Beckett is in line to open the ALCS

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Josh Beckett is in line to pitch Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, which opens Friday at Fenway Park, giving Terry Francona the option of lining up his rotation the same way it was for the Division Series, with Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 2 and Curt Schilling in Game 3.

That decision can wait, pitching coach John Farrell said in the midst of yesterday's celebration.

"To tell you the truth, we're just enjoying today right now," Farrell said. "We've got some time to prepare for who we will be playing next. Starting Wednesday we'll have a more decisive idea. But he's our No. 1 starter, so there's no reason for him not to start the series."

Sox pitchers had a 1.33 ERA in the series against the Angels, who scored in just 2 of 27 innings. The Angels managed just 19 hits, none of them home runs (six doubles), and seven walks while striking out 20 times.

"We were at our best this year when our starters were going seven innings on a consistent basis," Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "We struggled a little bit when our starting pitching got depleted, but I think consistency was a hallmark of this team in the regular season. We allowed the fewest runs in baseball this season. It's pretty shocking that a team in the American League East was able to do that. It's a tribute to our pitchers, our pitching coach, and our defense, which was so important to our run prevention."

Francona talked about Matsuzaka's last start before yesterday's 9-1 series clincher against the Angels.

"I don't think he commanded his fastball as well as he needs to," he said. "Like I said the other night, even when he got ahead he eventually worked himself back into hitters' counts. [He] gave them a lot of looks, and they had some pretty good at-bats. On the flip side, I don't think they hit a lot of balls hard. They hit the ball to second base that [Dustin] Pedroia goes down and can't get up, so it's first and third. Even the double [by Orlando Cabrera] hit the warning track. So I think you have to kind of keep things in perspective. I also think if you throw 90-something pitches in four innings [96 in 4 2/3], you're giving hitters a lot of looks.

"I do think they tested him. He was out there under some pretty tough circumstances but he never gave in and he didn't wilt. Again, the goal is not 4 2/3 innings."

Does Francona think Matsuzaka nibbles too much?

"I think the better way to look at it is maybe pitching away from contact," Francona said. "He gets in certain situations and maybe tries to throw the perfect pitch when he doesn't have to and he gets deep in counts. Then, after you've shown really good hitters five or six pitches, you do almost have to make that perfect pitch. I don't know if that will change next week. I do think the experiences of this year, you will see a better pitcher next year. I just think that's part of the learning in this league. I wouldn't be surprised if last year his strike zone [in Japan] was different."

Matsuzaka's former team in Japan, the Seibu Lions, fared poorly without him this season, finishing fifth in the six-team Pacific League. It was the first time in the last 26 years Seibu failed to finish in at least the top three, prompting the retirement of manager Tsutomu Ito.

Wakefield improving

Tim Wakefield threw a side session Saturday and felt pretty good, Francona said. He threw 45 pitches . . . NHK, the Japanese network, broke away from Friday night's 6-3 Sox win shortly after Matsuzaka was removed. NHK has several channels on which they broadcast games and in this case picked their general station. After Matsuzaka was lifted, the station switched to Saturday afternoon soap operas . . . Schilling had left an encouraging note for Matsuzaka before the pitcher's start . . . In the crowd: actor Matthew Perry and Boston's mayor, Thomas Menino (no, they weren't sitting together) . . . Francona, commenting on the Rockies and Diamondbacks advancing to the National League Championship Series: "When Colorado came through our place, they looked like a good team. When Colorado left, it was like, 'Wow.' " The Rockies lost, 2-1, to Wakefield June 12, then pinned 12-2 and 7-1 losses on Schilling and Beckett, respectively. After leaving Boston, they took two of three from the Devil Rays and swept the Yankees, then lost eight in a row to the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Astros . . . Former Angel Tim Salmon, in yesterday's Los Angeles Times, expounded on how the Angels were hamstrung by their lack of power. "I love the way these guys won the division manufacturing runs," Salmon said. "But why did we win the World Series? We won because Scott Spiezio hit a home run. We did not win because Scott Spiezio hit a single." When Salmon's 2002 Angels won the World Series, they hit 24 home runs in 16 postseason games. When Garret Anderson was lifted for Reggie Willits in the third inning, joining Casey Kotchman (viral condition) and Gary Matthews Jr. on the sideline, the Angels were missing 45 home runs out of the 123 they hit in the regular season. The Angels did not hit a home run in this series . . . The Times' baseball coverage, by the way, appeared on page 20 of its sports section, a slightly different approach than that taken by the Boston papers. Stanford's upset of Southern Cal dominated the front page . . . Former Sox pitcher and Matsuzaka idol Hideo Nomo announced on his website that after two years of rehabilitating his pitching elbow, he intends to attempt a comeback. Nomo plans to pitch for Caracas in the Venezuela winter league. "My elbow has gotten better and I'm looking forward to taking part in the winter league, in which I had been aiming to pitch," Nomo wrote. "I've been away from real games for a long time. I have this goal of playing in the major leagues again and I believe joining the winter league is a step toward making it happen." Nomo, who will be 40 Aug. 31, went 13-10 for the Sox in 2001, when he threw a no-hitter in his first start. He hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2005, when he was 5-8 with a 7.24 ERA for Tampa Bay.