Angels, A’s Are Cautious About Wild Card

So, putting aside the issues of pride, marketing and territorial bragging rights, how important is this battle for the American League West title?

How critical is it to begin the playoffs as a division winner rather than a wild card?

How vital is it to have a shot, as the division winner, at home-field advantage in the five-game divisional round--perhaps the most intense of the postseason--and seven-game league championship series while the wild card has no shot at that advantage in either of those series and is forced to open against the tougher of the two remaining division winners?

History suggests it is vital, indeed, but what is history compared to the Oakland A’s, who went to the playoffs as a division winner in 2000, a wild card in 2001, are a walking, talking sounding board on the subject and insist it doesn’t matter how a team qualifies for the postseason--home-field advantage or not.

Or as David Justice, who has played in a record 107 postseason games, put it:

“It ain’t how you get in as long as you get in.

“Everyone is on equal footing in the playoffs.”

Well, the New York Yankees have generally proved to be on a little different footing than most in winning four of the last six World Series, but that wasn’t Justice’s point.

Of course, with three AL West teams competing for the division and wild-card berths, it was probably not a surprise to find the A’s and Angels adopting a cautious just-get-there approach as they opened their important four-game series at Edison Field on Monday night.

For the A’s, who went to the final game of the divisional round before losing to the Yankees in each of the last two years, there’s the reality of that experience.

For the Angels, it’s all theory.

They haven’t been to the playoffs since 1986, when there were only two divisions in each league and the 1995 birth of the wild card was still only a purist-infuriating sparkle in Bud Selig’s eyes.

“I haven’t researched the formula,” Manager Mike Scioscia said when asked if he believed there was an advantage on how a team reaches the playoffs. “If the wild card doesn’t get a home-field advantage [in either of the first two rounds], that could mean something, but I think the big thing is not where you’re playing but who you’re playing. Let’s hope we get far enough to find out.”

If Scioscia’s Angels seldom waver from the manager’s mantra of playing them one at a time, it’s tough to argue with a successful formula.

Seldom have two teams been more dominating as they approached a key September series than the Angels and A’s, combining to win 32 of the last 33 games, and Scioscia might have been justified in suggesting that “a case could be made” for believing that whichever team comes out of the West as the wild card “it might be the strongest” yet in that category.

In fact, with the Boston Red Sox just about out of wild-card hope in the East and the reality of the calendar and standings beginning to weigh against the Seattle Mariners as they struggle to keep pace in the West, it’s conceivable that the A’s and Angels could reach the playoffs with the league’s best records.

The A’s already have the best at 91-52, while the Angels are third at 88-55, one game behind the Yankees.

Of course, the A’s won 102 games as the wild card last year, seven more than the Yankees did in winning the East, and still lost in the first round despite winning the first two games at Yankee Stadium (the vision of Jeremy Giambi not sliding at the plate in Game 3 still haunts the A’s).

In addition, even if the A’s or Angels begin the playoffs as the wild card with more wins than the Yankees, they would not have home-field advantage.

Based on Monday’s standings, the Yankees would play host to the Angels and the A’s would play host to Minnesota.

If there’s added motivation to win the division and avoid that opening date with the Yankees, it’s a little late to be looking for added motivation.

As Justice noted, the postseason is a whole new season, although the record indicates that it’s definitely tougher for a wild card.

Eight of the 14 have lost in the first round, including the Yankees twice. Only two--the 1997 Florida Marlins and 2000 New York Mets--have advanced to the World Series, with only the Marlins winning.

“Sure,” said Justice, dismissing those statistics, “it’s always nice to have a home-field advantage, but at some point you have to win on the road, and you’re probably not going to be in the playoffs anyway unless you’ve played well on the road.”

Teammate Eric Chavez concurred, saying the A’s only objective is to qualify for the third consecutive year, to get another crack either as division winner or wild card.

In fact, Chavez suggested, he’s reached the conclusion that the home-field advantage (especially for a first-year qualifier such as the Angels) is almost a disadvantage since “you’re playing in front of 50,000 people at home and there’s enormous expectations to win those first two games. You open on the road and come home with a split or 2-0, it can take some of the pressure off, but the big thing is just getting there.”

Like the Angels, who began the year 6-14, Chavez had doubts about the A’s. Operating without Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen, they trailed by 10 games as late as May 30.

“I questioned myself if we were good enough to come back without those guys,” Chavez said. “We dug a really deep hole, and it’s really gratifying to have dug out of it the way we have.

“I mean, we’ve definitely gone through some adversity, experienced a lot of highs and lows over the last couple years. There’s nothing we haven’t seen, nothing we’re not ready for, and we’re all really excited about the next three weeks.”

The final three weeks of the regular season could send the A’s and/or Angels into October as division winner and/or wild card. If you really believe they don’t care which, tell it to the Yankees.