"There are breaks and then there are lucky breaks. For the Phillies in Thursday afternoon's 5-2 defeat to the Boston Red Sox at the Bank, no break just might be the luckiest of all.

Cole Hamels was hit in the fourth inning by a line drive batted by slugger Adrian Gonzalez, and though Hamels recorded the out and stayed in the game to get the last out of the frame, the Phils' lefty did not return for the fifth.

The good news? Hamels was not seriously injured. At least that's what the team announced in relaying the information that X-rays returned negative and that Hamels suffered only a contusion. Still, figuring that Phils' players have been dropping like flies, the team was quick to announce that Hamels will make his next start scheduled for Tuesday night in Miami.

Perhaps the thought is if they announce it, it will be so. According to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., it is not "a slam dunk" that Hamels will take his next turn in the rotation.

"We expect him to make his next start," manager Charlie Manuel said. "You'll see when you talk to him he has his hand in a sling-looking thing, but he can move his hand and he feels good at the moment."

Actually, we didn't see because Hamels chose not to talk about his short outing with the local press after the game. Instead, he left in a huff, claiming a local TV station had a camera trained on him as he dressed, opting to allow others to speak for him like Phillies lefties of yore, such as Steve Carlton and Don Carman."