Cole Hamels might have had his best spring performance in years Wednesday afternoon at Surprise Stadium, tossing two scoreless innings against the team that traded him to the Chicago Cubs.
Maybe that’s just the Texas Rangers’ luck, or maybe it’s the fitness changes Hamels said he made in the off-season. And don’t forget about the changes the Cubs made with him after the July 27 trade.
The Rangers didn’t forget about them. General manager Jon Daniels called Hamels to see what it was that made such a sudden difference, as Hamels went from pretty bad with the Rangers to the National League Pitcher of the Month in August.