If there is one thing that the last two seasons of Phillies baseball proved, it’s this: Dominance can be fleeting. For proof, look no further than Cole Hamels. He was one of the biggest reasons the Phillies won it all in 2008, and ironically, one of the biggest reasons they didn’t win it all in 2009.

He went into last season fresh off a career year, his second full season in the majors, that saw him best opposing teams to the tune of a 3.09 ERA over 227.1 innings. Then October rolled around, and things really got going for the lefty. In five games, he went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA en route to winning both the NLCS and World Series MVP awards, while leading the Phillies to their first title since 1980, thus completing his journey from coveted prospect to staff Ace.

We all know what happened next: The limelight, television appearances, cover stories, a new wife, a new condo, a poor off-season training program, an injury to start 2009, 12 earned runs in his first nine innings, a few good starts, a great start, some bad starts, a few more good starts, bad start, great start, bad start, bad start, playoffs and more bad starts, the questionable walk to Mark Teixiera, the even more questionable two-run tater to Alex Rodriguez, the curveball to Andy Pettitte, game over, Cole wanting it all to end. And it did.

And as spring training approaches, the question remains: Where does that leave Cole?

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