| Craig Sternberg. 8th October, 2009 - 3:31 pm
 The Angels are beginning their trek to win their first World Series title since 2002 and standing in their way is unsurprisingly their longtime arch-nemesis Boston Red Sox. Boston has owned the Angels in recent memory, having won nine of the last 10 postseason games against the Angels. Could this year be different? Below are the keys to the Angels success against the Red Sox in the 2009 ALDS:
Guerrero, Lackey and Sciosica need to deliver:
This point seems fairly obvious; the best players on the team need to step up in the biggest moments of the season. This logic applies to any team of course, but there is much more at stake than usual with Vladimir Guerrero, John Lackey and Mike Scioscia; the team's best hitter, best pitcher and one of the best managers in all of baseball respectively over the past five years. Both Guerrero and Lackey are ready to test the free agent market this October and Mike Scioscia is vying to be one of the greatest managers of this generation, this could be the most important playoff series of their careers.
Guerrero is undoubtedly one of the best hitters of this decade, but with Vlad as the primary piece of the Angels organization, the team has yet to take home a World Series title. Vlad has often struggled in the playoffs, over-swinging and overcompensating due to the lack of depth in the lineup behind him in the past, which has led to a .240 career postseason batting average. Luckily for Guerrero, he is no longer the team?s best player, nor does he have to carry the offense by himself. Regardless of that, he will be hitting 3rd or 4th throughout the series leaving him as a crucial part to the Angels success if they want to advance to the next round. Vlad has struggled throughout September, but if he can return to his old form, the Angels will certainly fair better against the Red Sox this time around.
Unlike Guerrero, Lackey has been an instrumental part of winning a World Series title for the Angels. Lackey, in his rookie season, started Game 7 of a World Series and went on to win that game with many predicting that one day he would be one of the top pitchers in baseball. Since then, Lackey has been a solid workhorse for the Angels, but has been just a notch below the rest of the elite pitchers in the league. Lackey has often struggled against the Red Sox, especially when pitching in Fenway Park. He now has a chance to up his game and show that he is a true number one pitcher and be paid as such this offseason by stepping up big this postseason, relinquishing the stigma of living off his 2002 World Series wins. If Lackey takes care of the Red Sox in Game 1, the Angels will be in the driver's seat to winning the series as Weaver, Kazmir and Saudners have all historically succeeded against the Red Sox. If Lackey loses the first game, the thoughts of ?here we go again? could very well creep into the Angels psyche and take them completely out of this series.
Scioscia has been an instrumental part of turning the Angels into a respectable force to be reckoned with year in and year out. Scioscia is always considered one of the better managers in the game and faced his toughest challenge yet this year and handled it in stride. With the death of Nick Adenhart, the team very well could have folded and underachieved, but instead the team overachieved and played some of its best baseball in franchise history.
Not enough can be said about the job Scioscia has done with the Angels over the years, but he has made some questionable decisions in the playoffs that have greatly affected the outcome of some of the biggest games in recent Angel history. Going for the suicide squeeze with Erick Aybar last year against the Red Sox late in the game cost them a chance at getting back into the series and left many scratching their heads. Opting to have Josh Bard catch against the White Sox led to one A.J. Pierzynski?s more famous controversial plays. In order for Sciocsia to show that he is the best manager in the game today, he has to out manage Terry Francona in this series if the games get close and put his team in its best position to win. Francona has two World Series titles in the past five years and in order for Scioscia to put all the naysayers to rest, the Angels have to do well in this series.
Baserunning:
Baserunning is one of the more important aspects to the Angels national league style offense for the past several years. Putting pressure on the opposing team, stealing bases, going first to third, suicide squeezes, are all integral parts to the Angels attack. The Angels haven?t had to run as much this year as they have in the past, as the offense is much more balanced. But in order to win this series, the Angels will have to keep the pressure on the Red Sox, one of the easiest teams to steal bases against in the MLB. The Angels will have to be smart about how they apply pressure on the Red Sox, as they don?t have to be as reckless as they have been in the past to manufacture runs. The offense is capable enough as is, but applying pressure at the right moments can lead to disaster for the Red Sox pitchers and catchers. Look for the Angels to steal more bases and find ways to go first to third in critical situations putting themselves in situations to succeed.
Bullpen:
The Angels bullpen isn?t nearly as strong as it has been in the past and is going to be a huge point of contention throughout the series and puts more and more pressure on the starting rotation to do well and go deep into games. With Jose Arredondo's struggles, Scot Shields out for the year, Kevin Jepsen having dead arm problems and Brian Fuentes almost having lost the closer position, the Angels have serious question marks. While Fuentes has had a good year statistically, its obvious he will not strike the fear of god into the other hitters in the bottom of the 9th nor will he just blow guys away. He?s going to have to find ways to get outs in big time situations anyway as Scioscia has been keen on the young and talented Jepsen. Jepsen himself has had problems recently, having to pitch multiple innings on numerous occasions throughout the season, Jepsen has had dead arm recently resulting in him having to rest for a few days. Since his return he hasn?t pitched well leading many to believe the young pitcher is simply put out of gas this late in the season. One key to the bullpen's success could be the use of Ervin Santana, who could very well be available in some key relief situations.
Other Intangibles:
Bobby Abreau has been huge for the Angels this season, completely changing the complexion and the mentality of the Angels line up. It is important for him to continue being the Bobby Abreau he?s always been, bleeding pitch counts and setting an example for the rest of the lineup. His leadership combined with Torii Hunter, who have not been in the Angels vs Red Sox rivalry long, can help keep the clubhouse calm when things go bad. Both will have to lead by example not only on the field, but in the clubhouse to make sure some of these young players play the best ball they can.
This team is filled with young hitters and while most of them have struggled in the past during the playoffs, it?s important they too step up their game. Pretty much all of them have some playoff experience, players like Kendry Morales, Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, and Mike Napoli will all have to continue to play well in order for the Angels to succeed. None of the Angels major prospects over the years have yet to breakout into a household name and without one of these kids stepping up, it could spell trouble for the Angels quickly in the playoffs.
The depth in the pitching staff is almost impossible to stack up against in the playoffs. After Lackey, each starter has had success against the Red Sox. Weaver has posted a 0.66 era against the Red Sox this year; Kazmir has a 1.73 era since being acquired by the Angels has owned the Red Sox in the past as has Joe Saunders. This depth going up against a Josh Beckett who has had back problems toward the end of the season, a young Clay Buchholz and a just coming back from injury Dice K give the Angels a clear edge in starting rotation depth. |
