ARLINGTON - Cole Hamels appears to be molting as a pitcher. He is leaving the exoskeleton of a being a power lefty behind and trying to crawl into the skin of a crafty left-hander.
In the animal kingdom, a molting creature is vulnerable.
The same scientific principle applies to pitchers.
Against Toronto hitters Sunday, he displayed once again a four-seam fastball that is down significantly in velocity from the past and a two-seam fastball that was sharp earlier in the week, but too often up in the zone Sunday. Just like on a Nat Geo Predators documentary, it led to some gory images.