Dear reader(s), I have been remiss. I promised you up-to-the-second coverage of the Phillies season, or at least a rough approximation of same, but instead have brought you nothing lately but shoddy, despicable journalism. But then, there's a lot of that going around lately.

Let's bring you up to speed:

4/16: Astros 2, Phillies 1
Nice start from Kyle K., but the bats just couldn't get it going. Which is retroactively ironic in light of...

4/17: Phillies 10, Astros 2
See, everything's fine. So far, despite the 8-8 record and the tough Mets series ahead, I really think the Phils are in pretty good shape. They've had great starting pitching, great relief pitching, and the hitting is coming around, even with two starters hurt. The ridiculous errors seem to have dropped off too. I'll be at the Hamels/Santana duel tonight, sure to be one of the greatest baseball games ever played.

Oh yeah, and this:

4/17: Flyers 4, Caps 3 (2OT)
It's only been two years but it feels like forever since there's been playoff hockey around here. I had kind of forgotten how much I love it, and how happy a Flyers playoff win makes me. Not as solid an all-around effort in this one, not like Games 2 and 3, but I'll take the win and the guys are in good shape. I'll miss Game 5 tomorrow, but I have total faith in them!

Next: I'll be away for a few days, so you'll either have to just guess what Philly sports teams do and hope you're right, or you can try some other, more reliable news source. Up to you. Anyway, we've got Flyers/Caps Game 5 tomorrow, Sixers/Pistons Game 1 on Sunday, and the big Phils/Mets series starting in a matter of hours.

Cole Hamels on facing Johan Santana:

"I don't even care," Hamels said. "The guy could have eight arms and it's not going to bother me."

Yeah, kind of weird, Cole.