June 16 -- NOT IN THE CARDS

Just flew in from St. Louis, and already, it's about time to head over to the Bank for the big inter-league series-opener against Team Tito. But, before we discuss all things Sawx (that's how they say it in Boston), let's review what went down yesterday near the Gateway Arch.

Where to begin?

Brett Myers stunk again, surrendering two more home runs (if you're counting, that's a majors-leading 20 hit against him) and putting the Phils in an early 5-1 hole. The offense battled back to tie the game, but in the process, left a ton of runners on base (15 by the time it was all over). In a frightening scene, Eric Bruntlett tried to score the go-ahead run in the eighth by barreling into Yadier Molina, leaving the Cardinals catcher motionless and gripping the baseball. Molina left the field on a body board and wearing a neck brace, but a battery of tests were negative and he was diagnosed with a mild concussion.

And, in the 10th inning, Chase Utley and Tom Gordon botched a pair of two-out ground balls that cost the Phils the game. Utley's errant throw to the covering Gordon allowed Rick Ankiel to reach base, and two batters later, Gordon missed a catchable throw from Utley and Ankiel raced home from second base. Gordon explained later that he didn't see the ball. But did you catch his on-field reaction? He spiked his mitt, looking like a Little Leaguer about to throw a temper tantrum.

So, what element of yesterday's game bugged you the most?

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What should the Phillies do about Myers?

Ideally, they'd like to acquire another starting pitcher before the July 31 trade deadline and move Myers back to the bullpen to be the setup man for Brad Lidge. But, as we've discussed here before, they don't have enough prospects in their farm system to land C.C. Sabathia from the Indians or Erik Bedard from the Mariners. Maybe they can find a mid-level starter (this year's Kyle Lohse), but even then, are you comfortable with a rotation of Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Adam Eaton and someone like Randy Wolf?

For the eight millionth time this season, Charlie Manuel said yesterday that the Phillies need Myers to pitch a lot better. "No kidding," Myers said.

Easier said than done, I suppose.

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Eager to see how the Phillies fare this week against the Sawx and Angels. They are the cream of the AL crop, so it should be a good test. It starts tonight with Bartolo Colon, the pitcher the Phillies thought was a greater injury risk than Kris Benson (oops), on the hill against Hamels.

And, with the Sawx in town, I'll refer you to our MLB notes in the Sunday paper, where Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted that the Phillies didn't put Terry Francona in a position to win during his four years as manager. My contention is that Francona didn't suddenly become a genius when he moved to Boston. Rather he inherited a team with a payroll north of $100 million (it's about $135 million this year). He also inherited Manny, Big Papi, Jason Varitek and later Josh Beckett, Dice-K and Jonathan Papelbon. Francona does a great job of managing the many personalities in the Sawx clubhouse, but he has the talent to win. In Philly, he had Curt Schilling, Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu and little else. Hard to win with those cards.

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More in a bit from the Bank. Meanwhile, here's a preview of the series to get you set.

RED SOX (44-28) at PHILLIES (41-30)
Tonight, 7:05: RHP Bartolo Colon (4-1, 3.41) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (6-4, 3.27)
Tuesday, 7:05: LHP Jon Lester (5-3, 3.43) vs. LHP Jamie Moyer (7-3, 4.12)
Wed., 1:05: RHP Justin Masterson (3-1, 2.90) vs. RHP Kyle Kendrick (6-2, 4.54)
Hot: Red Sox RF J.D. Drew is batting .447 (21-for-47) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in June; Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis is batting .319 (15-for-47) with two home runs and nine RBIs in June; Phillies 1B Ryan Howard went 6-for-13 with two homers and nine RBIs against the Cardinals; LF Pat Burrell batted .323 (10-for-31) with four homers and six RBIs on the nine-game road trip.
Not: Red Sox LF Manny Ramirez has missed the last two games with tenderness in his right hamstring but likely will return during the series; Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia is 9-for-58 (.155) with two homers and four RBIs in his last 15 games; Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins went 8-for-37 (.216) on the road trip; Phillies RF Geoff Jenkins went 3-for-23 (.130) on the road trip.