Boston-LAA Preview, Part III: Comparison Of 2009 Team Statistics

An overview of the base-line statistics from the 2009 season show that the Red Sox and the Angels are VERY comparable on paper.

While it wouldn’t be fair to say the two teams are mirror images of one another (the Sox have more power, the Angels have more speed), the end result is that the two teams produced eerily similar numbers when all was said and done.

The Angels won 97 games in a weak Western Division while the Red Sox won 95 games in the tougher Eastern Division. The Angels won the season series, five-games-to-four.

The Angels were equally good at home and on the road (49-32 in L.A., 48-33 as visitors) whereas the Sox had the second-best record in baseball at home (56-25) but fell short of playing .500 ball away from The Friendly Confines (39-42).

Offensively

The Halos outscored the Sox by 11 runs (883-872). The Red Sox hit more home runs (plus-39, 212-173) while the Angels stole more bases (plus-22, 148-126).

The Red Sox team OBP (.352-.350) and slugging percentage (.454-.441) were higher, but not by a heck of a lot.

On the Mound

The Red Sox had the better team ERA, 4.35 as compared to the Angels 4.45.

Overall, the Angels starters had a lower ERA (4.44) than the Red Sox rotation (4.63), but the Red Sox rotation included a series of pitchers whose performance (or lack thereof) inflated that number and who are no longer around.

(NOTE: the ERA of the four Red Sox starters who could appear in the ALDS is 3.95. The ERA of the four Angels starters is 4.22). The big difference between the teams is in the bullpen, where the Sox were second in the league in ERA (3.80) and the Angels were 11th (4.49).

In the Field

The teams had identical fielding percentages of .986, though the Red Sox made three fewer errors than LA (82-85). And, it must be remembered, they have been MUCH better since the acquisition of Alex Gonzalez.

So, on paper, there isn’t a heck of a lot that separates the two teams, except in the bullpen. So maybe we should expect to see close games decided in the Sox favor in the late innings.

Prediction

Red Sox in four games.