Here’s What’s HOT……The Angels on the HOT Seat.

After 4 games, the ALCS seems to be in the bag for the Yankees, but for me, this situation is eerily similar to the 2004 ALCS.

The Yankees are showing they were not only the best team in the regular season, but by steamrolling through the playoffs, they have flexed their muscle.

Some see the Angels chances for a comeback slim to none.

I was covering the Red Sox in 2004, and saw first hand how a team left for dead fought back against a mighty Yankees team.

Flashback to August 2004.  I first hit the air waves across New England on NESN, and got my first taste of Red Sox Nation.  Their reputation as a passionate, knowledgeable, and loyal group, when it came to their “Local 9,” was legendary among sports fans.  

But I also learned about the skepticism ingrained in every Red Sox fan, young and old.

When the Red Sox dug that 0-3 hole to their most hated rivals in New York, the refrain remained the same that it’s been for the previous 86 years, “here we go again.”

As the new kid in town, this cynicism was new to me.  I watched my hometown Blue Jays win back-to-back World Series titles in ’92 and ’93, so an 86-year curse was unfamiliar territory.

I couldn’t relate to the anguish Red Sox fans endured generation upon generation, seeing World Series titles slip away, or rather between their legs.  

This was never more evident to me then prior to Game 4.  Long time Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy and I were on the field.  

Dan looks at me and asks, “So, what do you think?”
I say, “You never know, If Lowe can get the ball to Petey, we’ve got Schilling on the mound for Game 6, then…
Dan chuckles, “You’re obviously not from around here.”

Then the comeback.  Cowboy up, the bloody sock, Caveman slam, on and on, till we’re riding through Boston in duck-boats.

I saw Dan soon after.  We didn’t exchange words, but he flashed me a smile, and that was enough validation for me.  

I got the chance to personally witness the greatest comeback in baseball history

The Angels can cling to a sliver of confidence in the fact that a comeback is not impossible.  Down 3-0 or 3-1 to a daunting Yankee team doesn’t spell doom.

What the Angels can do now is take a page from those ’04 Sox, and play wicked haaad!
 -Hazel Mae