Well they’ve done it. The Angels became the first team this year to clinch their spot in the 2008 playoffs. They managed to win the third game of the three game series with the Yanks Wednesday and the Texas Rangers lost to the last place Mariners to guarantee the high-flyin’ Angels their role. Now the job waits for them to get the best AL record. The Tampa Bay Rays are currently leading in this category, but only by a game. If the Angels achieve the best record, this will get them Homefield advantage in the ALDS this postseason, which Angel fans know is vital after last year vs. the Sox. The Angels couldn’t even manage one game over Boston and that was partly because the first two were in the worst stadium possible for a visiting team.

So for now, Angel fans must root for the Red Sox to clinch their division over the Rays. That way the Angels will be able to face Tampa Bay in the ALDS. The following is an article by Jeff Miller of the OC Register:

“Let me root, root, root for the… Red Sox! Red Sox? Dice-K all the way! Go go, Coco! Admit it, Angel fans, the last thing you want to see first in October is Boston. Not here, not there not anywhere. It’s OK, healthy even. One of the first steps in dealing with your fear is admitting you’re afraid. And you are afraid, right, of Papi and his pals? The Sox discarded the Angels last year like empty lobster shells in the 2004 season and again in 2007. The most recent two years in which the Angels advanced in the postseason, they did so by not playing Boston. So this isn’t a new topic, just another version of another sorry sequel waiting to happen, yet again.

But it deserves a revisit today because, with just three weeks remaining in the regular season, this sequel still can go unwritten. At this moment – unless something very dramatic happens – the Angels appear destined to face Boston in the first round. The best record in the AL won’t make a difference. The White Sox – Twins winner won’t be relevant. Even the cataclysmic fate of the Yankees won’t matter. The best way and ultimately, the only way the Angels can avoid the beautiful but deadly changing fall colors of New England is for the Red Sox to pass Tampa Bay and win the AL East. That likely would set up Angels – Rays in the opening round, and doesn’t that sound just a little more encouraging.

Let’s see, Fenway Park or Tropicana Field? The legends of Yaz and and Teddy Ballgame or the franchise that gave a last chance to John Rocker? Red Sox nation or Rays Neighborhood? Not real tough, huh? On the one hand, there’s a team that fills its park. On the other, there’s a team that couldn’t fill a 7 Eleven. New England is a region that devours baseball. Tampa Bay is a region that eats supper at 4:30. Late inning shiners or Early-Bird diners? This is a decision that requires the brain power of a batting doughnut.

We’re aware of how things have gone this season. The Angels are 8-1 in Boston, 3-6 against Tampa Bay. They have won 8 in a row against the Red Sox: it took them six tries to win a road game against the Rays. But baseball in July feels nothing like baseball in October, and that’s not just the cooler temperatures. This is particularly true of the players who mostly know the postseason through rumor and television images. After the likes of Troy Percival Chad Bradford and Cliff Floyd, we’re talking the Tampa Bay Light Rays in terms of playoff experience.

To appply a popular sports theory to this, if the Angels want to win the World Series, they’ll probably have to go through Boston at some point, so why not in the opening round? To this logic, we say cram it full of thumbtacks. We believe that people should work their way up, which is how every mountain is climbed, correct? When attempting to avid elimination, most sane folks would put off for as long as possible facing the one most likely to eliminate them. Besides any pitch could return the soreness to Beckett’s elbow. Any swing could re-injure Ortiz’s wrist. Any play could leave Lowell gripping his thumb again. Let someone else deal with the Red Sox first, wear on them a little. The Angels attempted this twice and the results weren’t fit for younger viewers.

We’re not saying the Angels players should fear Boston. That would be as pointless as switching Ortiz to Diet Coke. Any team playing for Mike Scioscia isn’t going to be afraid of an opponent anyhow. We’re just saying that it’s acceptable, as an Angels follower, to pull for the Red Sox this last month. It’s the intelligent thing to do. And most Angels followers are bright people, especially the ones wise enought to still be reading this column. Well done.

So now, delight in the exploits of Jonathon Papelbon even if riverdancing on his throat seems like a better option. Root for the health of Beckett’s right elbow instead of rooting for him to sprain both his eyelids. Cheer on Youkilis, even though at times he’s been You-Kill-Us. Boston winning the AL East would make quite a dramatic closing to baseball’s regular season. More important, it would make quite a dramatic opening to the Angels postseason. Really, it’s OK, Angels fans. Think of it this way. You’re only doing what’s natural; you’re rooting for red.”