Just like that, the Angels are gone. The seeming juggernaut did not survive the first round of the American League playoffs.

The Red Sox – and some bad luck – did them in. The Angels’ demise, like the Cubs exit, reminded us just how treacherous baseball’s postseason is.

Anaheim, er, Los Angeles dominated over the 162-game grind, then quit hitting when the big games started. Outfielder Torii Hunter was 5 for 11 with runners in scoring position, but his teammates went 3 for 29 in such situations against Boston.

With his powerful lineup sputtering, Angels manager Mike Scioscia tried to win Game 4 with a squeeze play. Erick Aybar didn’t get the bunt down, however, and the Red Sox finished off the Angels 3-2.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Hunter told ESPN.com.

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

Yeah, well, the Mets and Tigers can tell you all about it. The Cardinals upset them en route to the 2006 World Championship.

A few pitchers get hot, some bats turn cold, some bloopers fall in – and just like that, it’s over.

MORE FUN WITH CUBS FANS

Sorry we didn’t post this before the Small Bears went down.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while Cubs fans and White Sox commiserate:

• How could the Saints pile up 729 total yards – in offense and kick returns – and still lose to the Vikings?
• On the other hand, why did Minnesota keep kicking the ball to Reggie Bush?
• Isn’t it interesting to see Gus Frerotte play so well for Vikings? Isn’t it funny how many former Rams look better playing for other teams?

FANS OF THE WEEK

The Redskins were buzzing about the shelling their bus took at the hands of Philly fans Sunday. Apparently Eagles boosters can throw eggs with great accuracy.

“You know what, though, they’re good shots,” tight end Chris Cooley told a Washington radio station. “They’ve been practicing. You could see them coming in; they were leading the bus. It was good egging.”

INJURY OF THE WEEK

Beach volleyball star Misty May-Treanor went down with a torn Achilles tendon . . . while rehearsing for her gig in “Dancing with the Stars.”

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Clay Travis, Deadspin: “The most shocking image of the college football weekend occurred in the second half of Missouri-Nebraska. And it had nothing to do with the fact that Missouri hung 52 on Nebraska before the third quarter ended. It was finding out that Missouri’s chubby and short quarterback who will win the Heisman Trophy is boyz with Warren Buffett, the sage of Omaha. As if that weren’t enough, they posed for photos with one another. Well, of course they did. And of course the two regularly exchange email messages as well. Does Warren Buffett use emoticons?”

Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoTribune.com: “It just keeps getting more embarrassing. The Cubs didn’t just lose a playoff series to a team from the worst division in baseball, they got swept. A team built to win the World Series can’t even win a game in a divisional series. Built for October? The Cubs couldn’t even BREATHE in October.”

Steve Schrader, Detroit Free-Press: “Put on a happy face and channel your inner Ernie Banks: Let’s play 200!”

Steve Kelley, Seattle Times: “No longer can the Seahawks rely on the weakness of their division to get them into the playoffs. The NFC West could be the Ivy League (meaning no disrespect to the Ivy League) but still couldn’t mask how far and how quickly the Hawks have dropped.”

Dan Daly, Washington Times: “Lawrence Phillips is headed off to prison for Unnecessary Roughness with an Automobile. But here’s the part of the story that really jumped out at me: The former Rams/Dolphins/49ers running back is just 33 years old. He could still be carrying the ball for somebody in the NFL. Heck, there are two players on the Redskins roster . . . who were drafted the same year as Phillips - 1996.”

Norman Chad, syndicated columnist: “Sarah Palin is a ‘hockey mom.’ That locks up the Versus vote.”

Jerry Crowe, Los Angeles Times: “Could you imagine the Lakers drenching themselves with champagne for winning a division title or a first-round playoff series the way baseball teams do, an exuberant Kobe Bryant pouring bubbly over the head of Andrew Bynum? . . . Not even the Clippers would do that.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, on the famous Raiders news conference: “Good Lord, I wasn’t sure if that was Al Davis firing his coach or  Bette Davis in ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’”

MEGAPHONE

“We’re just speechless. When your run game is going like that, it’s going to be a long day for any defense. And this was a long one. We definitely have some questions to answer. It wasn’t pretty today.”

Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu, after his team’s 44-7 loss to the Giants.