Boston velocity versus Anaheim speed

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

There are going to be two hard truths in play in the forthcoming division series between the Red Sox and the Angels, according to some talent evaluators.

  • Truth No. 1: The Red Sox catchers will be almost helpless in trying to throw out baserunners, and the Angels have a bunch of guys who will challenge them on the bases.

  • Truth No. 2: The Angels have a bunch of guys who struggle to hit good fastballs, and the Red Sox are loaded with guys who throw really, really hard.

    • The Red Sox can make truth No. 1 irrelevant, of course, if they can keep the Angels off the bases with the hard stuff. And if the Angels can find their way on base, in spite of the fact that their swings might be confused for those of a vintage Gary Sheffield, well, they will wreak havoc.

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    • Buster Olney Buster Olney

      Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

      He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

      Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

      Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

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