Red Sox vs. Angels ALDS

If there is a series that past match ups don't mean anything, it is this series. The Angels beat the Red Sox 8 out of 9 games by a total of 61-33 this season. But at the same time we must consider that the Red Sox have knocked the Anaheim Angels out of the playoffs 2 times in the past 4 years, winning six straight games by a combined score of 44-16.But the 2007 series had a lot of Angels that were injured, the Angels were hobbled by injuries to outfielders Gary Matthews Jr., Vladimir Guerrero and pitcher Bartolo Colon, while outfielder Garret Anderson was hampered by conjunctivitis that led to a swollen right eye. Now its the Red Sox who have the injuries with Josh Beckett, JD Drew and Mike Lowell not at 100%. This makes for an interesting series and one to keep a close eye on.

Questions coming into this series:

Will Josh Beckett be Josh Beckett?
He is obviously a top 5 pitcher in postseason history and solidified it by winning game after game in last year's postseason. He was supposed to do it again, but it seems that a right oblique injury has something else in mind. Josh has been pushed to be the Game 3 starter and with that will come some uneasiness from the Red Sox faithful. Beckett is crucial for the teams playoff fortunes. Beckett hasn't been the same against the Angels this year, either. He went 0-2, allowing 20 hits and 11 earned runs in 13 1/3 innings.

How good are the Angels with Mark Teixeira?
This guy is the key cog for the Angels to get to the World Series, he sets the table for guys like Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson. In 54 games for the Angels after his July 29 trade from Atlanta, Teixeira hit .358 with a .449 on-base percentage, 13 home runs and 43 RBIs. Adding his four months with the Braves, Teixeira hit .308 with a .410 on-base percentage, 33 homers and 121 RBIs. Teixeira will need to drive in some runs and get on base so Boston can't pitch totally around cleanup batter Vladimir Guerrero.
Mark Teixeira

First Base
Los Angeles Angels
Profile

2008 Season Stats

GM	HR	RBI	R	OBP	AVG
157	33	121	102	.410	.308

Will Mike Lowell be effective?
Lowell has a hip injury which has allowed him to only have one at-bat since Sept. 16th. I don't see Mike being as good as he was last year which would make the Red Sox to move Kevin Youkilis to 3rd Base which would make them worse defensively. Without Lowell it severely impacts their chances of repeating, adding to the fact that Manny Ramirez isn't on the team anymore.

How good is the Angel's rotation?
The best. They have the best rotation in baseball and they have the wins to prove it. Not many rotations can say that their top 3 have combined for a 45-19 record. Ace John Lackey, who allowed 12 hits and 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings in his final start of the regular season, has not been the dominant pitcher that he was last year. But he did, for a change, pitch very well against the Red Sox this year: 2-0, 2.81 ERA, seven hits allowed in 16 innings. Joe Saunders has been slowed by a kidney stone, but he pitched well in a seven-inning start Sunday to end the season. Lackey, Saunders and Ervin Santana are better than most threesomes, but are they dominant? Do they even have to be, with that bullpen and that offense?

Can the Red Sox beat the Angels with their bullpen?
No. Justin Masterson has been the only consistent pitcher out of the pen for them that can be the bridge to Papelbon, but besides that, their relievers are inconsistent and need to come up big to keep the Red Sox in this series. Especially when you take into account that the bullpen might be heavily called upon when Josh Beckett pitches.

Conclusion:
The Red Sox have the injuries that the Angels were having last postseason. I see these injuries being the difference in a close series. Daisuke and Lester will get the job done, but the Angels have too much offensive firepower with Chone, Tex, Vlad, and if Kendrick comes back to full health. For the Red Sox to win this series they will need Pedroia and Ellsbury to be lights out at the plate. For the Angels, it will come down to how effective Mark Teixeira will be in to set the tone for the rest of the hitters.

Angels in 5.