ANAHEIM, Calif. — This was John Lackey following the fourth, and final, game of the 2008 American League Division Series.

“We are way better than they are,” the Angels pitcher said. “We lost to a team not as good as us.”

But the Red Sox did win, therefore, contrary to Lackey’s analysis, they were the better team. That’s how it goes.

So where do Lackey’s Angels stand now, as the teams head into yet another ALDS showdown? What has changed and will it be enough to let the Game 1 starter’s analysis be taken seriously?

The Angels have a different closer, scored 118 more runs, have another year of nerve-soothing experience under some of their belts, and are rallying around the memory of the deceased Nick Adenhart.

The biggest difference, however — the one on which Lackey might be able to hang his sizable hat — is named Bobby Abreu.

This is why …

Going back to the Red Sox’ 3-1 series win over the Angels a year ago, perhaps the most important "victory" in the Sox’ chess match with LA was their ability to control one player: Mark Teixeira.

Teixeira, the Angels’ gateway to cleanup hitter Vladimir Guerrero, finished with seven hits in 15 at-bats, but not one of them was of the extra-base variety and there was but one RBI. The Red Sox did not want Teixeira to beat them. Go after Guerrero — high and inside, followed by breaking stuff away — but don’t let Teixeira get you.

“Teixeira was probably the biggest unknown coming in,” Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell said following the Sox’ series win last year, “and someone we might pitch around to manage the lineup.”

This time around there is no Teixeira, but there is Abreu.

For pure power production, and the person who is filling the departed first baseman’s positional piece of the puzzle, it is Kendry Morales who might seem to be Teixeira’s replacement.

The 26-year-old certainly has the attention of the Red Sox, partly because of the entirety of a season that concluded with a .306 batting average and 34 home runs, but also due to a second half in which Morales hit .330 with the most second-half homers (19) of any American League hitter.

But, unlike even Teixeira, it is Abreu who stirs the Angels’ drink.

Statistically, the 35-year-old outfielder is having a remarkable season, especially when considering he is playing under a one-year, $5 million contract signed on the eve of spring training. Abreu finished his 14th major league season hitting .293 with 15 homers, 103 RBI and 30 stolen bases (20 of which, according to Angels general manager Tony Reagins, haven’t been close).

Read More

Blogs

• Larry Lucchino on Red Sox payroll, Carl Crawford, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield and more
• Report: Rich Harden to miss 2012 due to shoulder surgery

Audio on Demand

• Dustin Pedroia's Laser Show on the Big Show
• Doc Rivers and Sean Grande preview Celtics-Bobcats

Columns

• How new Red Sox Cody Ross is putting an uneasy offseason in the rear-view mirror
• The war chest: Why 2012 might be a good year for Red Sox to have financial flexibility

Tickets

03/3/2012

Boston Red Sox vs Northeastern - JetBlue Park, Lee County , FL
[find tickets]

03/3/2012

Boston Red Sox vs Boston College Eagles - JetBlue Park, Lee County , FL
[find tickets]

03/4/2012

Boston Red Sox vs Minnesota Twins - JetBlue Park, Lee County , FL
[find tickets]

But where Abreu’s value might truly be found when watching these American League West champs compared to last season’s version is in regards to how he has affected the rest of the LA hitters … at a level Teixeira wasn’t able to achieve.

Last season it was about pitching around Teixeira and taking your chances with everybody else. Abreu has made sure that isn’t an option this time around.

“I think his approach has really affected our entire lineup,” Reagins said. “We saw a little of that with Mark last year, but Bobby has been a good communicator, not only with our veteran players, but also with our younger guys. And so his approach has been one that has been one that has helped our lineup from top to bottom. He’s gotten our guys to talk baseball, which has been really good for our team.

“Obviously they’re both very talented players, but I think in terms of communication and lending the knowledge that he has to younger players has been immeasurable.”

Not to sell Teixeira short, he did leave an impression on quite a few of the previously agonizingly impatient Angels hitters. According to outfielder Torii Hunter, they would watch the slugger take pitch after pitch, and then often times attempt to duplicate the approach.

Still, by season’s end, the Angels saw the fewest pitches per plate appearance of any team in the majors. This year their middle-of-the-order preacher of patience has elicited drastically more tangible results, as is evidenced by LA moving up to No. 5 on the major league’s pitches-per-plate-appearance list.

And leading the charge? The player who took the highest percentage of pitches of any hitter in the American League this season, Abreu (67.5 percent).

Make no mistake about it, the Angels wanted to be talking Teixeira this time of year once again, having made a legitimate effort to re-sign the switch-hitter. But when it didn’t work out, they were able to throw some of the saved money the way of pitcher Ervin Santana, outfielder Juan Rivera and closer Brian Fuentes.

And after numerous conversations with Abreu’s agent, Peter Greenberg — who also represented injured Angels Kelvim Escobar and Maicer Izturis — Reagins was able to use the last bit of Teixeira coin to bring in a player, Abreu, boasting remarkably similar value to the departed first baseman.

“We knew there was a chance, a good chance, he wouldn’t be back. We knew that going in,” Reagins said. “But we felt it was significant enough for us that we’d take a run at him. We just gave it our best shot.

“We started to get a sense around the Winter Meetings that we knew it wasn’t going to materialize for us, so we had to go to Plan B and Plan C.”

Whichever plan Abreu fell under, it was one that worked, which the Red Sox figure to discover over the coming days.