John Lackey, sore loser

Last time I checked, Angels pitcher John Lackey was pouting on the mound everytime one of his fielders made an error. It's funny. I don't remember watching those same teammates stomping around when Lackey gave up one of his 26 home runs this season, which tied him for fifth in the league. But the pitcher's post-game comments are the best.

"We lost to a team that's not better than us," he grumbled. "We are a better team than they are. The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything."

Or this:

"[Sunday] night they scored three runs on a pop fly that was called a hit, which was a joke," he said, talking about Jacoby Ellsbury's popup that fell in front of center fielder Torii Hunter in Game 3.

"[Monday] night they scored on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and he's [Pedroia] fist-pumping on second base like he did something great."

So what is the proper response to a heart-breaking loss? Try Reggie Willits.

"I think they're a great ball club and I think we're a great ball club," he said. "I think we could've just as easily won that series as they did. A few breaks go your way, but that's part of it in the playoffs.

"When you get in the playoffs, it doesn't matter what your record is in the regular season, it doesn't matter for anything. It just matters if you're hot at the time and if you're playing well and if you get a few breaks to go along with it."