MESA, Ariz. (670 The Score) -- A veteran of the spring training scene, left-hander Cole Hamels has been happy to embark on a full slate of work with the Cubs, who acquired him in a trade with the Rangers last July.
Hamels, 35, quickly fit in and had a resurgent finish to the season, posting a 2.36 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 12 starts in Chicago after he had a 4.72 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 20 starts with Texas. Hamels will likely slot in at No. 3 in the Cubs' rotation behind left-hander Jon Lester and right-hander Yu Darvish.
It's his goal to help the Cubs have an entire rotation of aces.
"There is no formula that defines what makes a guy an ace," Hamels said. "I think it's a guy that goes out and wins ballgames while keeping his team in the game. There are guys like (Kyle) Hendricks that do that. Strikeouts are fun and they look great. Wins are great. I think a guy that limits the opponent as to how many runs are given up, those are the guys I would rather stick with and pitch with.
"When you have a group of guys with that type of ability, you get a lot of confidence as a staff."
Darvish has a strong bond with Hamels from their shared time in Texas, where they were teammates from 2015-'17. After he pitched Sunday, Darvish kidded about Hamels almost being his best friend.
"He is almost -- not quite -- my best friend " Hamels responded after pitching three innings against Cubs teammates on a back field Monday. "We are working on it. He let me be next to him in our locker. That did not happen in Texas. We were across the room from each other."
Hamels then turned a bit more serious in discussing Darvish, whom he expects to bounce back in a big way after Darvish was sidelined with injury for most of 2018.
"That is the thing with him that people don 't understand about him -- people think there is a barrier because of the language," Hamels said. "With Yu, he is pretty entertaining. He does have a sense of humor. That is what he likes to do. You kind of pick on each other in that fun way. He enjoys that, and we all do enjoy the give and take of that. His personality will come out a lot more, and people are going to identify with it and see the true Darvish we all know."
As for himself, Hamels will focus on commanding his entire arsenal of pitches to compensate for slightly diminished velocity.
"The past five or six years, the concentration in the game has been on velocity," Hamels said. "There are some stats that kind of sort of back it up. As a competitor, if you want to last long enough, you are going to adjust. You are not going to finish the way you started your career. You have to be smart. The pitchers who work and stay on top of what they have to do to stay ahead of hitters last longer. They are able to be better pitchers. As a left-handed pitcher, you are always being labeled as being crafty. Lefties are not the guys for the most part that throw 100 miles per hour. There are so few. Guys like Lester and I have to adjust. If we want to continue to play this game, we must stay a step ahead of the hitters and execute. We can't throw it 98 down the middle. We have to be actual pitchers. We have to make sure we are spot on."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
