ESPN Buster Olney Blog

Now it all makes sense, a scout said Monday afternoon, after hearing that Cole Hamels has gone to Philadelphia to have his elbow examined. The scout had seen Hamels this month and was mildly surprised by the left-hander's pedestrian fastball velocity -- 82 mph to 84 mph.

Maybe it was just early in camp, the scout thought at the time. Maybe Hamels' intention was to pace himself through this long spring training.

Or maybe not. Now, it may be that Hamels' problem is not serious, and there is an easy explanation for the stiffness he is feeling in his arm. But undoubtedly, the Phillies' officials and coaching staff will sleep a little less until they know for sure, because of Hamels' importance to their rotation, to their pitching staff and to their organization. "The loss of Hamels would change the equation in that division," said another talent evaluator Monday afternoon. "[The Phillies] have more depth in their rotation than they used to have, but still, you're talking about one of the best pitchers in the game."

Presumably, the doctors will have an excellent medical baseline from which to work, because Hamels signed a three-year, $20.5 million contract on Jan. 18, and presumably he underwent a full range of tests then as part of his physical exam. There hasn't been a lot of time for Hamels to develop some kind of major structural issue. We'll see.

Wrote here the other day that Joe Mauer is arguably the most indispensable player to his team in the majors, because of the Twins' budget and because of what Mauer does for the club. Hamels would be high on that list somewhere, as well, because while Jamie Moyer is a minor miracle of pitching with his 246 victories, and Brett Myers is reinvested in his career with his improved conditioning, and Joe Blanton is a serious mound grinder, Hamels is still the difference-maker. At age 24 last fall, he won four of his five postseason starts, allowing no more than two runs in any of them -- and the Phillies won the game in which Hamels got a no-decision. He threw a staggering 262.1 innings last year.

Adrian Gonzalez is an accomplished first baseman and is probably the Padres' best player right now, but take him out of the conversation of most indispensable players because San Diego probably won't contend this year. The same goes for Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, who is as important to his team as any player in baseball, but Toronto doesn't appear to be a contender this season. Ask this question: What would Player X's team be if this player was out of action for an extended period of time?

Consider the example of Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks. Last year, Arizona went 82-80, and in Webb's 34 starts, the D-backs were 24-10; in the games he did not start, they were 58-70. Quite simply, they would not have been in contention without him.

Here's one possible list of the Top 10 Most Indispensable Players as we look ahead to 2009. (Our friends at Baseball Prospectus did a similar rundown for ESPN Insider -- we only agree on three names. Whose list do you think is more accurate? Use the comments section below.)

1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2. Johan Santana, Mets
3. Joe Mauer, Twins
4. Tim Lincecum, Giants
5. Manny Ramirez, Dodgers
6. Cliff Lee, Indians
7. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
8. Cole Hamels, Phillies
9. CC Sabathia, Yankees
10. Evan Longoria, Rays

Honorable mention: Vladimir Guerrero, Dustin Pedroia, Dan Haren, Justin Morneau, Matt Holliday, Yovani Gallardo, Carlos Zambrano, Derek Lowe, John Lackey, John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Ryan Braun; Braun has a rib injury.

Hamels did not look like someone on the verge of medical calamity, writes David Murphy. It's getting harder and harder to tell what the truth is on Hamels, writes Paul Hagen. This is an issue of enormous concern, writes Jim Salisbury.

Hamels threw more innings last year than he did his entire minor league career, writes Andy Martino.

Meanwhile, the Phillies got pounded and Charlie Manuel wasn't happy about it.

Buster's comments about injuries across spring training, the Pudge signing, men on the move and more are for ESPN Insiders.