So much for the big pitching duel.

Tim Hudson vs. Pedro Martinez last night. Should be a good one, right? A big game for the A’s, who were trying to avoid being swept by the Sox at home.

Sorry, afraid not. Hudson walks the first three batters he faces, gives up three runs in the first, four more in the third and the game is basically over. Pedro held up his end of the bargain, pitching well and getting an 8-3 win.

So, the Sox finish 8-1 on the big nine game stretch against the AL West, losing only one game to the Rangers and seeping the A’s and Angels. Anaheim lost to the Blue Jays last night, so they’re now 5 games back in the wild card chase. The Yankees got rained out of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, so Boston picks up 1/2 game to be only 2 back in the East.

We started being required to wear suits again this week at work. For the last few years, we’ve been business casual but since the merger a lot of things have changed. So, now I have to wear a tie and I’m out a few hundred bucks for a couple of new suits and a bunch of new dress shirts. I’ve never liked wearing ties, and I fail to understand the need for employees who don’t meet with the public to dress in formal business wear, but the rules are the rules. I guess I’ll just have to get used to it.

The Patriots start their defense of the Super Bowl title as the NFL season kicks off in Foxboro. They take on the Colts in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game. The Pats have owned Peyton Manning at home, so we’ll see if they can keep that up tonight. On paper, the Patriots should be even better than they were last year. Super Bowl teams seem to have trouble repeating, or even getting back into the playoffs, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Pats fare.

Speaking of the Patriots, I saw a funny Dunkin Donuts commercial during the Sox game last night. Two DD employees are standing at the counter and one says to the other “What’s with all the eye black?” The other says “It helps cut down on the glare.” The scene cuts to three Patriot players wearing their king-sized Super Bowl rings and reflections from the rings bouncing all over the store. Dunkins gets an “A” for creative sports themed commercials lately, with that one and the “Curt Schilling works on his Boston accent” spot.