American League Division Series: Los Angeles Angels vs. Boston Red Sox

Haven't we been here before? For the third straight season the Red Sox and Angels will meet in the American League Division Series. It'd get old if these two teams weren't so compelling.

Los Angeles has overcome incredible adversity to win the AL West -- an accomplishment that seems like old hat at this point. Boston, meanwhile, has flown under the radar in the second half while the Yankees steamrolled back to their customary position atop the AL East.

Between them, these two teams have won three of the last seven World Series. Four out of eight doesn't seem too unlikely does it?

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Series Schedule

G1	Oct. 8	Angels 5, Red Sox 0 | Box | Tom Krasovic	9:30 PM ET
G2	Oct. 9	Angels 4, Red Sox 1 | Box | Tom Krasovic	9:30 PM ET
G3	Oct. 11	Angels 7, Red Sox 6 | Box | David Steele	12 PM ET

Lineup
No.	Angels	Pos	Red Sox	Pos.
1	C. Figgins	3B	J. Ellsbury	CF
2	H. Kendrick	2B	D. Pedroia	2B
3	B. Abreu	RF	V. Martinez	C
4	V. Guerrero	DH	K. Youkilis	1B
5	T. Hunter	CF	D. Ortiz	DH
6	K. Morales	1B	J. Bay	LF
7	J. Rivera	LF	J. Drew	RF
8	M. Napoli	C	M. Lowell	3B
9	E. Aybar	SS	A. Gonzalez	SS
Rotation
1	J. Lackey	R	J. Lester	L
2	J. Weaver	R	J. Beckett	R
3	S. Kazmir	L	C. Buchholz	R
4	J. Saunders	L	D. Matsuzaka	R
CP	B. Fuentes	L	J. Papelbon	R
SU	K. Jepsen	R	B. Wagner	L
SU	D. Oliver	L	D. Bard	R
Scout's Eye View
"Trickery and changing speeds is not the answer; the team to beat them better bring power arms." Angels Scouting Report "With the style and fire they take the field with, it is crucial to jump on them early more than against any other club." Red Sox Scouting Report

Why the Angels Will Win

First of all, the Angels' offense is one of their most balanced in recent memory. At one point during the season, they were using a starting lineup with all nine hitters having a .300 batting average or better. They ended the season having nine players with an above average OPS (OPS+ of 101 or higher, and Erick Aybar's figure was 99).

This balance means the group as a whole is pretty immune to collective slumps. If two or three hitters are neutralized, the odds are in favor of two or three other guys picking up the slack, regardless of who is pitching against them. An X-factor? Vladimir Guerrero rediscovered his power stroke in August, but then struggled in September. We'll see which one shows up, but the Angels can carry on without him carrying them.

This is especially key in this series, because the Red Sox do have an off-and-on offense. Of the two teams, the Angels are the one immune to a series-long cold spell (such as what the Cubs suffered last season). When you have an inconsistent, yet still powerful, offense, you never know what's coming in October. The Angels do.

On the hill, the Angels are led by a prototypical postseason workhorse in John Lackey. He's the type of guy who could throw upward of 130 pitches and complete his own game in a hard fought, low-scoring contest. Jered Weaver had a rough stretch in the middle of the season, but he's buckled down. In his last seven starts, Weaver sported a 2.68 ERA. He'll be a reliable enough option for Game 2, and Scott Kazmir has good enough stuff to stymie the Red Sox as he did last year in Game 5 of the ALCS. He's thrived since being dealt to Anaheim, too, with a 1.73 ERA in six starts for the Angels.

With those three starters making four starts in a possible five games, the Angels have enough good pitching to complement their stellar offense and take the series.

-- Matt Snyder

Why the Red Sox Will Win

It'd be easy -- lazy even -- to point to history. The Red Sox have owned the Angels in October, winning all four meetings between the two teams in postseason play including last year's ALDS. Something good seems to happen almost every time Boston plays the Halos in the postseason. In 1986, 2004 and 2007 the Sox went through Los Angeles to the World Series, winning titles in the latter two seasons.

But if any team is proof that history doesn't matter in the postseason, it is the Olde Towne Team.

The Red Sox will not be able to rely on their past, but luckily for them they can fall back on a deep and balanced roster. It starts with power pitching. Boston had the second-most strikeouts in the American League, a tribute to a pitching staff that can miss bats to the very last man in the bullpen. Josh Beckett's ailing back, Clay Buchholz's struggles in his final two starts, Daisuke Matsuzaka's control issues and Daniel Bard's sporadic bouts with Farnsworth-itis represent causes for concern, but the ability to miss bats is as important as anything in the postseason, and the Red Sox can do that against anyone, even a lineup as potent as the Angels'.

The offense is not what it was when David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez formed one of the greatest 3-4 combinations since the days of Ruth and Gehrig, but midseason acquisition Victor Martinez has restored plenty of the punch to the lineup, giving Boston a deep and varied lineup. Red Sox hitters have been prone to hot-and-cold runs in 2009, but they still scored more runs than every other team in the American League save the rival Yankees and their first-round opponents.

Boston's two recent titles have been built on depth as much as anything else and it's hard to find a manager in the playoffs who will have more options at his disposal -- whether in the bench or the bullpen -- than Terry Francona. Underestimate these Red Sox at your peril, and don't count on the Angels' hex against Boston in October coming to an end this year.