Sox Drop Game 1 of ALDS 5-0

Lester didn't like the calls either.

History has been pushed aside. The Angels can beat us, and just because we've beaten them in the past doesn't mean they're going to lie down this time.

You could blame the umpires (Joe West and C.B. Bucknor) for miss calls. You could blame the Sox pitching. How about the defense (three errors)? None of those are the reasons we lost the game though. Last time I checked you can't win a game scoring zero runs.

The Sox put up only four hits tonight and the top five batters in the lineup went a combined 1-18. No one was able to set the tone against Angels starter John Lackey. The bats were getting hot as the season ended, so hopefully the Sox are getting warmed up.

Lester went six innings tonight, and the lone mistake he made was a three-run blast he gave up to Tori Hunter. He didn't help himself out walking four batters (Abreau three times). The umpires didn't help him out (blowing a strike three call and two plays at 1B) that caused Lester to throw extra pitches. The defense didn't help either.

Like I said though, the rest is neither here nor there. The Sox bats need to forget about tonight and focus on winning tomorrow evening. It is imperative that we head back to Boston tied 1-1.

MORE:
-Sunday's game has been announced as a 12:07 start time. Good thing it doesn't over-lap with the Patriots' 4:15 start. However, the Sox will have to fly out after tomorrow night's game and will arrive back in Boston in the wee-hours of Saturday morning and then have to be back at Fenway Sunday morning; tough traveling. Also, a game four if necessary will be at 8:37 on Monday.
-Ramirez was ineffective when trying keep it a three-run deficit coming in and loading the bases without recording an out in the seventh. Saito limited the damage allowing two of the runs to score and finished the inning.
-Daniel Bard got his feat wet in postseason play with a scoreless, two strike out eighth inning.
-They ended up not mattering that much, but how bad were those calls on the bases tonight. Not just the two at 1B that went against us, but in general. These umpires are supposed to be the cream of the crop for postseason. Terrible...
-V-Mart WILL catch Beckett tomorrow night.