ARLINGTON, Texas — Roughly a half-hour after the Cubs were handed their second straight loss Sunday evening, Cole Hamels stood at his locker and faced the music.

He was presented an opportunity to at least partially blame home plate umpire James Hoye for the big fourth inning that helped swing the game in the Rangers favor, but Hamels didn’t take it.

Instead of blaming the questionable calls, the 35-year-old veteran was accountable and took responsibility for the loss.

With a runner on first, two out and the Cubs holding a 4-1 lead, Hamels walked Logan Forsythe on a full count pitch that was somehow called a ball (left image below) and then wound up walking Jeff Mathis with another curious call mixed in

Did the Cubs make the right call in picking up Cole Hamels’ $20 million option?

That question was a no-brainer in the first few days of November — an easy call to pencil Hamels into the Cubs rotation for 2019 even if it meant trading away Drew Smyly and his $7 million contract to the Texas Rangers.

But here on Jan. 8, it’s at least a fair question and the answer isn’t so automatic, as we discussed on Hot Stove Tuesday.