By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The extraordinary Cole Hamels deal comes during a less-than-extraordinary season for the Phillies, but it may signal that the team is ready to do something about that.

John Miller of Miller Media Group says he was kind of surprised that Cole Hamels signed, even for such an enormous sum now, because he could have likely gotten more with other teams in the bidding.

Miller says Hamels clearly likes it here, but is a very competitive guy, and the Phils front office may be signaling game-on.

“Utley, Howard, etc., their legs are all going, but the Phillies need to have a plan. They can’t get bad. They’re like the Yankees in that respect now,” Miller said. “The Yankees can never afford to bottom out because the fans are paying extraordinary amounts and they have an extraordinary amount of revenue coming in based on the fact that they’re always competitive.”

Miller says the Phils TV rights contract is up soon and its renewal, or the Phils running it themselves, is worth a lot more if the team is good.