They remain the No. 2 team in Los Angeles - or would someone care to debate the reality that LA is more the City of Dodgers than the City of Angeles? Still, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Calif. have helped inspire talk of a World Series the rest of the country might dismiss with a long yawn: The first-ever Freeway Series.

Never before have Mickey Mouse’s neighbors cast such an air of smugness as a playoff series against Boston approaches. Indeed, the good folks of greater Hollywood are so supremely confidentthat it has even been nsuggested that their Angels might actually be at an advantage against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. That might be a bit of a stretch considering the Red Sox’ relative invincibility at Fenway.

There is, of course, one game within the game in which the Angels have every right to feel supremely confident. As a team they stole 148 bases this season; the Red Sox, baseball’s most slovenly team defending against the run, allowed 151 stolen bases. It’s tough to build an argument to counter the notion that the Red Sox’ most glaring weaknesses play into the Angels’ strengths.

Tags: Angels, playoffs, Red Sox