The Boston Red Sox season is over as the Los Angeles Angels completed the sweep of the Sox in Fenway Park yesterday.  The Red Sox could not keep a 5-1 lead, and closer Jonathon Papelbon gave up three runs in the ninth inning to lose the game.  Vlad Guerrero got a two run single in the ninth to put the Angels up for good.  The Red Sox, who have been killing the Angels in recent postseasons, were the ones who were dominated in this year’s series.

The Red Sox hitters seemed to all go into a slump once this series started.  Pedroia, Youkilus, Ortiz, and Ellsbury all hit .250 or lower in this series.  Big Papi was the worst, getting only one hit and going .081 in the series without an RBI.  The bullpen hurt them a lot too and the Red Sox looked stunned after being swept yesterday.  The Angels were hot and the Red Sox were not and they will look to ride the momentum into the ALCS.  They are facing the New York Yankees though, and they are just as hot if not hotter than the Angels right now, so it should be a good series.

While the Red Sox have only scored 1 run in two games against the Angels two players have really stuck out as reasons why. “Big Papi” is 0 for 8 with 4 whiffs as he doesn’t seem to have a clue against the Angels. The Angels have been making Ortiz look like the player he was in the first half of the season. Mike Lowell also is looking his age against the Angels as he is 0 for 7. Maybe the Red Sox should shake things up in the next game and let Varitek play while shifting Martinez to 1B and Youkilis to third base to try to jolt the offense.

Jacoby Ellsbury is the only player on the Boston Red Sox with more than 1 hit in this series. He is 2 for 7 (.286 avg, .859 OPS) with a triple and a run scored. He has been doing his part getting on base but if he doesn’t start getting some help the Red Sox will be going home until spring training soon.

The Boston Red Sox look like they have lost their edge over the Los Angeles Angels in the postseason.  The Red Sox dominance over them in the playoffs has ended, as the Angels took a 2-0 lead in their ALDS against the Red Sox.  Josh Beckett pitched well for the Red Sox until the Angels big 7th inning, where they scored three runs.  The Angels’ starting pitcher Jered Weaver was outstanding in his second career postseason start.  Weaver gave up one run in 7.1 innings pitched and struck out seven on only two hits.  The Red Sox really need to wake their bats up, or they are going to get swept.

The Red Sox have never been happier to return home, as they are now up against the ropes and every game is win or go home.  The Red Sox bats were dead in Los Angeles, and they really need their big hitters like David Ortiz to start coming through for them.  They only managed to get six total hits in two games in LA, and if this trend continues the Sox have no chance.  The Angels have shown more energy and urgency and it looks like they just want it more.  The Red Sox really need to get it together and realize they don’t have the mental advantage they thought they had over the Angels and their recent dominance over them is over.  The Angels are now the ones looking dominant and the Sox need to defend their home-field or they will be done.

The Boston Red Sox looked like a different team in their 5-0 game one loss to the Los Angeles Angels.  The Angels have gotten over the Red Sox postseason dominance of recent years, and they made a statement in game one.  The Red Sox need to realize this series is probably going to be a dogfight if they are going to win it.  The defense really needs to step it up, as they had three errors in game one.  The Red Sox did a terrible job with runners in scoring position in game one, as they went 0-5 in those situations.  David Ortiz needs to put the ball in play and not try and hit a homer every at bat, as he had three strikeouts and went 0-4 in game one.  The only thing looking good for the Red Sox going into this game is their starting pitcher, Josh Beckett.  Beckett has proven he is a big-game pitcher and has the ability to completely shut down the Angels’ offense.

Jered Weaver is starting for the Angels tonight, and the right-hander does not have a lot of postseason experience.  The Red Sox are going to try and take advantage of that, and their big bats could get some homers against Weaver as he gave up 26 HR’s in 33 starts this season.  He also has given up two HR’s in seven postseason innings pitched.  Weaver is a good pitcher though, so if he is on his game the Red Sox will need to figure out a way to manufacture some runs.  The Red Sox do not want to go down 0-2 against this Angels team, as they seem determined to finally get past Boston in the playoffs.  This could be a very close game that comes down to the final innings, but if Beckett brings his A-game than the Red Sox will be in good shape.