GLENDALE, Ariz. _ The one and only goal for Cole Hamels on Monday morning on a back field at Chicago White Sox camp was to hit his pitch count in his first game action of spring training.
"I needed 30 pitches," pitching coach Doug Brocail said. "I got 30 pitches."
Such is spring training for Hamels, an 11-year veteran who knows full well what it takes for him to be ready for Opening Day, which this season falls April 3.
Whether he's awarded the opening start for the Texas Rangers against the Cleveland Indians hasn't been decided, but he will start no later than April 4. His focus is to still be going strong Sept. 4 and Oct. 4 and beyond.
That wasn't the case last season. Hamels was still pitching, but his performances weren't Hamels-like. While he isn't altering his springtime prep work much, he has formulated a plan to avoid as many bumps as he can.
"Cole was upset, upset for how the games went for his teammates," Brocail said. "Cole's a leader on the pitching staff, and I think he felt he hurt the team. This is a guy that has a ton of pride, and he's damn good. I think he expected more out of himself.
"In conversations we've had, I think he felt at times he got away from what he's good at. He's put checks and balances on me. 'Make sure I'm doing this. Make sure I'm doing that. Make sure I'm pitching to my strengths.' "
Fellow left-hander Martin Perez and right-hander Matt Bush also worked the B game, with quality results.
Perez allowed only three hits in 4 1/3 innings in his final tuneup before joining Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic. Bush struck out the side in his only inning, and Brocail said that Bush's fastball sat at 97 mph.
Perez continued working on his curveball, striking out two batters with it.
"I want to feel good with that pitch, and I trust 100 percent my curveball," he said. "I've got that feeling. Just continue to throw it. If you throw it for a strike and get an out with it, why not throw it?"
Hamels is just trying to get all the little things ironed out. He allowed three runs (two earned) Monday in two innings of a B game on the White Sox side of Camelback Ranch. He allowed a two-run homer to minor-leaguer Keon Barnum, but struck out two and didn't walk a batter.
He expects to pitch again somewhere Saturday, preferably on another back field where the results on the scoreboard don't matter as much as the result of how well he believed as he pitched.
"We always joke around we don't want to peak too early," Hamels said. "It's a matter of trying to peak at the right moment. I know with the schedule that we've set out and what I've been able to do in the past that we've got a pretty good idea of how to do that."
There might be some small tweaks this spring, Hamels said. For instance, last spring he started throwing all of his pitches from the first day of camp. Three months later he was an All-Star for the fourth time of his career, and despite his bumpy September, he finished 2016 with a 15-5 record with a 3.32 ERA.
The goal at this point in camp is to iron out his mechanics after a long break during the off-season. Once that happens, he can work both sides of the plate with all his pitches and get ahead early in counts.
"When you've had a layoff, as much as you feel you can be in sync, there are always going to be little differences," Hamels said. "It's getting those reps in and trying to feel when things don't feel right and trying to correct them."
That's spring training for an 11-year veteran, though he has his eyes on having a better September than in 2016.
"I can't complain," he said. "We have a good schedule, I'm just trying to stick to it as much as possible. ... Knowing the season starts April 3, just building up my workload for that day. Just gaining strength and being safe.
"No. 1 is always just maintain your health along with just getting the reps in and knowing at that point everything will be in working order, and I'll look at it and be confident knowing that I'm ready to start a season and go 162 games plus the postseason. That's the main focus."
