Sports Redux: Bicoastal Bummer

"Whatever the hex is, I guess somebody un-hexed it," said the Angels' Chone Figgins. We're not sure what that hex may be, or if it's really gone, but last night, the Angels looked like hex-free division winners. And the Red Sox looked like a team that staggered into the playoffs, mustering no offense and succumbing meekly to Anaheimorwhatever 5-0.

Jon Lester and John Lackey traded zeroes for the first few innings; the Angels threatened early, but Les struck out Vlad Guerrero with the bases loaded in the third. In the fifth, though, with two on, Lester served up a custom-ordered pitch down the middle to Torii Hunter, who deposited it deep into the Anaheim rock garden and gave the Halos a 3-0 lead. Lackey, pitching now with unaccustomed run support, continued to carve up the Sox lineup and leave them miserable.

If they're blaming anyone for their loss besides themselves, the Sox have found a culprit in the umpiring. And so they are. Sort of. C.B. Bucknor blew a tag call early that didn't lead to any runs, but did inflate Lester's pitch count, which was also being inflated by some calls at home that the Sox didn't much appreciate. "Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they get it wrong. That’s part of the human element of baseball," rhapsodized Lester afterwards. "Move on and go from there. Can’t really do anything," added Kevin Youkilis.

They'll try to right the ship tonight with Josh Beckett, who is legendary for his postseason work but has given agita to all Red Sox fans with his wildly inconsistent summer. Even though Beckett's more comfortable with Jason Varitek behind the plate, Victor Martinez will get the nod tonight because of his past success against Anaheim starter Jared Weaver.

Oh, and if you're wondering if Dan Shaughnessy's paid vacation in California would pay off with a condescending "open letter" to college students saying that they don't appreciate the fact that the Sox are in the playoffs, combined with yet another nickel history lesson on the franchise, have we got a treat for you.

While the sox were out West floundering against one team from Anaheim, another Anaheim team was doing a job on the Bruins in their own building. The B's' offense tailed off after the first period, and some less-than-stellar goaltending by Tim Thomas allowed six unanswered Ducks goals. Teemu Selanne had the first two, and Corey Perry added two more. Marco Sturm got the only Bruins goal in the 6-1 loss. "It's like when they got up a couple of goals, we never pushed back," said Marc Savard. "That's not our team." Except when it is.