ALDS Game 2 Twitter

J.D. Drew has weathered a lot of criticism in the two years since the Sox acquired him.  The chattering classes claimed he was underperforming, that he lacked focus, that he was only in it for the money.  Radio blowhards and casual fans accused him of not playing with heart.  Even after his grand salami in Game Six of the 2007 ALCS, Drew remained the object of suspicion and scorn.  

So I watched with great satisfaction last night as Mr. Roboto lit up the game, going 3-5 with a double, a couple of nifty plays in right, and of course,  the 2-run shot off K-Rod to seal the victory over the Los Angeles Suburbanites of Disneyland.  Here is a guy who has been hobbled with back pain, who had to take not one but two epidurals just to be pain free enough to even take the field.  If that isn't an obvious sign of cardiovascular fortitude, then I don't know what is.  Other random thoughts:

-  Once again, Jason Bay refuses to wilt under the spotlight.  Bay went 3-5 with another home run and 3 RBIs.  How quickly do you think it will take the media to change its tune to how Bay was "hungry for the postseason" and is a "man on a mission"?

-  Acknowledging my obvious biases, I think Coco got back to the bag safely on that pickoff attempt.  I have to admit, however, that Erick "Eric" Aybar does dance a nice protest jig.

-  You have to admire Torii "Tory" Hunter's enthusiasm, but injuring yourself jumping around after getting thrown out at first puts you in company with bastions of stability like Milton Bradley.  

-  By the way, did you know that Jason Varitek uses this magical glove sewn from the webbing of enchanted platypus feet?  I didn't, until Buck Martinez wouldn't stop talking about the damn thing.

-  Once again, as predicted, Angels not named Teixeira, Guerrero or Hunter vanished going a collective 3-20. 

-  Tito's decision to stick with Masterson was a bit mysterious.  Justin didn't exactly appear to have his command down, giving up two walks in the seventh.  Joy of Sox asks a good question:  where in the world is Manny Delcarmen?  

-  Despite two effective and efficient innings, Papelbon is officially credited with a blown save.  Meanwhile, all-time single season save record holder Francisco "The Less Douchy Hyphen-Rod" Rodriguez implodes.  Yet another reason why saves is a useless measure of quality.

-  Is Pedroia's nickname really "Caballito" - the Thoroughbred of Sin?

-  Major league baseball should ban thundersticks.  If your fans cannot get excited enough to make noise with the meaty, fleshy thundersticks that God gave them, then they don't deserve to watch baseball.  Maybe in Japan, where everything is a bit crazy, zany props and inflatable noisemakers are acceptable, but not here in America. 

Angels-Sox Playoff Preview

On paper, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of In-N-Out look evenly matched.  Both boast solid pitching staffs - Boston had a 1.33 WHIP this season compared to 1.32 WHIP for the Rally Monkeys.  Both field a lineup filled with some devastating power hitters whether its Torii Hunter (112 OPS+), Mark Teixeira (153 OPS+) and Vladimir Guerrero (131 OPS+) for the LA Smogs or Ortiz (125 OPS+), Youkilis (145 OPS+) and Mighty Mouse (123 OPS+) for the Sox. In the regular season, the 405s crushed the Turnpikes, winning 8-of-9 matchups.  On to the specifics:

Batting

By the numbers, the Sox have the better offense (.805 OPS compared to .743 OPS), but there are a lot of uncertainties about the Sox lineup.  Mike Lowell (105 OPS+)  and JD Drew (139 OPS+) are both struggling with minor injuries but hope to play.  Jason Bay (129 OPS+) has been great down the stretch, but as the chattering classes can't help but point out, he has no postseason experience.

Teixeira was a great pickup, but the Angels are not a particularly deep lineup.  Nobody is going to be quaking over the bats of Chone "Shawn" Figgins and Erick "Eric" Aybar.  By comparison, Sox role players such as Lowrie, Crisp and Ellsbury have all had more productive years.  

Pitching

The Angels can take solace in the fact that they have one of the more dangerous rotations in baseball.  Game One will feature the Battle of the Jo(h)ns with Lackey (116 ERA+, 1.231 WHIP) facing Lester (143 ERA+, 1.274 WHIP).  Lackey has had past difficulties with the playoff Sox, and he has been fading down the stretching giving up 19 earned runs in his last four starts.

Game Two features a matchup between The Other Santana (125 ERA+, 1.119 WHIP) and Daisuke "The Magician" Matsuzaka (158 ERA+, 1.324 WHIP).  Dice-K has been keeping his walks down as of late and (oddly enough) pitches better on the road.

Game Three features Joe Saunders (128 ERA+, 1.212 WHIP) against Josh Beckett (114 ERA+, 1.187 WHIP), who has been sending oblique signals (he he) about his possible abdomen strain.  As we all know, Beckett has "October" tattooed on his backside;  he has the fourth lowest postseason WHIP of all-time at 0.750.

One of the marquee matchups is the dueling closers, Francisco "The Less Douchy Hyphen-Rod" Rodriguez (195 ERA+, 1.288 WHIP) and Jonathan Papelbon (196 ERA+, 0.952 WHIP).  Both are dominant at their position.  Some crazy folks have even suggested K-Rod win the MVP.  If all else fails, these two can have a "sprint off the mound and assume bizarre celebratory poses" competition.

A lot of people are making a lot of hay about the fact that the Angels won 100 games.  Yet as King Kaufman has pointed out, since the 1998 Yankees, none of 13 teams that won 100 or more games has gone on to clinch the championship and only three have made it to the series.  Let me also point out that while 100 wins is impressive, its less awe inspiring when you realize that the Angels play the Rangers, A's and Mariners nineteen times apiece.

In any event, the series should be close.  It should be well pitched and low scoring.  I agree that it will go the limit.  I will take the Sox in five.