Does anyone remember combined no-hitters? Maybe not. There have been only 11 of them. I'm a Mariners fan and they threw one a few years ago against the Dodgers and I couldn't even tell you who started that game. (It was Kevin Millwood as it turns out, and it was only two years ago -- and Millwood pitched for the Mariners?)

Anyway, a no-hitter is still a cool accomplishment and the 34,000 fans in Atlanta who saw Cole Hamels and three Phillies relievers combine for the no-hitter in the Phillies' 7-0 win on Monday can now say that they've seen one in person.

Hamels left after six innings and 108 pitches. In this day of careful handling of pitchers, if there is one reason managers will leave starters in and disregard pitch counts, it's when a no-hitter is intact. Three of the four highest pitch counts in the past five years have been no-hitters: Edwin Jackson (149 pitches), Tim Lincecum (148) and Johan Santana (134). The fourth was Brandon Morrow with 137 pitches in his 17-strikeout one-hitter against the Rays in 2010 -- the lone hit coming with two outs in the ninth.

But with Hamels sitting at 108 pitches after six innings -- he'd walked five batters -- manager Ryne Sandberg could see that Hamels wasn't going the distance on an 88-degree day in Atlanta. Hamels was fine with the decision to come out. "He was pretty well spent there," Sandberg said. "The early innings had something to do with it. The stressful innings, stranding the runners at second and third a couple of times, but he wasn't going to go nine. And he ran the bases the inning before."

In another disappointing season for the Phillies, it was a rare highlight in what could be the franchise's first last-place finish since 1997.

In the midst of this bad season, Hamels is having maybe his best season. You can't tell from his 8-6 record (he's allowed one run or zero runs in 11 starts but won just six of those), but his ERA is a career-low 2.50 and he hasn't been as prone to the long ball as in the past. He's still one of the premier lefties in the game, which means we'll once again be hearing his name in trade rumors all offseason.

Trouble is, the Phillies will face the same dilemma they faced when considering whether to trade Hamels in July: It's going to be difficult to get a team to give up multiple top prospects or young players and pick up the remaining $90 million and four years of his contract (or $110 million if a final fifth year vests). The Phillies reportedly wanted a ransom of Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Julio Urias from Los Angeles, the Dodgers' top three prospects. I'm guessing that phone conversation between Ruben Amaro and Ned Colletti didn't last long.

Unless Amaro reshapes his thinking on Hamels' value, that means Hamels likely returns to the Phillies in 2015. With Cliff Lee's season-ending injury and salary ($25 million in 2015 plus either a $12 million buyout or $27.5 vesting option for 2016), he's probably not going anywhere this offseason, either. Teams will want to see him pitch first.

Which puts the Phillies back to where they've been the past two seasons: Trying to win with an old and aging core and not enough young talent. A lot has been made of the Phillies not trading Jonathan Papelbon or not giving rookie Ken Giles a chance to close, but the truth is that Papelbon wouldn't bring much on the trade market, not with his salary ($13 million this year and next year, with a possible vesting option for 2016) and the fact that teams just don't give up much for relief pitchers, even good ones.

At least Hamels, Lee if healthy, and Papelbon have been productive. Chase Utley, 35, has also had a solid year and has played in 131 of the Phillies' 137 games. Jimmy Rollins has actually had his best season in years, with 3.5 WAR.

The biggest problems with the 2014 Phillies have been:

1. Ryan Howard. He's fourth in the NL in RBIs, which is enough of a trap that Amaro probably thinks he's even having a good year. He's not. Howard's WAR is -0.9, a reflection of his low on-base percentage (.308), low slugging percentage (.383) and terrible defense (-9 defensive runs saved). As rumored at one point this summer, the Phillies are better off just buying out Howard's contract and parting ways. He's not a replacement-level first baseman, let alone a championship-level first baseman. He's done a lot for the club in his career but you can't be sentimental in baseball.

2. Domonic Brown. He's gone from All-Star to All-Stiff. He's done nothing well this year. He hasn't hit for power, hasn't gotten on base and he's lousy in left field. Maybe you don't give up on him but you can't count on him remaining a starter in 2015.

3. Ben Revere, or at least his defense. He may win the batting title! He also has a .325 OBP and Phillies fans will attest to his poor routes in center and poor arm. Put him in left field and find a better glove for center.

4. Kyle Kendrick. OK, his defense doesn't help -- we just pointed out three big problems -- but that's exacerbated with Kendrick because he's not a big strikeout guy. But he has a 4.83 ERA the past two seasons, not good enough for this post-steroid era.

First base, center field, starting pitcher. That's where you start. That's not going to be easy considering the Phillies already have $127 million committed to just nine players next season. Is there room to go after a Max Scherzer or Pablo Sandoval or James Shields? Maybe there is, especially with a back-loaded contract, as the Phillies have $76 million in commitments for 2016 and $34 million in 2017, so there's flexibility down the road.

Trouble is that by then, Utley, Rollins, Lee and Papelbon will be gone or too old. Leaving Cole Hamels. Last man standing.

Good luck, Ruben Amaro. Or the general manager who will be taking on this team in the offseason.