Day 70: Red Sox Beat Up Angels Twice (And Now Will Be Going to Hell.)

Another tough team, another series won. Although their record doesn't exactly show it, the LA Angels have the means to be one scary lineup. Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols—it barely lets up batters one through nine. But that's if they're all on their game. Right now, not so much.

How much are they paying again for Hamilton to hit .212? (Which, just for the record, is below his weight.) Oh yeah, $133 million over five years... and to think the Red Sox actually tried to sign this dead beat. And Pujols? A career .322 hitter, is struggling this year, currently batting just .242. Ten years, $240 million and that's the production you get out of the big man?

I'm sure at some point this season, they'll all come around and click at the same time and go on some ridiculous tear where they start to sneak up on the AL West leaders. I hope so... I picked them to win the west. But for now, they're floundering just a bit.

When they trounced the Sox 9-5 in the first game of yesterday's double header, I was convinced the weekend was going to be a total washout. When will I learn? When is it going to sink into my fat head that this Sox team is like the Goonies—never say die. Boston came back in the night cap and turned the tables on the Angels behind yet another masterful outing from Clay Buchholz, who, by the way, is 9-0 with a still major league leading 1.71 ERA.

Today's game featured the long ball—giving LA a taste of its own medicine. David Ortiz hit his 13th of the season in the third with two guys on to break a 1-1 tie and give the Sox a lead they would never surrender. Jarod Saltalamacchia and Mike Carp followed with back-to-back solo shots in the sixth and then Salty struck again in the eight with a three-run homer to put the game firmly out of reach.

I'm telling ya... if the Sox can continue to take at least two out of three from these tough opponents, I'll be happier than a hobo with a hotdog. Although a sweep is aways preferred, naturally.