A sample smattering of chatter about the Sox from the guys on the other side of the field.

The Angels almost beat the Red Sox at their own game, taking pitches and taking walks, then taking our emotions from despair to anticipation and back, then doing it again.

They had us believing. They were down four runs in the first inning, three runs in the fifth inning, two runs in the seventh inning, one run in the eighth.

And then -- holy Scott Spiezio! -- the Angels had tied the game. All even, into the ninth, with their record-setting closer on the mound.

David Ortiz, double. J.D. Drew, home run. Red Sox 7, Angels 5.

Halos Heaven:

Friday's game was grueling, but I was so pumped at the comeback to tie the game tonight that I thought, consciously, that the pain was finally over. I was pain free for about 3 seconds. And then Frankie threw that pitch to J.D. Drew.

Daily News:

Boston swept the Angels in the 2004 and 2007 division series and have defeated the Angels in 11 consecutive playoff games, dating to 1986. In Game 3, Sunday in Boston, the Angels must stay alive against Boston starter Josh Beckett, who has a 6-0career playoff record.

That will require putting together both hitting and pitching, something the Angels have yet to do in this series.

In Play, No Outs:

For all my criticism of Boston, their team has been run admirably over the last few years, with an emphasis on player development that stresses OPS over AVG and RISP2 hitting. The Angels have produced seemingly millions of slap-hitting outfielders, and in the American League, few teams are outslugged by the boys in red. Unless Moreno plans on extending the outfield walls to 600 feet away from the plate, the Halos will not win without more power. Too bad Teixeira is leaving.

OC Register:

Now the Angels trail Boston, 2-0, in a division deries that could end Sunday night in Fenway Park. The two have only met in three playoff series since 1986. Really, just three. It just seems like one of those annual ordeals, like April 15, or NFL draft day.

6-4-2:

I'm seriously thinking about not renewing my season tickets. I don't use half of them and when they get to the postseason, they roll over and die. This is just an obscenity. Seriously, guys, just take the draft picks for Tex and K-Fraud and rebuild.

Losers. Choke artists. I'm not watching Sunday. There's no point anymore.