Donnie Moore is Now a Distant Memory

A few times on this blog, I refer back to the Donnie Moore/Dave Henderson incident where the tide was turned in the 1986 American League Championship Series. Just when the California Angels thought they had a date with the New York Mets in the World Series, Dave Henderson came up for the Boston Red Sox and homered off one of the Halos best arms. This was not only pivotal in the history of the Anaheim franchise, but would haunt Moore all the way through his tragic death.

Every time these two teams would meet, the ghost of Donnie Moore would appear. It would haunt the Angels giving the Red Sox ownership of their West Coast rivals in the postseason. Until today...

Jonathan Papelbon. The Red Sox closer was always fired up when the call was made. He comes in on the cue of the Dropkick Muprhys' "Shipping Off to Boston," a Gaelic-punk rouser featured in the movie The Departed. Pap came to retain a 6-4 lead and keep the Halos away from a sweep. Unfortunately, he couldn't seal the deal. Bobby Abreu connected to tie the game with Erick Aybar making across home. Pap intentionally walked Torii Hunter, which was supposed to stop the bleeding for the Sox. However, it didn't. The next batter, Vladimir Guerrero, drove a Papelbon ball to score Chone Figgins and Abreu around for the lead.

With Brian Fuentes closing out the bottom of the ninth inning, the ghost of Donnie Moore was forever exorcised. The Angels finally figured out how to beat the Red Sox in the postseason. Upstairs, the Singing Cowboy was smiling broadly above Fenway and the rest of New England. Yet, this was Arte Moreno's club now. Without Moreno, what kind of ball club these Angels would be?

Now, the Halos will face the New York Yankees in the ALCS by virtue of another sweep - this time, against the Minnesota Twins. The Angels will have their work cut out for them. These two two teams split their season series, 5-5. An Angels-Yankees ALCS would end up on the favor of the Pinstripes as they'll have home field advantage over the Halos.

Yes, I'm pulling for the Angels this time around - not just for the AL Championship, but for a Freeway Series!