MVN: Most Valuable Network

Now that it has been a week since the Angels clinched the A.L. West division (although it has felt like weeks months) Halo fans can start thinking about who the team will face in the first round of the American League Division Series and overall in the playoffs.

The good news is that as long as the Rays and Red Sox continue to beat up on each other the Angels will have a good chance to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Right now the Halos are three games up in the win column on both the Rays and Red Sox; if the Angels can manage maybe five to six more wins this season I would feel pretty good about their chances of getting home field.

The bad news is there is not one of the potential playoff teams that is particularly appetizing for the Angels to face in the playoffs - either in the first or second round - with the exception of the Minnesota Twins but they appear to be fading from contention.

Of the three teams the Angels could meet in the playoffs, each represents its own challenge and past history that will be brought up throughout the playoffs by the many Fox and TBS announcers.

Red Sox - Currently the wild card and who the Angels would meet up with if the season were to end today. This is the first-round draw that what make Red Sox fans applaud and would make Angels fans cringe - the Red Sox are currently riding a nine-game winning streak over the Angels in the playoffs, including two three-game sweeps in 2004 and 2007.

I don't necessarily cringe at the potential for an Angels-Red Sox matchup - particularly if the Angels can get home field advantage. The Angels have won the season series against the Red Sox this year and winning the season series can only boost the Angels' confidence going into October. If the Angels can stay healthy, this will be a much more interesting series than in years past.

White Sox - Likely a potential second-round matchup if the Angels make it that far. The White Sox, seem on paper, the most vulnerable team headed into the playoffs. The White Sox have lost Carlos Quentin and Joe Crede has been put on the disabled list for about the 1 billionth time. But then again, the White Sox seemed like a beatable team in the 2005 playoffs and look what happened there.

The Angels and White Sox would be an intriguing postseason matchup - the Halos and White Sox are nearly even pitching wise and the two teams score runs in two vastly different ways - the White Sox hit the ball out of the park and the Angels manufacture more runs through stolen bases and going to first and third and aggressive base running, etc. (Of course, we are not forgetting that Ozzie Guillen knows how to play small ball; we just think that with 216 home runs and leading the league in home runs, that small ball does not necessarily apply to the White Sox this year.)

Rays - In theory, the Rays would represent the most tantalizing playoff draw for the Angels. The Rays have never made it to the postseason and this is their first winning season ever. Of course, the Angels have had the worst record against the Rays than of all the playoff bound teams - 3 wins versus 6 losses; one could even say the Rays have "bedeviled" the Halos. (Of the other two playoff teams, the Angels are 5-5 against the White Sox and 8-1 versus Boston with five wins coming at Fenway Park.)

So of all the teams the Angels could face, the Rays don't have history on their side but they continue to win and continue to surprise. As the Rays continue with walk off win versus walk off win it makes it hard for me to believe that the Rays won't be the toughest challenge in the playoffs - even if they haven't been there before. In fact, the Rays remind me a lot of a scrappy team in 2002 that surprised everyone to win the World Series.

No matter who the Angels face, come October every potential opponent will come with a caveat - whether it be poor postseason history (the White and Red Sox) or poor regular season history (the Rays).

The Angels had better take this time in which they have clinched the division and are preparing and resting for the playoffs and consider who and how they are going to play or otherwise another short October visit looms.