Angels Rally Against Papelbum - Knock Out Bosox

The Yanks did their part, sweeping the Twins in the ALDS, but the Sox fell way short on their end of the deal, getting blown out by the Angels in 3 games. The Angels have been knocked out of the playoffs numerous times by the Red Sox, even when it appeared the Angels had a more superior team than the Sox had on the field. This year though, the Angels buried all those ghosts, perhaps even the ghost of the late Donnie Moore, who blew the 1986 ALCS to Boston and later committed suicide.

I thought the Sox would turn the series around when they returned to Boston, the site where many teams seem to crap themselves and where the Red Sox benefit from many, many an umpire's call. It seemed the series was headed for a 4th game, when the Sox jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Jonathan Papelbum came on in the 8th with 2 on and 2 out in the 8th. He and his stupid closer face allowed a 2-run single to bring the Angels within 1-run. The Sox added an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th and with Papelbum retiring the 1st 2 batters, Game 4 appeared inevitable. But ol' Papelbum must have wanted to get home to his swamp in Mississippi, because he allowed an 0-2 hit to Erick Aybar, walked Chone Figgins on a full count pitch that nearly went over the umpire's head, then allowed Bobby Abreu to knock in a run with a double on a 1-2 count. Torii Hunter was intentionally walked, but Papelbum still clung to a 1-run lead. It lasted exactly one pitch. Vlad Guerrero singled home 2 runs to put the Angels up 7-6.

This is certainly a different Sox team - they quietly went down 1-2-3 in the 9th as the Fenway faithful looked shellshocked. I personally thought the Angels would fold against the Sox yet again. Even with a 2-0 lead in the series, I thought the Sox would win both games in Fenway and put a lot of pressure on the Angels in Game 5. As a Yankee fan, I would have much preferred the Sox as an opponent, too. One, just for the chance at knocking out the Sox, and Two, the Yanks match up so much better against the Sox then they do against the Angels. At the very least, I was hoping the Sox-Angels series would be a grueling affair, but the Angels breezed through this series.

It looks like it will be John Lackey-CC Sabathia in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

And it looks like a long winter for Boston. I only wonder what trades Theo Epstein will have up his sleeve - Roy Halladay? Felix Hernandez? Or will he sign free agents Matt Holliday and/or Marco Scutaro? Have we seen the last of Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield, too? It will be an interesting offseason in Beantown.