According to several sources including ESPN, Cole Hamels is flying to Philadelphia to have his sore elbow examined.

Dogged by persistent discomfort in his pitching elbow, Cole Hamels will fly to Philadelphia for an examination on Tuesday, the team announced.

The left-hander will be looked at by team physician Michael Ciccotti. The Phillies at this point have described the pain as soreness or tightness, and nothing more.

“We do not think it is serious, at least at this time,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, according to MLB.com. “We thought it was important for Dr. Ciccotti to check him out and see if there is anything more serious than what we think it is.”

According to Amaro, Hamels does not feel pain when he throws. Rather, the elbow tightens up on him between innings.

There is nothing I want more than to beat Philadelphia this season, and with Cole Hamels out of the way it would make it so much easier. But, I gotta tell you that this news saddens me a little, I mean I hate Hamels as much as the next Mets fan, but this is not exactly how I want the Mets to beat the Phillies. Plus, when I say hate, it’s in a sports context like I hate the Braves, I have nothing against Cole Hamels and I think he’s a very colorful personality.

I hope Hamels is okay so that we get the chance to smack him around much like we did last season.

Truth be told, I’ve always been impressed by his enormous talent and even a little envious. I hope we get to see a few Santana versus Hamels matchups this year and I wish him luck with his MRI.