Series Preview: Boston vs Orange County

October 1, 2008 at 7:01 AM

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This is not 1986. This is not 2004. This is not 2007. The 2008 Halos are 100-62 and, on paper, the most complete team in baseball. Orange County limped into last year��s fall classic and got swept by a Red Sox team that outscored them 44-16 in three games, the biggest abuse of power this side of Sarah Palin.

In the offseason, they acquired all-star Torii Hunter who hit 21 round trippers and stole 19 bases while playing a consistent defense. Then, at the trading deadline, the 2002 World Champions pulled the boldest move of the Arte Moreno era by acquiring switch-hitting Mark Teixeira, who has only hit .358 with 13 HRs in 54 games. What is it with Scott Boras clients, they love being traded, don��t they?

The offense still revolves around Vladimir Guerrero, who led the team with a .303 average while hitting 27 homeruns, 91 RBIs, 85 runs, and his league leading 12th straight year of not having a strike zone. The free-swinging, hard-hitting Guerrero still puts the most fear into the opposing pitching staff. Best of all, unlike last year, the team is healthy and deep, 13 players played in over 79 games this year.

Pitching has always been the strength of Orange County and this year is no different. Their starters have all been consistent, winning 17, 16, 13, 12, and 11 between Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, Jon Garland, John Lackey, and Jered Weaver respectively. Their set up pitching, led by the electrifying Jose Arrendondo, Darren Oliver, and Scot Shields is virtually unhittable. Of course, every game begins to end with K-Rod, Francisco Rodriguez and his record setting 62 saves this season.

The local nine will counter with Jon Lester, who was last season in the post-season pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings to clinch the World Series in 2007, to face Lackey in game 1. Dice-K Matsuzaka versus the unhittable at home Ervin Santana in game two, and are hopeful October legend Josh Beckett will be able to pitch game three against staff ace Joe Saunders in game three at Fenway Park.

This year��s Sox are last year��s Halos. Boston is banged up and bruised, and without any feared hitters in the lineup. Since the trade of Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz looks more and more like David Arias. Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia have done their best MVP impressions, but neither can make a pitcher��s lip quiver like the mere presence of Manny in the batter��s box could.

It would put a false sense of hope into the fans to reminisce about the last three times Boston faced off against Orange County in the playoffs. It would put a false sense of hope to remind people that the wild-card team has won three of the last six playoffs. It would put a false sense of hope to stress that all the pressure is on the 100-win Halos, a team clearly built to win this year. It would put a false sense of hope to point out this writer still believes Boston has enough talent to win it all.

So I won��t do or say any of that, I��ll just leave you with this: Boston 3, Orange County 2. See you in the ALCS.

Categories: 2008 ALDS, Daisuke Matsuzaka, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Ervin Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, John Lackey, Jon Garland, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis, Mark Teixeira, Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero

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Discussion

10 Comments on "Series Preview: Boston vs Orange County"

Posted by Colin, October 1, 2008 9:19 AM

I'm confident in the Red Sox, but this is going to be one ugly ALDS/ALCS. I remember in 2005 after the triumphant win of the WS, Chicago took us to school. Now I fear it may be the Angels and if not them the Rays. Then again, the ALDS/ALCS has always been ugly for Boston while the NL competitor was a joke.

The Angels have a stellar lineup. They made us look bad and the Yankees even worse. That being said...I'm not as worried about our offensive prowess as much as I am our pitching. Lester and Dice-K are good, but they need to be 100% focused. We've seen what happens when Lester loses his cool...he gets butthurt and raped twice over by batters. This cannot pass in these playoffs. Beckett must regress into 2007 October Beckett otherwise all is lost. That's about it.

Posted by Sean O, October 1, 2008 10:23 AM

On Paper. Go Sox.

Posted by Tessie's Dad, October 1, 2008 11:08 AM

Oh, come on. A Sarah Palin joke? Leave politics out of this, please. Baseball should be an escape.

Posted by Ric, October 1, 2008 11:40 AM

this aint the 2005 season- that rotation was far less imrpessive than this season (as long as beckett can pitch effectively)

"Leave politics out of this, please. Baseball should be an escape."

ryan, dont listen to the cranky old warmonger- its a free country, write what you want :)

Posted by Colin, October 1, 2008 11:56 AM

Oh and I forgot one reason why the Angels took us to school. Two of the games had Clay Suchholz as the SP so that's two default wins for LA already. Every other game save for the 9-2 loss with Beckett (probably injured at the time), there has been a two-run difference. 6-4 Angels, 7-5 Angels, 4-2 Angels, 5-3 Angels, and 7-5 Angels. The only one we won was a 7-6 barnburner with Timlin getting the win.

We need to get those bats hot otherwise we're doomed. Close the run gap even more and we've got the Angels. We don't have Craig Hansen or Buchholz to fuck this up and MDC has gotten slightly better.

Posted by M.A.G, October 1, 2008 4:49 PM

The Angels are the better team right now. But we don't need to be the better team, we just need to win 3 games.

Remember the poll about what was the most important thing entering the playoffs? I was one of those who vote for "getting hot", and this is why...

And Tessie's Dad is right. Let's not talk about politics in here. I am from South America, and no one needs to scape from politics more than me :(

Posted by Mulligan, October 1, 2008 5:21 PM

If you gentleman need an escape- I would encourage you to avoid watching this particular series...because as a Sox fan you hope for advancement to the ALCS- but as a baseball fan I am confident you will not get it...hold tightly to last seasons victory and make way for a new champion...the rest of the baseball world is more than ready to see you knocked off the pedestal.

Posted by Bob, October 1, 2008 5:38 PM

Game 1 is huge. Lackey has always been a Red Sox doormat so it would be nice if history repeats itself. It works against us that Escobar got hurt and Weaver has been ineffective because the Sox always owned those two also and may not get to see them. The Red Sox haven't really faced Saunders or Santana that often so they're more wildcards than anything.

Posted by Tom A., October 1, 2008 5:41 PM

Hey Ryne,

Quick question...where'd the 44-16 coming from? Didn't the Red Sox win 4-0, 6-3, and 9-1? By my count that's 19-4, still a huge margin, but not quite 44-16. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you were saying though.

Enjoy the game tonight!

#10

Posted by Sam K, October 1, 2008 8:03 PM

On paper? I'm not so sure that they look better on paper at all. The won 100 games, but in a weak division. Our strength of schedule was good for the 3rd toughest in baseball (.515) while LA's was 9th (.502).

Then look at our expected W-L records. Both the Sox and the California LA Angels of Anaheim and Orange County allowed, basically, the same number of runs, as reflected in the fact that our team ERA's are virtually identical. But the Sox scored the 3rd most runs in all of baseball (845) while the Angels were a mediocre 15th, scoring about 100 fewer runs than we did. Our pitching is just as good as theirs, and our offense is much better. Our team defense ain't to shabby either.

All this means that our Expected W-L record blows theirs out of the water. The Angels are the 100-game winners in the standings, but if you do the math, you find that the Sox were expected to win 97 games and the Angels only 89.

On paper, I have to say, the Sox are clearly the better team. But the irony in all this, of course, is that the Angels get homefield advantage, regardless of the numbers, simply because they won more games, regardless of why they won them.

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