Matsuzaka Gets the Call For Red Sox in Game 1

Daisuke Matsuzaka will be on the mound for the Boston Red Sox when the American League Championship Series begins tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Rays.

That doesn't make him Boston's ace. Josh Beckett is still No. 1 in the Red Sox rotation -- especially during the playoffs -- even though he had the worst outing of the three Boston starters who faced the Los Angeles Angels in the first round.

Beckett, coming off a strained side muscle, is scheduled to pitch Game 2 in the best-of-seven series.

"Before Beckett's last start, he was the best postseason pitcher maybe in the history of the game," Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said yesterday after announcing his rotation. "He had the audacity to be a little rusty after two weeks. We don't need to run away from Beckett, we need to get him on a run."

Francona chose Matsuzaka to start against the Rays in Game 1 not because of Beckett's injury, and certainly not because the team lost any faith in a guy who won five straight postseason outings before Boston's Game 3 loss to the Angels.

Instead, Francona said, the Red Sox scheduled Beckett for the second game because it would give him, Matsuzaka and Game 3 starter Jon Lester essentially the same amount of rest. Tim Wakefield will start Game 4, with Matsuzaka, Beckett and Lester ready to pitch again in Games 5-7 if necessary.

Matsuzaka was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA this season.

· SCHILLING UPDATE: Curt Schilling could have been ready to pitch in the ALCS, according to his surgeon.

Craig Morgan said that if the Red Sox had followed his advice to operate on Schilling's shoulder last winter, the right-hander likely would have been ready for the postseason.

"If the team would have let me do the surgery in January, he'd probably be pitching in the playoffs now," Morgan said.

Schilling missed the entire season after shoulder surgery in June.

· PERCIVAL IMPROVING: Tampa Bay closer Troy Percival, left off the team's first-round roster because of back tightness, pitched in two instructional league games while the Rays played the White Sox.

The 39-year old right-hander hopes those two outings make him at least an option for the ALCS.

"I got to where I could use my old mechanics instead of having to open really early to force the ball in there," Percival said. "I threw strikes on both sides of the plate. All my off-speed pitches were good."

Percival, who had three stints on the disabled list this season with left hamstring and right knee injuries, finished with 28 saves -- but only one after Aug. 13.

Rays Manager Joe Maddon hasn't ruled out Percival for the series against Boston.

· TORRE KEEPS WINNING: Joe Torre got more out of this season than an NL West title with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He got a chance to prove he could win without the New York Yankees.

"I didn't necessarily feel I needed to vindicate myself, I just wanted to see if I could do it somewhere else," the manager said. "It wasn't that I was looking to get out of New York. I just felt it was time to leave because it wasn't as comfortable."

After a drawn-out split with the Yankees, Torre found a perfect fit in Los Angeles. "I think the word is satisfaction, more so than vindication," he said.

· LCS UMPIRES : Mike Reilly was picked as the umpire crew chief for the NLCS, and Tim McClelland was selected as crew chief for the ALCS.

Also working the NLCS will be Mike Winters, Gary Cederstrom, Jerry Meals, Ted Barrett and Mike Everitt.

In the ALCS, McClelland will be joined by Derryl Cousins, Brian Gorman, Brian O'Nora, Alfonso Marquez and Sam Holbrook.