The Los Angeles Angels tried their best to make the American League Division Series against the Boston Red Sox interesting after losing their first two games at home in Anaheim. Clawing a game back at Fenway Park in extra innings to reduce Boston’s lead to a single game, the Halos were unable to overcome Boston’s roster depth in a win-or-go-home Game 4 on Monday.
Glad we traded
Putting the nail in the Angels’ playoff coffin, Canadian-born newcomer Jason Bay scored the winning walk-off run in the ninth inning off a Jed Lowrie single to right field. As Bay leapt into captain Jason Varitek’s arms at home plate, Manny Ramirez, whose trade brought Bay to Boston from Pittsburgh, was far from the minds of any Red Sox fans who might have retained some bitterness about shipping the melodramatic slugger off to the Dodgers.
Clutch performers
The ease with which the Red Sox overcame their West Coast opponents came as a surprise for fans and pundits looking at the series from a statistical point of view. Even Red Sox fans expected more of a fight from highly regarded Halos. The Angels were the best team in baseball in the 2008 regular season winning a massive 100 games (compared to Boston’s 95), but there is something about the Red Sox in the post-season that makes it difficult to bet against them. I don’t know how they do it, but as soon as October rolls around it is like there’s a totally different team stepping out on to the field.
Rays dangerous at home
The Red Sox are the playoff opposites of the Chicago Cubs – as the lights shine brighter, the Sox play better. Sure Fenway Park is a tough ball park to play in, but when the Red Sox are taking games from their opponents on the road as well you’ve got a playoff juggernaut that will be hard to slow down. The Tampa Bay Rays will definitely be feeling the pressure when they host Boston in the American League Championship Series at Tropicana Field in Florida. Having said that, home advantage has been something of a key factor for the Rays this season. When at least 30,000 of their fans have turned up to Tropicana Field to cheer, Tampa Bay has won 21 of their last 23 games.
From worst to first
Many expected the Rays to lose steam during the latter half of the season after an unprecedented worst-to-first start, but they have been doing just the opposite. The team with the second-lowest payroll in the league is now shoulder to shoulder with the Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies. They have a good, balanced offence and have welcomed the return of key players Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria who missed playing time earlier in the season.
Making history
The solid Rays’ bullpen will be a threat to Boston’s hopes of winning back-to-back World Series Championships if they can just get to that stage of the game with a lead. Grant Balfour was special in Rays’ last game against the Chicago White Sox, foiling superstar Ken Griffey Jr. who was struck out in the final pitch of the game to write the 2008 Rays into the history books, and send them into the American League Championship series for the first time. Their series against the Red Sox, where they will hope to make more history, begins on Friday.