We finally have an opponent - the Anaheim Angels. The Boston Globe writes about the waiting for the Halos.

I would have much rather seen the A's. Over the past few weeks the Halos have been on a tear finally catching up to and then surpassing the Oakland A's. Oakland seemed to get tired down the stretch losing six of their last 10. While the Angels won seven over the same duration.

Let's take a look at the AL West leaders. The Angels are an offensive powerhouse led by Vladimir Guerrero. Vlady joined Anaheim in the offseason and has put up some very productive numbers this season (39 home runs, 128 runs, 126 RBI, 206 hits, .337 Avg., .598 Slg., and .391 OBP). Impressive. In fact, he leads the Angels in every offensive category except for stolen bases of which he has 15. He's downright scary at the plate. No matter where the ball crosses, he can make contact. Truly an amazing player. He would be the AL MVP if not for three Red Sox players (Manny, Ortiz and Schilling).

Anaheim can hit the ball. They are third in the American League in that category. And they are fast leading the AL in stolen bases.

The Angels have hovered around the western lead all season even with injuries to 3B Troy Glaus, OF Garret Anderson and DH Tim Salmon. The three missed a combined 256 games. That's a lot of lost power, but in the end the Halos prevailed. Why? Because they play as a team. When the injuries occurred, manager Mike Scioscia didn't panic. Instead he simply plugged in his utility players. They showed up, especially Chone Figgins. Figgins played four different positions (2b, SS, 3b, OF) and even was a designated hitter. He had 22 doubles, 17 triples and stole 34 bases, while scoring 83 runs. And he's the backup.

Another impact player has been starting pitcher Bartolo Colon. After struggling much of the first half, he has rebounded to win five of his last seven starts. The most important coming in the last week against Texas and Oakland. The Angels couldn't of asked for better timing. He is expected to start on Saturday vs. Bronson Arroyo in Fenway in an important Game 3 matchup.

MLB.com says the Angels have come full circle to the winner's circle.

Although Anaheim appears poised, I like the Red Sox chances. ProJo.com reports the "Red Sox confident they can wing it". The Hartford Courant writes that Johnny Damon isn't lacking confidence. The Sox should be confident.

With a one-two punch on the mound (Schilling and Martinez) and a one-two punch at the plate (Ortiz and Manny), Boston is solid. In fact, according to the Boston Herald, Manny and Ortiz are in the record books for their offensive production. Add the improved defense, with the aquisitions of Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkeiwicz, and the future is looking bright.

The Sox will start Curt Schilling on Tuesday. Anaheim will host the 4 p.m. game and start Jarrod Washburn. This will be fun.

On and off the field, this could be the best Red Sox team of all time.

Reader comments: There have been many good/great Boston teams. Which Red Sox team do you consider to be the best ever? 1946? 1949? 1967? 1975? 1978? 1986? 1999? 2003? Some other?

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