Projo Sox Blog

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

PICTURE'S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: And what more is there to say about last night?

The normal Baseball Today has been a casualty of late-night games; with the Red Sox playing late (and me working), it's difficult to produce it so early. It will return tomorrow and continue for the rest of the week, but for now a little glimpse at reaction in Southern California to the Angels' loss -- both in Game Four and the ALDS -- to the Red Sox:

UNIMPRESSED: Having lost to the Red Sox yet again -- that's now three ALDS defeats in the last five years to Boston, for those keeping score at home -- John Lackey wasn't about to go quietly into that good night. Much as he fumed at the fumble-fingered fielders behind him (they just love that, by the way), Lackey wasn't the picture of grace in defeat. Talking to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, among others, he trashed:

-- The Red Sox: "We lost to a team that's not better than us. We are a better team than they are."

-- Dustin Pedroia, describing his RBI double in the fifth as "a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and he's fist-pumping on second base like he did something great."

-- His own fielders: "The last two days, we shouldn't have given up [any runs]."

UNIMPRESSED MAYBE, BUT PHILOSOPHICAL: Chone Figgins chose a more zen-like approach, watching the Sox' celebration and wondering, "Once again, we're on their field, and they're celebrating. I'm just wondering: How does this keep happening?" (Los Angeles Times)

CAN'T BEAT 'EM? CHANGE THE RULES! The L.A. Times sports blog -- noting the team with the best overall record in baseball (which the Angels were this year) has only advanced to the World Series four times since 2000 -- suggests changing the Division Series to a 2-1-2 format, so the team with the better record has four home games out of five.

THANKS, FOLKS: The crowd at Fenway was derisively chanting Torii Hunter's name when he batted in the eighth inning with two on and two outs -- "Tor-ii! Tor-ii!" -- but he struck them silent with a single to right that tied the game. And he had a message for them: "Thanks for waking up a sleeping dog. They chanted my name, and I shut them up quick."

Then he added ruefully: "But I got shut up in the next inning."

IT'S HOW WE GOT HERE: There was no second-guessing Mike Scioscia's decision to squeeze with one one in the ninth -- a decision that, obviously, blew up on them (right) -- because the Angels say that's the way they've played all year. (Riverside Press-Enterprise)

COULDN'T SAVE ME: Howie Kendrick's miserable series could have been redeemed somewhat had the Angels pushed across the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth; it was he who bunted Reggie Willits over to third. But it wasn't to be. (Los Angeles Daily News)

NOW WHAT? Mark Teixeira has no plans through Halloween because that's how long he thought the Angels would be playing. (Los Angeles Daily News)

MAYBE IT WAS HALLOWEEN Gregg Patton says Fenway Park remains the Angels' personal house of horrors. (Riverside Press-Enterprise)

LOOKING AHEAD, PART ONE: Now begins what figures to be an offseason of great change for the Angels. (Riverside Press-Enterprise)

LOOKING AHEAD, PART TWO: Next up for the Red Sox are old friend David Chalk's "beloved Tampa Bay Devil Rays" -- yes, yes, that's what he calls them; forget the Devil, I like the fact that the "beloved" is always part of the name -- and he fires the first salvo of what should be a very interesting and entertaining week-and-a-half by ragging on Red Sox fans for chanting "Beat L.A.!" last night. (Bugs & Cranks) He thinks if they were looking ahead to the Dodgers in the World Series, they're foolish -- because, after all, they're not getting past his beloved Devil Rays -- and if they were referring to the Angels, they're stupid. In any case, he concludes:

"[Whether] you realize it or not, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will be unlike anything your great sporting city has ever faced. You might want to prepare yourselves."

Consider yourselves warned.

-- ART MARTONE

 Tags  Art Martone Boston Red Sox

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