The Nationals head into Anaheim with a better record than the Belinskys. Which shows you just how disappointing the Halos season has been. The Angels are one game under .500, but they’re struggling. And for good reason. They rank 11th in the American League in runs, 10th in homers, and tenth in OBP. Of course, as Angels fans will tell you, they’ve been getting a lot better lately, taking successive series from the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets and Mariners. But it wasn’t always this way.

A deflating early June fold against the Rays in Tampa (in which they were outscored, 13-5), followed by a disheartening showing against the Royals (in which they were trounced in Anaheim in the last game, 9-0), suggests that the Angels are no longer one of the A.L.’s elite — a comeuppance equal to their 2010 finish, in which they ended the season looking up at the both the White Elephants and once-lowly Rangers. That put them ten games back and an embarrassing two games under .500.

So what’s happened to the Angels? Well, while they’ve gotten younger (their roster is actually younger, on average, than the Nationals), their marquee players (Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu) are reaching the end of the line. Hunter is 35 and Abreu is 37. Abreu is hitting well, at .285, but he’s long past the time when he could win a game with a towering blast: he has three home runs this season. Hunter, who in some ways has come to define the Angels, is still a formidable force (with 24 dingers last year, and eight so far this year), but his aches and pains (and just average BA) might be a sign of things to come. He’s nursing strained ribs and will not be in the Angels’ line-up tonight.

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We couldn’t have an off-season without a blockbuster — and the Angels have accommodated us. In a swap of a contract for talent, the Belinskys sent underrated outfielder Juan Rivera and rock solid first sacker Mike Napoli to that-place-north-of-the-border for outfielder Vernon Wells. Angels fans have to be happy. After wiffing on the likes of Jayson Werth, Adrian Beltre and Carl Crawford the Halo’s front office has finally come through, providing the team with what MLB Trade Rumors calls “a dream outfield.” There’s only one problem: Wells arrives in Anaheim with a mega-contract that had all of baseball atwitter back in 2006 — when Wells was re-upped for $126 million over seven years. The Angels give up two solid regulars for the honor of shifting Torii Hunter to right, slotting Bobby Abreu as the team’s DH and gambling that can’t miss youngster Peter Bourjos can’t miss.

While baseball focuses on what this does for Los Angeles, Toronto’s trade for Rivera and Napoli not only gets the Jays out from under a suffocating contract, it adds two pretty good bats to an already homer-heavy line-up. Toronto might not be able to compete with New York and Boston in the A.L. East, but they’re a powerhouse — and with a little more pitching they might surprise. The Blue Jays now have Juan Rivera (15 home runs last year, ten more the year before) in the middle of their line-up, to go along with recently acquired Rajai Davis (50 stolen bases last year) and big bat (54 home runs in 2010) Jose Bautista. And Mike Napoli is nothing to sneeze at — he hit for power last year (a surprising 26 home runs) and he’s a solid presence behind the plate. Rivera and Napoli could easily combine for 40 homers to go along with their solid OBPs. What’s not to like?

So . . . Angels fans are happy. Right? Well, not exactly. Halos Heaven slams the deal: “This trade doesn’t even deserve the dignity of a formal analysis. The Angels voluntarily vacated about three or four wins next season while simultaneously boosting their payroll by nearly $10 million.” Angels Win disagrees, saying that the deal “improves the defense, improves the offense, and will result in more wins.” Well, maybe. But even AW is forced to admit that picking up the Wells’ salary could cause problems: “Subtracting the $11 million that the Blue Jays will pay Napoli and Rivera in 2011 from the $89 million owed to Wells, the deal amounts to a $78 million/4 year deal—or about $19.5 million/year.” That’s a lot of money, or — as Halo Heaven says, bringing in Wells is like releasing Napoli and signing Rivera to an $86 million extension. “They’re popping corks and smoking Cubans in Toronto tonight,” HH says. “Alex Anthopoulos [the Toronto GM] has done the impossible.”

That glazed and puzzled look that has appeared on the faces of so many other post season teams (the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday, and the Chicago Cubs last year, to name just two) is now being worn by the Boston Red Sox. The A.L.’s wild card entry was stunned by a ninth inning rally in Boston on Saturday, and swept in three games by the Los Angeles Angels to be eliminated from the playoffs. The Bosox appeared headed for a sure win in their head-to-head match-up against the Belinskis, leading the Halos 6-3 heading into the 9th inning at Fenway Park — with their ace closer, Jonathan Papelbon on the mound. But with two outs, Papelbon’s down-and-out or up-and-in stuff failed him: Erick Aybar singled, Chone Figgins walked and Bobby Abreu doubled to tighten the contest. Even then, the Red Sox remained a simple grounder or fly ball away from victory. To set up a force out at every base, Papelbon walked Torii Hunter intentionally. That brought Vladimir Guerrero to the plate. On the very first pitch to one of baseball’s beset bad-ball hitters, Papelbon gave up a single to center. Guerrero’s hit, a leaning over-the-plate smack of a low and outside fastball, scored Figgins and Abreu and gave the Angels the 7-6 victory.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: The elimination of the Redbirds and Bosox now sets the wheels in motion for the offseason in both Boston and St. Louis. There’s a lot to do. Fans of “the Nation” face some big questions: about the future of David Ortiz and the cost of Jason Bay. The team is hardly in need of a major overhaul, yet the horses that have consistently put it into the off season are aging or hobbled. The entire left side of the Boston infield is in question: Mike Lowell can’t play third forever and the team has no ready answer at shortstop. “Phtttt . . . c’mon” — fans of the Nation say: what about Jed Lowrie? Well, what about him? Maybe Baseball Reference is lying, but their stats show him hitting .147 in 32 games. Hell, there’s a shortstop in Washington who hits a damn sight better than that and he’s no damn good at all . . .   

The Redbirds are younger, but the questions might be more pertinent: whether to pony up the big bucks it will take to keep Matt Holliday in left and (just like the Red Sox) what to do at third. Mark DeRosa is a free agent and while he likes St. Louis he will test the free agent market. Then too, while shortstop seems set for the River City Nine, rookie phenom Brendan Ryan hit a scorching .083 in the playoffs and looked shaky in the field. Redbird fans have the same reaction to this negativity as their Bosox buddies: “Oh yeah, well what about Troy Glaus?” Okay, right. Troy Glaus: who left his right shoulder somewhere in Toronto and hasn’t been the same since. Maybe he’ll return to his 2008 form (.270, 27 home runs), but it’s a pretty big maybe. Then too, number three starter Joel Pineiro is a free agent and would be a number one starter on most major league teams: including the Nats (now there’s an idea). Oddly, whether Holliday or DeRosa or Pineiro decide to stay in St. Louis might hinge more on the fate of Tony LaRussa and Dave Duncan than on how much money Billy DeWitt puts on the table. LaRussa and Duncan’s contracts are up and both are rumored headed to Cincinnati, to team up with their old St. Louis G.M. pal Walt Jocketty . . .

 

There have been 26 Yankee juggernauts in major league history — 27 if you count the 1960 team, that could have, might have and should have won a world title: were it not for the heroics of Bill Mazeroski. This team, the 2009 version, is even more formidable. The twin killers of the Twins on Friday night (that put the reeling Twinkies down by two games to zip) were Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira, one of whom is headed to the hall and the other who might well be. It’s easy to see why Teixeira — offered an off-season gift basket from the Nationals — decided to play for the pinstripes: the New Yorkers know how to spend money, and they know how to win: a requirement for any ballplayer who prizes not only a large bank account, but a handful of rings.

What was billed as a pitchers’ duel turned out to be exactly that: as Yankee A.J. Burnett mixed four kinds of fastballs to put the Twins down through six innings. But Burnett, a puzzling mess at odd times, was pulled after six complete, with Yankee manager Joe Girardi suddenly dependent on a relief core that has often been shaky. And so it proved: even Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera were merely human, while former Ahoy fireballer and reclamation project Damaso Marte was a disaster. The often so-so Nick Blackburn, meanwhile, was brilliant — posting a 1.59 post season ERA and befuddling Yankee hitters through 5.2. So when Joe Nathan arrived with the Twins’ lead intact we could be forgiven for thinking the game was over. Not so: Alex Rodriguez’s ninth inning home run tied it, while Tex’s walk off against Jose Mijares in the 11th won it. “It’s really disappointing,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I’ve been walked off enough times here. Some of the things that happened out there were pretty disappointing. It was a good baseball game. A lot of things could have went either way, but didn’t go our way again tonight.” 

The Boston Red Sox Are Being Eaten In Anaheim. After a not-even-close 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the Belinskis on Thursday, “the Nation” sent ace Josh Beckett to the mound against Jered Weaver. It was a bookie’s fantasy: the lanky if talented Weaver brothers have “never quite” and have a tendency to implode (and what a sight it is!), while Beckett is calm to the point of perversity — and it’s downright weird. If Jered is Yosemite Sam (arms akimbo, fist slapping glove), then Josh is Mr. Magoo (calmly asking for another ball, as the one he just pitched sails into the night). So it was that — if you were to actually bet (and you wouldn’t would you?) — you would have been all-in on Beckett. And you’d have lost.

It happened in the seventh inning in Anaheim and it went something like this: Vlad Guerrero walked (Howie Kendrick runs for him), Kendry Morales lines out, Kendrick steals second, Juan Rivera grounds out to third (two outs), Maicer Izturis singles (Kendrick scores), Mike Napoli HBP, Erick Aybar triples, (Izturis and Napoli score), Chone Figgins strikes out for out number three. Score: 3-1 Angels.  What was most unusual was that Beckett seemed to lose his cool — complaining to homeplate umpire C.B. Bucknor that Mike Napoli hadn’t moved out of the way of a fastball that hit him in the back. Beckett seemed to come unhinged. “I wasn’t much [ticked] that he wouldn’t overturn the pitches, but show me a little bit of respect,” Beckett said. “He just straight-faced me and then walked away. I was just like, I went up to [catcher Victor Martinez]. I said, ‘Vic, he’d be [ticked] if I did that to him.’ I’m not asking him to even overturn it, just listen to what I have to say. Don’t like, take your mask off, straight-face me and then walk away. I can’t say anything to the point of getting thrown out.” 

The Red Sox, now down two games to none, must win three games in a row to advance to the league championship series. “We’ve just got to regroup,” Beckett said. “We know what we need to do now. We can’t lose another one. A lot of guys in here have been through this. It’s not an ideal situation, but we have to win.”