Trading places
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- In the final days of July 2008, the baseball landscape was decisively altered. That was when Mark Teixeira went to Los Angeles. That was when Manny Ramirez left Boston. That was when the Angels and Red Sox all but swapped identities and philosophies.
So now here we are, on the eve of October, and let there be no doubt: The Los Angeles Angels are the team to beat in the American League. They won 100 games this season while finishing with a winning percentage of .585 or better against the AL East, Central, and West; during the second half of the season, the Angels hit more home runs and scored more runs (albeit in two more games) than the Red Sox did. Along the way, the delicate balance of power shifted from the east to the west.
"They're the best team we've faced," one Red Sox official said of the Angels.
Those words were uttered months ago, before the Angels added a slugger and the Red Sox lost one, a proverbial two-game swing that resulted in a familiar Hollywood script. From "Freaky Friday'' to ""Trading Places" to ""Like Father, Like Son,'' the storyline is generally the same. The principals swap bodies and/or identities, and each gets to experience life on the other side.
In this case, the principals might as well have switched uniforms.
As most every Red Sox follower is certain to point out in the next 24-36 hours, there are more than just five months difference between April and October; the games now are entirely different. The Angels had home field advantage against the Red Sox in 2004 only to be unceremoniously swept from the first round of the playoffs in three lopsided games. Last year, the series opened in Boston and the Angels similarly were blown off the field.
In such cases, history is a convenient crutch, though we all know the truth: Those games mean nothing now. The Los Angeles lineups encountered by the Sox in 2004 and 2007 were quite different from the one the Sox will encounter now, and not solely because of Teixeira's arrival. Torii Hunter has since joined these Angels, arriving as a free agent in the offseason. Garret Anderson is healthy this year (unlike last) and someone like Jose Guillen has not been suspended (as he was in 2004), which means that Red Sox pitchers are going to have a far more difficult time pitching to the Angels in 2008 than they did in either '04 or '07.
Please, don't rely on history as a factor in this series. Of all people, Boston fans should know better. If the Red Sox win Game 1 and doubts start creeping into the heads of Angels players, it has a great deal more to do with mental toughness (or lack thereof) than it does with anything that took place on the field last year or in '04.
Relative to '04 and '07, Red Sox pitchers are going to have their hands full in this series because the Angels can score in more ways now. Since joining the Angels, Teixeira has batted .358 with 13 home runs, 43 RBIs, 39 runs scored and 32 walks (against just 23 strikeouts) in 54 games; he has slugged .632 and has an OPS of 1.081. During that same period of time, Garret Anderson has been all but reborn, batting .335. (He went 8 for 10 in his first two games with Teixeira in the lineup.) Meanwhile, Vladimir Guerrero went from batting .284 and slugging .478 (before Teixeira) to hitting .345 and slugging .614 (after Teixeira).
But then, given where we live, we should hardly be surprised. By now, we should understand the impact a great hitter can have on a lineup.
In this case, as far as the Red Sox are concerned, the departure of Manny Ramirez now looms larger amid the uncertainty surrounding Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew, each of whom is injured. In last year's division series, as if flipping a switch, Ramirez morphed from a deteriorating Hall of Famer into a force again, going 3 for 8 with two homers (one a game-winner against Francisco Rodriguez that is now somewhere over Canada) and five walks; the ripple effect on the Boston lineup was tremendous. No less an authority than Theo Epstein admitted the Sox were a "different team" when Ramirez (in particular) and David Ortiz were firing on all cylinders, and that explosiveness is something the Sox no longer possess.
Said Cleveland manager Eric Wedge during the Indians' visit top Fenway Park last week: "For a while there, when you thought about Boston, you thought about those two guys in the middle, who were probably one of the great combinations of all-time."
If all of this is interpreted as some suggestion that the Sox erred in dealing away Ramirez, that is not the point; rather, it just means that the Red Sox are now facing an opponent with more firepower, something that would be true even if Drew and Lowell were fully healthy. Earlier this month, when the Sox were in Tampa, one player said he was convinced that the Red Sox would not have been preparing for the postseason had Ramirez remained with the club. As is the case with any trade, the Red Sox had to give something to get something.
The Red Sox need to beat the Angels differently now -- with pitching, defense and speed as much as with power. They need to avoid big mistakes against the middle of the Los Angeles lineup. They need to keep Angels' tablesetters off the bases. And they need to maximize their scoring opportunities because they don't have the kind of lineup that can be counted on to land the big blow.
The other guys are bigger, stronger, and scarier now.
More than anyone, the Red Sox should understand what they are up against.
Comment
Permalink
Email
On paper, this looks like the Angels win it in four. In every area, especially now with Beckett pushed back and Drew and Lowell nowhere near 100 percent, if they contribute at all. The Sox shouldn't win this series. BUT, if they win one of the first two, anything can happen. The home field advantage is sizable, Beckett could be pitching in game 3, with Lester, almost unbeatable at home in Game 4. And even if the series shifts back to Anahiem for Game 5, the Sox are loaded with guys who have won so many clutch games over the years, something nobody on the Angels has done. My head says the Angels, but I woulnd't be surprised if Sox prevail.
Another cool insight, Mazz. I'm sure your Tufts professors are wondering how you ever managed to avoid using the term 'doppelganger' in this piece...
For several years now, the Angels have been a well managed, force-the-issue team -- with a big donut hole reading 'Insert Power Hitter Here.' Their style was good enough to capture lightening several years ago, but now they are stout enough to beat everybody, win a slugfest or two as well as one run games, and even dominate on the road. (It's a little like the Sox filling a donut hole by adding a top closer going into '04.) .This could be a bad year for the Sox to be banged up.
Are you all kidding me!!! We ARE the defending champs with three studs starting for us. Until the Angels prove it in crunch time against us, how can you pick against the SOX. Banged up or not I like the SOX in three. Get out the brooms baby.
How many games would the Sox have won not being in the toughest division in baseball and playing the Mariners and Rangers 12 times a year? They won 95 in the toughest. Don't care what they did in 04 and 07.. Except win WS's with pitching and defense..
Playoffs are about pitching. The Sox have superior pitching and enough hitting to win this series.
It's time to stop moaning about injuries and lamenting the loss of M.Ramirez. Enough already.
Don't take anything for granted.. I wont, Not anymore. Yea the Angels are a great team, But they are beatable.. everyone is. It's the playoffs, this is were you separate the men from the boys.. Remember never take anything for granted, and nothing is guaranteed.. Just look at the Super Bowl, Who saw that coming.
Sox in 5. I'd bet all my stock on it.
Split in California - or else. Pretty simple, really.
The Angels are certainly a good team and have a more balanced lineup than in past years. But Garrett Anderson and Tori Hunter are two of the most overrated players in the league. Especially Anderson, despite Joe Morgan's (Reds) fondess for him. He hit 15 home runs and had a .325 obp in a full season (577 ABs). And despite his "rebirth" hit one HR in 90 AB in September - with Teixeira in the lineup. Figgins is also banged up and hasn't been as productive this year. This team won 100 games on deep starting pitching and an excellent bullpen. But Lackey has been terrible down the stretch - an ERA of nearly 8.00 for the last month of the season (26 innings). And they don't have that proven ace who can deliver in the playoffs (although with Beckett's status the same can be said for Sox).
The only "history" that matters here is that good pitching ALWAYS beats good hitting in the playoffs. I like our starting 3, provided Beckett's oblique is not as serious as some have speculated. The bullpen has been much better late in the season and Paps will protect 90% of the leads he gets. As for hitting, the Sox have lead the league in OBP this year and are 3d in team average -- that is where they will have the advantage in getting more opportunities to win with speed. The Kotsays, Lowries, Crisps, et al, will do enough if Drew and Lowell can't go. Big Papi, Youk, Pedy, Bay and the rest will "getter dun". Sox in 4.
This article is right on. I believe you will see good pitching from all the Sox starters. Unfortunately I forsee a Sox offensive power outage on the horizon.
Game 1: Lester puts up a fight, but the bullpen blows it. We lose 4 to 1.
Game 2: Dice_K will have pitched 120 pitches by the sixth ining and will have given up four runs. Final score of game two, 5 - 2
Game 3: Becket won't be able to pitch, so Byrd gets the start (not Wakefied), and gets out dueled 4 - 1.
if Sox can't do it, go Cubbies!!!
The Angels scored 6 more runs in 2 more games. Not exactly impressive. And who cares who had more home runs? Is that a tie-breaker now? No doubt the Angels are a VERY good team, but they played in the AL West and not in the AL East where they didn't have a team like the Blue Jays, Yankees or Rays to contend with. Sox are are damn good team too. Should be a great series and I expect the Sox to win in 5
I don't know what player said the Red Sox don't get into the postseason if Manny Ramirez stayed on the team but they should be horsewhipped. No less than Jerry Remy himself said during the Yankee series and the Angels series when Manny came out guns blasting that no matter the controversy he didn't let that effect his hitting. (Don't bother with your blather about him not running down the first base line in the Angels game. Sick of hearing about that. I didn't see Lowell or Varitek running it out either but I guess no one had stop watches on them.) Anyway, Manny was unhappy before. It never stopped him from slugging.
Angels had the best record in baseball, and beat the Sox badly in the season series. They have a potent offense, and great management in my opinion.
However, if there is one cliche that rings true in the overwhelming majority of baseball postseasons, it is this: starting pitching wins championships. I'll take the Sox top 3 in the rotation (even with Beckett injured) over ANY in baseball. The Angels top 3 would have to fall somewhere between 5th and 10th best in baseball - really not that impressive at all. I'm not saying the Sox are the team to beat just because of their starting rotation, but if I owned the best team in baseball (the Angels), the Red Sox would be the last team I'd want to play.
Everyone seems to be counting us out and we haven't even taken a swing or thrown a pitch yet! Yeah we're banged up, but the last time I checked our heart was still intact! I like our team and our chances! Go Red Sox!
I hope the series between the Red Sox's and the Angels is very exciting.
I am rooting for the angels this year. I already saw the Sox do great things.
I am also rooting for the Phillies.
I am writing from a hotel in Philadelphia listening to ESPN.
Google Jeff Fisher Jane Bowell World Peace
Contact is ALGOREJEFFFISHER@LIVE.com
Everyone say a prayer for the passing of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski
Lets get America restored and then lets all go out to the ballgame and have popcorn, beer and nuts and candy and lots of fun.
Dear Scott,
Bitter much? You said, "Sox are loaded with guys who have won so many clutch games over the years, something nobody on the Angels has done."
Did you forget 2002, or are you just TRYING to forget that Series? I still remember it, as a former OC resident. I was even at Game 6--you remember--down 5-0 in the 7th and coming back to win--that's not clutch? There are plenty of guys still left over from that squad--Anderson, Rodriguez, Lackey, to name a few. Since then there have been plenty of good moments both during the regular and postseason that give lie to your claim. Tell me--when is San Fran going to get fitted for those World Series rings? Oh, that's right--they choked away the only chance they'll ever get.
Face it, your ignorance, willful or not, of the Angels, is going to come back to haunt you. They went 8-1 against a much better (read: with Manny) Sox that weren't hurt to the degree they are now.
Enjoy that 2008 Wild Card banner--it's the only one you're going to get.
Angel fans finally feel good about facing Boston. Vald finally has some proctection with Mark Tex & Torri Hunter. Our 3 man rotation (Lackey, Saunders, & Santana) is as good if not better than any team in the postseason. Our bullpen is looking good towards the end of the season and with K-Rod slaming the door shut its just not Bostons year. Its best that the Sox have an early round exit, so all you Sox fans can catch the Abercrombie & Fitch sale to get those wicked awsome cagro shorts that I swear sell at Fenway.
Nice sign. They forgot the apostrophe in Angel's, though.
You mention mental toughness as the key factor, which is huge. I agree completely, but to me the redsox have over any team in the playoffs. If mentally, they can overcome a likely blow (lowell and beckett), they will be able to succeed... this isnt going to come down to pitching matches and home run fests anymore, its going to come down grinding baseball, thats how we got our 95 wins... i think we can do it
Wow, everyone picking the Angels, huh?
The Sox have better starting pitching and their lineup puts on tougher ABs...
There's a reason the grinding Sox have dominated the free-swinging Angels in the playoffs the last few years, and that trend will continue in the next couple weeks..
Sox in 4
Hard to argue with any of Tony's assessments, or those of the first two commentators. If by some miracle/sleight-of-hand the Sox sneak past the Angels and then somehow survive the ALCS, I'm wondering whom people would most like to see them play in the Series. As great an apocalyptic moment as would be a showdown between the Red Sox and Cub Nations, what would really intrigue me would be a series against Manny's Dodgers. Just imagine: Manny at the plate with two on (one of them Nomar?) and two out in game 7, Dodgers trailing by two runs and Papelbon on the mound. Would you walk him in that situation, or go after him?
No clever prose needed.....we simply do not have the fire power that we posessed lat year at this time. We have not been able to produce a power game vs better teams in the league
Mazz, nice article. Level headed and balancing good opinion and argument.
Now, honestly, if Lester and Matsuzaka go 7 innings, we win both games there. Why? I see Pedroia and Youkilis coming up huge, and Papi may have turned the corner. If Ellsbury or Coco are getting on base, we'll score. They are that distracting, I think. Just my 2 cents.
Wow Mazz great piece !!!! the facts are that since August 1st the Sox have more wins, less losses, scored more runs and let up fewer than the Angels and played 2 fewer games. I use August 1st because it was the day the Sox became a team once again. The time frame between the all star game and when Manny left is basically irrelevant since Manny was squeezing the life out of the organization which also was the time the Angels ran off 6 straight against the lifeless Sox. I am not saying the Sox will win but your article is a piece of useless statisical dribble.
Manny is a head case as the Dodgers will eventually find out. I would like to see the Dodgers make a good showing, but Manny and Garciaparra are two babies that cry more than they play baseball.
I'm so tired of hearing how weak this team is without Ramirez...how much we're going to miss him....how the balance of power has shifted and how difficult it will be to compete without Lowell and Drew in the lineup. WAKEUP Red Sox Nation!! This team has played it's best baseball over the last third of the season DESPITE these "disadvantages" and against some very tough competition in highly pressurized games. In the process, they also figured out how to win on the road.
Granted, the Angels are healthy and loaded with talent but they haven't endured the fire as have the Sox. We play in the same division as NY, TB, and Toronto while they compete against Seattle, Texas, Oakland. We've been in virtual playoff
mode every other week and have weathered the storm.
As great as it would be to have Lowell and Drew back in action, I'm overjoyed that we're competing so well without Manny and his distraction and character issues. It's a discredit to the men on this team who have rebounded and moved on and risen above the obstacles that anyone suggest how weak this team is without him.
This is an interesting series for the sox. Losing Beckett for game one hurts but with days off in between, I think they have a good shot. They need to find a way to pick up a split in LA and give the ball to Beckett in Game three and five. The Angels on paper are probably a better team but the sox have done pretty well for themselves this year even with injuries and if they can get hot quick LOOK OUT!
If we can past the Angels I think we'll be looking at back to back WS wins.
Mazz is a tool.
Always looking to create controversy and not look like a homer.
Nice article chump.
I cannot honestly count the Sox out after witnessing 2004 and their amazing turnaround against Cleveland in the 2007 ALCS. Plus, while the Angels are certainly "The" team to beat, they also have a tradition of floundering in playoff games. This will be a very interesting series, no doubt.
Ingrid, you remain as indispensable as ever - come back home to Staniford!
I'm so tired of hearing how weak this team is without Ramirez...how much we're going to miss him....how the balance of power has shifted and how difficult it will be to compete without Lowell and Drew in the lineup. WAKEUP Red Sox Nation!! This team has played it's best baseball over the last third of the season DESPITE these "disadvantages" and against some very tough competition in highly pressurized games. In the process, they also figured out how to win on the road.
Granted, the Angels are healthy and loaded with talent but they haven't endured the fire as have the Sox. We play in the same division as NY, TB, and Toronto while they compete against Seattle, Texas, Oakland. We've been in virtual playoff
mode every other week and have weathered the storm.
As great as it would be to have Lowell and Drew back in action, I'm overjoyed that we're competing so well without Manny and his distraction and character issues. It's a discredit to the men on this team who have rebounded and moved on and risen above the obstacles that anyone suggest how weak this team is without him.
angels in 3
angels win first 2
sox folds in third.........no contest.
Just for the record, I told you so !
(please refer to comment #31 made before series start)
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
is taking a few days off to celebrate the arrival of summer.
Updated: Jun 20, 10:42 AM
Mazz on Twitter
About Mazz
Tony's Top 5
Things to eat during the summer
Updated: Jun 20, 11:10 AM
Featured Comments
No rush to anoint RondoCelticFanSinceRussell
In Boston, Bay starsMhaze
Featured blogs
Browse This Blog
by categoryTalk to Mazz
INside Boston.com