Aces disgraced

I found out an hour before game time that the Red Sox were going to be on TBS, so in our house it was going to be an exercise of hitting the back button on the remote after every pitch, toggling between Josh Beckett and Brett Myers.

Alas, Beckett couldn't right the sinking ship and Myers pitched like a joker, not the nominal ace he is. Not good news on either end. Beckett actually looked OK for a fat guy with a hip problem. Until the 5th inning. You could tell the Sox were going to be punished when Terry Francona abandoned his pitch count to try to get Beckett through the inning.

And, we were robbed. Dustin Pedroia was safe on a bang-bang play in the eight. Yes, it was a 7-4 final, but it would have mattered.

Oh, and shove it, "Mr. President."

For the Phils, at least Brad Lidge pitched well. Speaking of pitchers, where are the Reds coming up with these guys? They're going to make prognosticators who took a chance on them look very smart.

Other news of the day: First a treat for the Phillies fans - some comments from a member of the 2007 Mets, Paul Lo Duca:

I would equate it to having a serious problem in your life that you think is going to go away but never does. We were all cool, calm and collected. We didn't think anything of it. We always felt we'd get out of it. But it never happened. ... It was a tailspin we couldn't stop.

We kept looking at the scoreboard, wondering if the Phillies were going to lose, but they kept on winning. And then the pressure kept on mounting. It was tough.

Wes gone: Marlins get their man; Phillies management proves it is not the most inept in baseball. And, as Christine said yesterday, another favorite whipping boy, Adam Eaton, really did have one of his best starts as a Phillie on Saturday:

Eaton had his first quality start since July 3 in Houston, when he allowed three runs in six innings in a 5-4 loss to the Astros. That's 13 starts (and nine months) between quality starts.

Eaton's take:

We lost. But you want to give your team a chance to win, and I was able to do that. I'm kind of angry with myself the way I came out, but I got into a good groove and made some good pitches.

Injuries (non-SoxandPhils): This Dioner Navarro injury will make Christine cringe.

Age: I didn't mention this last week because I wanted more info and couldn't find the actual release, but the Red Sox opened with the majors' oldest roster, averaging 31.33 years. In related news, the Phillies AAA team averages 30.04 years.

More old guys: With the Mets and Diamondbacks losing Pedro Martinez and Doug Davis, David Wells wonders why he can't get work. Maybe he's been blackballed for steroids like Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. David Wells? Well, Bill James says baldies are roiders.