Cole Hamels still has the Mets’ number, and it’s 660 on the AM dial in New York City.

Hamels, in the obviously comfortable position of being the reigning World Series MVP, called the Amazins "choke artists" in a radio interview on the Mets flagship station, WFAN, on Thursday.

Well, at least he thinks of them as artists. Here’s Hamels (left) offering Carlos Delgado his brush back. (Get it? Brushback?)

Hamels was referring to the past two seasons, when the Mets blew late leads in the NL East and watched the Phillies overtake them for the division title.

When the hosts tried to get Hamels to back off a little, he didn’t, saying, "For the past two years they’ve been choke artists."  (Listen here)

There probably are a few million Mets fans, even, who agree with Hamels, but his comments still are bound to go over well (sarcasm) in Gotham City. Here’s a story in the New York Post, which never plays up anything (sarcasm).

For a lovely 1-2 punch, Hamels comments can be coupled with Ruben Amaro’s recent assessment that the Mets signing K-Rod won’t impact the Phillies much because New York has "had Billy Wagner and we still beat them the last two years in our division."

For a lovely 1-2-3 punch, remember Chase Utley at the All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby.

These world phunking champions are phun!

A big BLS head nod goes to the Phillies Zone.

Today’s naming of Ruben Amaro Jr. as Pat Gillick’s successor in the Phillies’ GM chair was such a certainty that it doesn’t even qualify as a "worst-kept secret."

But how certain was Amaro’s eventual ascension from being Philadelphia’s assistant GM to earning a three-year contract to be the main man?

Let’s put it this way: The 43-year-old had more than enough time to book a super-saver airline fare to this week’s general manager meetings in Dana Point, Calif.

I must admit, though, that I was ignorant to the fact that Amaro is a Philadelphia native and was the Phillies batboy 25 years ago before serving a short mid-90s tenure in the team’s outfield.

On one hand, that’s a great self-made man story and it’s nice to see a dream come true for a guy who knows Philadelphia unlike any other. He knows exactly what he’s stepping into and I think owning an institutional memory can be an asset for him. 

But on the other, it opens the door for a lot of "What do you expect, he’s the batboy?" criticism should Amaro not be up to the task of reloading the world champs for another run.

Though he has a nice 2-3 year window to work some more magic at The Bank, Amaro’s first big challenge will be restocking a farm system that produced a bulk of the World Series team but is currently thinner than an alley cat. Since Amaro beat out baseball lifer Mike Arbuckle — who ran the drafts that produced Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell — he’ll have plenty to prove.

What’s more is that Arbuckle resigned upon hearing that he wasn’t getting the job, so it’s all on the former batboy to make sure he’s got all the controls down pat. For better or worse, the ship is now his and it’s loaded with many more expectations than it was a month ago. 

When appropriate, BLS reviews key decisions to see if the right one was made. This is the Second-Guess.

The Turning Point: After the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in Game 5 on Wednesday night, select media voted left-hander Cole Hamels the World Series MVP.

The Question: Instead, should they have given the trophy to outfielder Jayson Werth, who seemed instrumental in most of Philly’s offensive rallies?

Argument for Werth: Virtually ignored in a lineup surrounded by names such as Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell and Shane Victorino — even catcher Carlos Ruiz got more pub — Werth was the engine that made the Phillies offense go. From the No. 2 spot, Werth batted .444/.583/.778, all team highs, as were his six walks and three stolen bases (tying with Utley). Werth scored four runs (one fewer than Utley) and drove in three runs (less impressive than Howard’s six RBIs) but he also had two productive outs. And twice, in Games 1 and 5, Werth walked and scored in the first inning to help the Phillies build quick 2-0 leads. He also walked ahead of Howard’s three-run homer in the fourth inning of Game 4 and added a two-run homer in the sixth to pad the Phillies lead.

Argument against Werth: His performance in Game 2 was abysmal, practically costing the Phillies the loss all by himself. His error in right field set up the Rays to score a pair of runs on grounders in the first inning, putting the Phillies in a quick hole. At bat, he ran into a double play on Utley’s liner in the fifth, he struck out with a runner at third base and less than two outs, and he also struck out with a runner at second. In the bottom of the eighth of Game 3 with a tie score, he was picked off second base by J.P. Howell with Utley and Howard coming up.

Their say:

 "I’m an aggressive player. Maybe at times too aggressive. I made aggressive mistakes. We got hurt a little by them, but that’s also why we were in this position, to win a championship."
— Werth

"I definitely felt like I was in the middle of everything. Everything good. Everything bad. It seemed like I couldn’t get out of the way." — Werth

"I know people will look at me differently, expect probably more out of me." — Hamels

"I’m even more excited for that guy who’s holding the MVP trophy. He deserves it. He’s the ace.
— Jamie Moyer

Big League Stew’s Verdict — the right guy won the car: Werth’s miserable Game 2 ruined his chances. Werth wasn’t even an everyday player until the second week of August, but Charlie Manuel made the right move, both in putting him in the lineup and batting him second. Werth had a great, great Series and would be an even stronger MVP candidate if he had just been neutral in Game 2. Hamels-for-MVP was part of the scuttlebutt during the suspension of Game 5, to the point that it probably was taken for granted he would win. Hamels, after all, was 3 1/2 innings from becoming the first pitcher to go 5-0 in the postseason. He didn’t get his fifth victory, but his stats (1-0, 2.77 ERA, 13 IP, 3 BB, 8 K) are MVP-worthy. His performance in Game 1, especially, helped set the Series tone.

It took more than two days for Game 5 of the World Series to be played but when all was said and done, the Philadelphia Phillies were World Series champions.

Cole Hamels was named World Series MVP.

Today’s Calls: Phillies vs. History, ‘08 Rays vs. ‘91 Braves, Knicks vs. Heat, OK City vs. Seattle, Chris Paul vs. Ron Artest, Al Jefferson vs. Kevin Love, UNC vs. Everyone, Marion Jones vs. Oprah and More.

The Opening Pitch: Well, that was about as surreal as we probably could have expected.

The relievers who started. The pinch-hitters who stepped in for … well, I had forgotten by now. The 7th-inning stretch after one inning. The 3-inning "game" that yielded a championship.

And, most of all, Philly fans: Champions.

Do you think it seems as freaky to Philly fans as it does to the rest of us? ("Why Can’t Us?" Oh, my slovenly, formerly pathetic Philly brothers and sisters: By all means, you certainly can.)

The only thing that remains to be seen is whether the glory of winning a major pro sports title for the first time in more than a tortured quarter-century leavens the city’s typically embittered fans in a way that makes it impossible to return to the way they once were.

How can you boo when you are cheering your championship?

Meanwhile, fewer people will end up watching this World Series than any in history. But that doesn’t make it unmemorable or unremarkable.

In fact, if fans will always remember "Game 6" as the Mets’ finest moment, it is easy to foresee that baseball fans will always remember these Phillies in a similar way. …

"Game 5.5" has a pretty cool ring to it.

Cole Hamels was Series MVP, affirming his status as the new Josh Beckett, but I think we’ll look back at Brad Lidge’s perfect season as an untouchable standard.

And what about the Rays? If their Cinderella season fell short of a championship, does that make it less sweet?

Obviously, yes. But the worst-to-first breakthrough to the AL pennant alone was pretty amazing. And probably more foreshadowing than fluke.

(Consider the last notable worst-to-first (’91 Braves) also lost in the World Series … and triggered an epic streak of playoff appearances.)

Don’t pity the Rays. As I have said for weeks, is there another team in the league that would NOT trade rosters, straight up, with the Rays?

NBA Opening Night, Part 2:

*Hey, what did you do with the Knicks? I know it was the woeful Heat, but still — at least the Knicks are now entertaining to watch. …

*I said this on their opening night as temporary host of the Hornets: Win or lose, Oklahoma City has the best fans in the NBA. …

*Oden out 2-4 weeks: Yikes. We used to wonder if Oden was the next Walton; maybe he’s the next Bowie.

*Chris Paul’s MVP season started last night (and, wow, is it obvious the Warriors are missing Baron Davis). …

*More debuts: Ron Artest’s regular-season debut with the Rockets was a success. No incidents, unless you count woeful shooting. …

*In comparing the performance of new-team Jermaine O’Neal and new-team Elton Brand, the biggest winner was Chris Bosh. …

*How can you not love — no pun intended — the T’wolves new combo (now 1-0) of Jefferson (21/10) and Love (12/9 in 19 min). …

*Want some quality opening-week NBA Instant History? The Lakers are unstoppable. …

NFL Must-Read: The Top 10 biggest blunders of the season, courtesy of PFT/SN’s Mike Florio.

CFB: I’m sorry I didn’t reference this yesterday. That Houston WR whose leg was broken on national TV should sue the hell out of everyone for the placement of that golf cart in a way that might hurt him. (It was the band’s fault? Sue them, too!)

CFB Top 25 Tonight: (23) South Florida at Cincy. I think Cincy’s Brian Kelly is one of the best coaches in the country. USF’s Jim Leavitt is no slouch. Both teams trail WVU in the Big East. Pick: Cincinnati.

CBB Preseason Coaches Top 25: It’s UNC, then everyone else — literally. UNC was the unanimous No. 1. Don’t worry, Heel-haters: If that many coaches agree on something, it CAN’T be right.

More: Defending champ Kansas is No. 23; runner-up Memphis is No. 12; Stephen Curry and Davidson are No. 20; UCLA (No. 4) is projected to go to a 4th straight Final Four; Big East gets 7 in the Top 25, including 3 in the Top 6.

The Last Word: "I could have won without doping," Marion Jones lamented to Oprah. Clears throat …

WELL THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU?!

I have no sympathy for Jones, one of the most wretched cheaters in sports history:

She was happy to embrace the spotlight, vehement in protesting her innocence, but then weepy when finally busted. What a fraud.

Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.