(Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports)
THERE'S AN OLD "Saturday Night Live'' skit in which Jon Lovitz, playing Mephistopheles as a defendant on "The People's Court,'' explains how he could have tricked an 18-year-old beautician into surrendering her soul to him, "by observing only the letter of the agreement.''
"I'll give somebody eternal youth,'' he says. "Then have them sentenced to life imprisonment.''
"It's standard . . . I'm the devil.''
If Cole Hamels is still a Phillie on Aug. 1, it will be far from a life sentence and his deal will be far from devilish.