Looking ahead 

Posted 1:45 PM by Sean
For your consideration, here are the remaining AL playoff contenders' scheduled starters for the rest of the season:

White Sox
Wednesday - Contreras
Thursday - Garcia
Friday - Buehrle
Saturday - Garland
Sunday - TBA - likely to be Orlando Hernandez if they've clinched, Brandon McCarthy or Contreras on short rest if they haven't.

Indians
Wednesday - Lee
Thursday - Sabathia
Friday - Millwood
Saturday - Westbrook
Sunday - TBA - either Elarton or Lee on short rest.

Yankees
Wednesday - Chacon
Thursday - Small
Friday - Wang
Saturday - Johnson
Sunday - Mussina

(heh, heh: "small wang johnson")

Red Sox
Wednesday - Arroyo
Thursday - Clement
Friday - Wells
Saturday - TBA, but probably Wakefield on short rest
Sunday - TBA, but probably Schilling on normal rest

Yesterday's double-header kind of mucked with the Red Sox rotation, but Wakefield's a knuckleballer and won't have a problem with short rest.

Both of the ALDS series start on Tuesday, October 4. Obviously, there are a lot of variables involved, but it would seem that the Angels will probably get one of the Wednesday starters on extra rest, one of the Thursday starters on regular rest, or one of the Friday starters on short rest. Of course, if the Red Sox clinch before Sunday, they probably hold Schilling for Game 1, so right now the best thing that can happen for the Angels is a Yankees-Red Sox dogfight to the bitter end.