The plot thickens

On a night when Clay Buchholz and Cliff Lee won marquee matchups against Roy Halladay and Dan Haren, respectively, we have to focus on a bar fight.

As suspected, Brett Myers' eye was injured in a bar fight, Randy Miller of the Bucks County Courier Times reported today. Somehow the story didn't get much traction from the rest of the Philly beat writers. First, young Brett said he was hurt playing with his son Kolt. Then he said he was injured falling in his car. There were reports of a fight, but police and sources said Myers was not involved.

Here's the latest story - which Charlie Manuel could have shot down but did not:

The real story, according to team sources, is that Myers was punched in the face Friday night during an altercation in or outside of Shannon's Irish Pub in Jacksonville, Fla., his hometown.

Myers, who has been rehabbing from hip surgery in Clearwater, Fla., drove four hours Friday to Jacksonville to see his family and ended up watching a band at Shannon's. There was a fight there that night and Myers was in the restaurant/bar with his wife, but the couple was only involved in a verbal dispute, according to a police report.

Manuel suspects there is more to Myers' latest story.

"He's a grown man; I'd like to see him be a professional," the manager said. "At the same time, there's not a whole lot I can do when he's down in rehabbing and getting ready to pitch. When he's (in Philadelphia), my concern becomes greater. I don't want him to get in trouble."

C'mon Brett: Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

In less police blotter pitching news: Pedro dubbed himself and Jaime Moyer "two old goats" after they defeated the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. J-Moy still isn't happy about being in the bullpen. {Maybe he's just disappointed that he didn't get to be on The Pen.} ... Buchholz is in the midst of three tough matchups - Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay. Combined, the trio is 50-18 with a 3.17 ERA. Clay has held his own - four earned runs in 19 innings.

He was 0-2 in these matchups, but picked up a win tonight. He outpitched Doc, and the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 6-1.

I found out last minute that the Red Sox were on ESPN tonight. I was looking forward to watching Lee pitch, but Christine and I wound up watching our teams in different rooms. I missed another Cliff Lee beaut. He tossed his second complete game for the Phillies, giving up an unearned run on two hits with 11 strikeouts in the 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Halladay gave up five runs, four of them earned, in five innings tonight. Ruben Amaro Jr. should be fired for not getting him at the deadline.

Tacos: I made tacos for dinner tonight. I mention only because there's a new fan club in Philly: Bako's Tacos.

Hitting season

The heat of summer has been delayed this year, and we wondered whether the unseasonably cooler weather has also delayed Charlie Manuel's favorite time of the year - hittin' season.

Last night might have been the beginning of the season. Trailing 7-3 in the 9th, Matt Stairs led off with a pinch-hit home run. I withheld a sarcastic comment for Tom McCarthy who said Cholly had the opportunity to use the big guy.

But the Phillies kept coming. Jimmy Rollins and Chase Ultey got on board, setting up a three-run home run for Ryan Howard. Then, they loaded up the bases for Paul Bako (I think he resembles Chris Coste), who singled to end the game.

Ironically, when I was contrasting John Smoltz's solid start with Cole Hamels' subpar outing last night, I was tempted to write, "But these games appear headed in different directions." I refrained, however, because the Pirates tacked on a couple of insurance runs before the 9th.

Following that dramatic ending, I thought the Phillies would romp or come out dead today - no middle ground. They bookended last night's five-run 9th inning with a five-run 1st inning, highlighted by a Pedro Feliz grand slam. They chased Pirates starter Virgil Vasquez after 48 pitches in the middle of the 2nd. But the Phillies suspended hittin' season for the All-Star Break. They didn't score again behind another good J.A. (Halladay who?) Happ outing - one run in seven innings. Christine predicted the Phillies wouldn't score again when the Pirates pulled their started in the 2nd. In the 9th, J.C. Romero gave up a home run but held on for the 5-2 win, capping an 9-1 homestand to end the first half.

Red Sox: Another fine outing for Josh Beckett, who could make a case for starting the All-Star game if he didn't pitch today. He pitched his second shutout of the year, needing just 94 pitches to blank the Royals on three hits with seven strikeouts in the 6-0 win.

All-Star change: Dustin Pedroia is out of the game to tend to his pregnant wife who has had complications.

"This was certainly not an easy decision," Pedroia said in the statement. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for the game of baseball and for the All-Star Game and am incredibly honored that the fans voted me this year’s starting second baseman for the American League. I am disappointed that I will not be able to enjoy the amazing experience with the other All-Stars, especially with my Red Sox teammates, but it is important that I put my family first at this time."

Guess which slick-fielding second baseman Joe Maddon replaced him with? How about another Ray, Carlos Pena, who didn't deserve to be on the final spot ballot, let alone on the team. Currently there is not another backup second baseman on the team. Maddon is becoming just as bad as Joe Torre.

At least Cholly's outfielders are justifiable.