There are a few things Red Sox fans know from recent past experience: 1. Never, ever count them out of a game or a series (see playoffs vs Yankees Circa 2004). 2. They often struggle against good teams during the regular season, especially when the pitching rotation does not match up (ie the Angels number one starter vs the Sox number five). 3. The Red Sox have been able to win in October. 4. Lately, the Angels have a better chance winning the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes in October than they do winning a playoff baseball game.
But, and this is a big but (not as big as Rosanne's butt, but big): The Angels have found a formula to help them win more games this year than last, and just added a HUGE bat to their line-up, which may push them over the edge.
With Monday night's game being the exception, the Angels do not normally have big innings. They piece together a few hits back-to-back, they take advantage of errors, they sacrifice runners along very well (Billy Beane, are you watching any of this?). As Terry Francona commented before tonight's game, when the game is over, you may have more hits against the Angels, but they often have more runs.
Mark Teixeira (why do the Angels insist on having players with names that no one can spell? Seriously, Chone!) is a second bat in their line-up prone to the big hit (read that: home-run). This may have been the answer they were missing last October.
And I'm not going to lie: as much as I love all things Disney, I loathe another World Series parade down Main Street at Disneyland. But until they win something while the New England fans are changing color and falling out of the trees, I'm going to assume the Angels are just another ride on It's a Small World; an annoyance, but a necessary part of any Disney experience.
Keywords: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels
