Nats sting Cole (sort of)

That was one of my favorite Daily News sports headlines of all time, after a night when Cole Hamels got roughed up by Washington early in his career. The Nats have sort of stung Cole twice this year, but in each of Hamels' two outings for the amazing 6-1 Phillies, he's persevered long enough to get a victory. So Hamels is 2-0, but his ERA stands at a non-Cy-Young-worthy 5.06 -- he's getting good speed on his fastball for early in the season, but the command that Hamels needs for the his fastball-changeup regimen that made him the 2008 World Series MVP hasn't been there.

Maybe it never will be. I've been a baseball fan for a long, long time now, and I've seen too many pitchers have their best years within the first couple of years of coming up to the majors, and then slowly fade away. The reasons aren't always the same -- sometimes it's arm trouble and sometimes it's just batters figuring out their shtick and sometimes its off-the-field problems. As a fan, with Hamels, I think it's almost better psychologically at this point to look at him as a middle-of-the-rotation guy -- and to be pleasantly surprised if he returns to his late-season form of 2007 and 2008.

Which leaves the Phillies without a No. 2 starter right now.

Which is the same problem they had, in the end, last year.