Decision on schedule will come tonight

ANAHEIM - Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia said he knows which schedule the Angels will elect for the first round of the playoffs against the Red Sox and will announce it after the Angels clinch homefield advantage for the playoffs, which could come as early as tonight when they face the Texas Rangers in the first of a three-game season-ending regular-season series here.

Speculation here has been that Scioscia would start the (longer) series Wednesday which would enable him to go with his top three starters - John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders - and be able to use Lackey in Game 4 and Santana in Game 5. That would give Boston the same advantage with Josh Beckett and Jon Lester likely going two games.

One problem, however, is No. 3 starter Joe Saunders just missed time with painful kidney stones. He's lost eight pounds, but will make his start on Sunday. Scioscia won't likely have the benefit of knowing whether Saunders is at full health before he makes his decision, which must be revealed no later than one hour after clinching.

While the Angels might have a deeper rotation than Boston, Jon Garland hasn't pitched well, with a 7.22 ERA (31 earned runs, 54 hits in 38-2/3 innings) over his last seven starts. Jered Weaver has won 11 games as LA's fifth starter, but will likely pitch out of the bullpen.

"We've turned everything inside out so I think we have a good idea of what we'd like to do. We've kind of earmarked...though that's not a good word to use nowadays...so I'll say we've penciled in what we'd like to do," Scioscia said.

Scioscia, asked about what he wanted to accomplish this weekend besides homefield advantage listed:

1. "Howie Kendrick (left hamstring) needs some at-bats after coming off the DL, so we'd like to do that this weekend," said Scioscia. Kendrick has missed 65 games this season with assorted injuries. He strained his hamstring on August 27th. He's a key hitter for the Angels because he's hitting .370 with runners in scoring position.

2. "We need to rework some things to get our options better with what we want to do with our pitching rotation and make sure our bullpen is lined up the way we want it," Scioscia said.

3. Scioscia indicated there are still some roster spots to think about. With Garland and Weaver in the bullpen, it may come down to veteran Justin Speier or Kevin Jepsen in the bullpen. Speier has been terrible - a 5.53 ERA in his last 47 games. The other spot could be an infielder Brandon Wood vs. Sean Rodriguez with Erick Aybar getting the nod at shortstop and Kendrick at second base. Wood has more power, while Rodriguez is the better glove man. There's also the dilemma of an extra hitter - Reggie Willits or Kendry Morales. Willits protects you defensively and has more speed while Morales has more power.