AMERICAN LEAGUE NOTEBOOK : McGee Will Take Center Stage in Opener

Oakland Manager Tony La Russa named Willie McGee as his starting center fielder over Dave Henderson for tonight’s American League playoff opener against the Red Sox, and left unanswered whether Willie Randolph or Mike Gallego will start at second base.

Both McGee, who won the National League batting title after having been traded from St. Louis, and Henderson, who helped the Red Sox win the 1986 American League pennant, have enjoyed notable postseason successes. McGee has a .292 average in 16 playoff games and a .291 average in three World Series, comparable to Henderson’s .271 playoff average and .345 Series mark.

“It had to do more with at-bats and timing,” La Russa said. “It’s a tough choice. I guarantee you (Henderson) will start games in this series.”

Henderson, who has recovered from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in August, said he doesn’t feel slighted.

“Tony makes the lineup and I’m not in the lineup. It’s not that big a deal,” he said. “I’m healthy. I could play. Of course, if I don’t get a hit, I’ll say it hurts.”

Gallego and Randolph each said his feelings would be hurt if the other started.

“You get tired of it,” Gallego said of his uncertain status. “You’d like to be the guy everybody knows is going to be in there.”

When Henderson gets in, he won’t worry about his timing at the plate.

“Timing? Who needs that? We just say that to give (reporters) something to write about,” said Henderson, who hit .271 and 20 home runs. “Timing is for guys with a good stroke. I just go out there and hack. Wade Boggs and George Brett, they need to get their timing back. Me? No.”

A slightly protruding disk continues to bother A’s right fielder Jose Canseco, who has received cortisone injections and does exercises to alleviate his pain. Canseco finished with a .274 batting average but collected 101 RBIs, setting an Oakland record with his fourth 100-RBI season.

“My back is about 80%,” he said. “Eighty and hopefully getting better.”

Rickey Henderson’s sore right thumb, which slowed his quest for the AL batting title, hasn’t healed but it won’t keep him out of the lineup.

“It’s not OK, but it’s good enough,” said Henderson, who hit .325. “It isn’t going to be completely recovered until it’s over with and I get time to rest. It’s a lot better than it was. I can go out and do something.”

Several of the A’s had said that they would prefer to play in the Blue Jays’ enclosed stadium rather than Boston’s Fenway Park if weather were a factor, but with beautiful, 70-degree temperatures forecast for the weekend, they should have no complaints.

La Russa said he knew the real reason the A’s preferred Toronto.

“It had more to do with a bigger check than the weather,” he said.

Playoff shares are based on gate receipts, and the 50,000-seat SkyDome promised a more lucrative payoff than 34,182-seat Fenway Park.

The Game 2 starting pitchers are scheduled to be Oakland’s Bob Welch and Boston’s Dana Kiecker, with the A’s Mike Moore and the Red Sox’s Mike Boddicker going in Game 3.

La Russa hasn’t fully explained his decision to bypass Scott Sanderson (17-10) in favor of Moore (13-15). Not only does Sanderson have the better record in 1990, he is 2-0 against Boston in his career. Moore is 5-10 with a 5.96 earned-run average against the Red Sox.

“I’m going with Moore because I feel he really rose to the occasion in the postseason last year,” La Russa said, referring to Moore’s 3-0 record in the playoffs and World Series, a span during which he gave up only three earned runs in 20 innings.

Red Sox officials reportedly told Dwight Evans before Wednesday night’s regular-season finale that he has nothing to worry about regarding 1991 and they will be picking up his option at $1.6 million.

Evans, 38, will have a bone spur removed from his back after Boston’s season ends. He thought his career was over when he spent a week in traction in late August, but rebounded to play a key role down the stretch.

“I never expected to be in this situation,” he said Friday. “It’s a real blessing.”

A word or two from Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs: “They called us misfits from the North Pole, castoffs. We were etched in stone for seventh place. But this team has got heart and desire I’ve never seen before. A heart as big as the Pru.”

The Pru? The Prudential building in Copley Square.

As the Red Sox head into the playoffs, the Chicago White Sox deserve better than to pass quietly from the 1990 stage. Their intense play against the Red Sox in the final three-game series did honor to the game and characterized a season in which they won 94 games after losing 92 in 1989.

Manager Jeff Torborg applauded his team during a 30-minute clubhouse talk before Wednesday night’s finale here.

“I don’t believe in the word overachievement because you can’t really give 110%, but this team came closer to realizing its full potential than any team I’ve been with in 27 years in the big leagues,” Torborg said.

Times staff writer Ross Newhan contributed to this story.