CLEARWATER, Fla. Will Harris Jersey . -- Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels threw off the mound for the first time this spring on Wednesday morning, an important step in his eventual return to the rotation. Hamels made his first career opening day start in 2013 and is unlikely to be ready for the assignment this year. Hamels entered camp behind schedule after battling biceps soreness in November. He was told to stop throwing and halt his weightlifting program for the rest of the winter. On the mound, Hamels threw 35 pitches in his side session. "Very encouraging," manager Ryne Sandberg said. Although the Phillies expect Hamels to be ready at some point in April, they are not going to push him in an effort to get him to the mound on opening day or the first week of the season. "If you do that with a guy, hes pressing to get ready for one, and thats the last thing we want to do," pitching coach Bob McClure said. "Two, if hes only up to 60 pitches or something like that, now youre going to tax your bullpen. I know hes anxious because he feels so good. But I think we kind of need to take a cautious road here." McClure said Hamels looked "really, really good" in his workout. The 30-year-old Hamels is in the second season since signing the most lucrative contract in Phillies history, a six-year deal worth $144 million. Hamels often pitched in bad luck last year, racking up just one win in the seasons first two months. But he had a 2.68 ERA in the seasons final three months and reached the 200-inning plateau for the fourth straight season. Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP, finished at 8-14 with a 3.60 ERA in 33 starts. Doug Rader Jersey . Cabrera is hitting .218 with three homers and 16 RBI in 80 games this season. The Padres recalled second baseman Brooks Conrad from Triple-A El Paso to replace Cabrera on the roster. Cesar Cedeno Astros Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. https://www.cheapastros.com/853o-andy-pettitte-jersey-astros.html . Scott scored a career-high 30 points, Jeff Teague added 28 and the Hawks rallied to beat the New York Knicks 107-98 on Saturday night. "We were down Paul, down so many bodies," Scott said.The Raptors were represented at city hall by their head coach Dwayne Casey, beloved point guard Greivis Vasquez, and by team mascot "the Raptor." Vasquez contiuned to show his love for the city of Toronto, this time taking up the role of Good Samaritan, making sure the citys deputy mayor stayed lint free. .@greivisvasquez making sure Im #LintFree for #RaptorsDay! @Raptors pic.twitter.com/yohAmIJQW1 — Norm Kelly (@DMayorKelly) May 12, 2014Never one to shy away from a good snack, the Raptor showed his thanks to Norm Kelly by taking a large bite into the deputy mayors head. Jeff Bagwell Jersey. Caption this #RaptorsDay photo of @the_raptor and @DMayorKelly http://t.co/WyFZiy2H3m #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/H4U0SP7MxX — TorontoStar (@TorontoStar) May 12, 2014We can only hope that come May 12th next year, Raptors Day will also be a celebration of the team finally winning their second playoff series in franchise history. ' ' '