At 4:10pm our complimentary selection is on the Los Angeles Angels over the Boston Red Sox. It's still unclear whether the Red Sox really lost out in the off-season pitching sweepstakes when they failed to sign either CC Sabathia or AJ Burnett and had to settle instead for John Smoltz and Brad Penny. After all, Sabathia got crushed in the opener against the Orioles and Burnett has a long history of injury problems. And even though Smoltz is out until at least late May, Penny is apparently healthy and ready to go. The problem is that his first assignment as a starter outside of the National League is on the road against the high-powered Angel offense and a team that is playing with a lot of emotion right now following the tragic death of its pitcher Nick Adenhart. Ex-Los Angeles Dodger Brad Penny may feel like this is a homecoming, since he will be getting his first start for the Red Sox back in the L.A. area, but it is unlikely he will get a warm welcome upon his return to southern California. He'll be faced by Angel lefty Joe Saunders, who won on opening day vs. Oakland. Saunders held the Oakland bats to just three hits in 6 2/3 innings, so he looked just as good as he did last season when he won a career-high 17 games. Take the Angels.
Big Al McMordie 4-11-09
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