Surging Red Sox look title-bound
Posted: Monday, October 08, 2007 3:04 PM
Truths that emerged from watching the Red Sox-Angels ALDS:
BOSTON IS REAL GOOD. It will take one tremendous effort to derail the Red Sox from another World Series title. They are loaded for the postseason, the stud lead starter in Josh Beckett, the veteran warrior in Curt Schilling, a deep bullpen anchored by the next super-closer in Jonathan Papelbon, terrific defense up the middle with Jason Varitek, Julio Lugo, and Coco Crisp and a balanced lineup that has David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez healthy. Pity those pitchers that don’t bring their “A” game to the ALCS for they may be mercilessly pounded.
ACCOUNTABILITY WORKS. Boston crashed in the last two months of 2006. Injuries wracked the Red Sox, none worse than to Varitek. And their bullpen depth crumbled placing Papelbon under undue strain. Boston general manager Theo Epstein took the heat and vowed it would not happen again. Now the Red Sox are deep, healthy, and nasty in the bullpen, evidenced by their overpowering 4.1 hitless innings in Game 2.
POWER RULES IN OCTOBER. It was a terrific regular season for the Angels. But one of baseball’s quirks is teams play a marathon for the right to be part of a playoff sprint. Building a team for the regular season can be dramatically different than gearing up one for a short series. The best teams can adapt to either format. And the Angels just couldn’t. They don’t have enough threats in the lineup. And that doesn’t necessarily mean sluggers but hitters who make a pitcher pause and think. There were pests and good contact/speed guys in the Angels lineup, but only Vladimir Guerrero ever made a Boston pitcher think about damage.
VLAD IS NOT MR. OCTOBER. It gets lost in the relaxed California air, but in three chances Vladimir Guerrero has not led his team to a series win in the postseason. In the playoffs he's had 60 at-bats and only one extra-base hit. Is he a hitter who can rack up regular-season numbers against thin pitching, but then struggle against the best arms in October?
In the three games against the Red Sox, his wild swings made him thoroughly ineffective against the tough Boston pitching. Early in Game 3, the one chance he had to really hurt Boston ended when Curt Schilling looked in the on-deck circle, saw Reggie Willits instead of Garret Anderson (out with an eye infection), and wisely pitched around Guerrero.
GREAT BALLPARKS, GREAT ATMOSPHERE. Fenway Park is a classic. Angel Stadium a renovated gem and both were filled with red-clad passionate baseball fans that created terrific October scenes. Granted Red Sox Nation has no need for silly rally rackets or thunder stix (please stop those!), and the true unfiltered passion for their beloved team is a sight to behold. But the Angels have tailored their approach to their market and you can’t deny the sight of 45,000 screaming Angelenos showing up for a noon Sunday start. Sad that they only had one game.
