I hate the Red Sox

And everything they stand for. I am incredibly happy the Angels swept them this weekend, but we still got treated to this article by Dan Shaughnessy, a Sox beat writer. Here's a snippet:

But I can't rid myself of the images in my head. I see Manny's' majestic walkoff home run over the Coke bottles against K-Rod. I see Schilling baffling the Halos on sheer smarts and location. I see David Ortiz hitting a walkoff ALDS winner in '04. I see Chone Figgins - the Swiss Army knife of baseball players - struggling mightily in playoff games at Fenway.

Bleh. I can't rid myself of the image of smug Boston fans in pink hats and Schilling throwback jerseys all jumping on the back of a wagon...and that wagon rolling off a cliff.

If you're looking for a reason why the Angels haven't beaten the Sox in the playoffs, it's because they haven't hit. Vlad and Garret were both injured last season (Garret had that weird eye injury). Matthews was playing every day. And it seemed like every single one of their players went into a slump at the same time.

Maybe the pressure really does get to them. I'm especially hoping that Vlad can finally have a good playoff series to show that he doesn't disappear in the playoffs. On the other hand, it's a 5-game series, which is a really small sample size. Anything can happen. So let's not chalk this all up to "the Red Sox just know how to win in the postseason and the Angels don't." I do think the Angels could stand to get some more hitting for a playoff run, but let's review:

Vlad is starting to hit better, and has started to crush some balls, which is a good sign. He's also not going to be tired or hurt from doing a home run derby. Hunter is a good upgrade in the lineup over Matthews Jr. Howie Kendrick is a stud and now has playoff experience.

This team should start to hit a little better. And their pitching is just as good, if not better, than last year. Yeah, the Red Sox are scary. With Ortiz in the lineup, I think they're probably the best team in baseball. But if the Angels hit like they normally hit, they could take a series from Boston, even if every win was by one or two runs.

I hope the Angels beat the Red Sox in the playoffs to end this stuff.