TOUGH TO SEE ANGELS BEATING SOX

Sure, I’m a little tired of watching Boston clean Los Angeles’ clock in the ALDS lo these many years — but I’m not rooting for an upset. That’s not homerism, but a desire to see good baseball played. And for the Angels to win this series, Boston would have to play some really, really bad baseball.

Frankly, Boston has the edge in nearly every category that matters. Defense? Boston addressed that major weakness at the trade deadline. Pitching? Boston has a clear advantage in the first two games and is at least even in the third. Hitting? Boston’s offense is stacked with patient hitters ... and power hitters. The Los Angeles lineup just can’t compare. Even the one area where L.A. has a marked advantage — baserunning — is of limited utility against Beantown.

Yes, Boston has been abysmal when it comes to catching basestealers. But as Buster Olney noted on ESPN.com, the Sox have a pitching staff stacked with fireballers, and L.A. has a hard time hitting the cheese, as Eck likes to call it. For L.A. to exploit Boston’s weakness in throwing out basestealers, they have to get on base — and you can’t steal first.

Boston has owned the Angels in the ALDS so completely that it’s hard for even a superstitious Sox fan not to feel like the Angels are “due.” I’d feel warier if it weren’t for one constant: The Angels have always been a good team in a weak division going up against very good — even occasionally great — Red Sox ballclubs that have been toughened by a season-long slog through the brutal AL East.

The same is true this year, except that these 2009 Angels aren’t even as good as they have been in years past. I won’t crown the Red Sox before the series is played, but I will say that this series is Boston’s to lose. In a way, that does give L.A. one edge: They don’t have the pressure of expectation. As the underdogs, every run they score — every play they make — is gravy. Boston, by contrast, will have to cope with the pressure of being the favorite.

But that’s OK: That’s a role to which we’ve finally grown accustomed.

– Sarah Green also writes for UmpBump.com. She can be reached at sarah@umpbump.com. 

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