hamel’s to plug the Phillies’ World Series DVD. But, instead Hamels ended up calling the Mets a bunch of "choke artists." Ouch!
When asked directly by radio hosts, Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno, if the Mets were “choke artists,” Hamel’s was not shy to respond. “Yeah, for the past 2 years they’ve been choke artists,” Hamel’s said. “That’s kind of what we believe and I think we will always believe until they prove us wrong,” he continued.
What a great way to add fuel to this already growing rivalry. New York fans already hate both Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. Now they can add Cole Hamel’s to that list.
The Phils players seem to enjoy making themselves hated by Mets fans. Although those words, “choke artists,” may seem harsh, there is nothing false about what Hamel’s said. As a Phils phan, I can cohere.
For the last 2 seasons the Mets went into September as the first place team, but still missed the playoffs.
In September 2006, they had a 7 game lead over the Phils and blew it with only 17 games remaining. This became one of the biggest collapses in baseball history.
Until the Mets prove otherwise, there is no reason for the Phillies to think that the Mets 2009 season will go any differently than the past 2 seasons.
Cole Hamel’s has proven he is the opposite of a “choke artist.” He dominated in the postseason becoming the NLCS and World Series MVP. There is no reason for him not to be confident in what he says.
So, the next time Mets fans try coming into our ballpark and gloating, we'll just remind them of their last two painful seasons. Oh yeah! And a Philadelphia World Series Championship!
