BOSTON – The Red Sox have had the best record in the American League for most of the summer. If they can hang on over the final two and a half weeks, they can set their own playoff schedule.

A new format instituted by Major League Baseball, meant to further reward the team with the league’s best record, gives the AL team the right to choose which of two best-of-five division series it wishes to play in — one that starts Oct. 3 and lasts eight days, or one that starts Oct. 4 and lasts seven. The new format was first reported in Tuesday’s New York Post.

Because of the staggered format of the eight-day series, which would allow teams to use a three-man rotation on regular rest, it’s hard to imagine the team with the best record not selecting it.

And should the Yankees play the Angels in the shorter series, featuring as many as four cross-country flights, there would be extra incentive for the Red Sox to select the longer one.

The Red Sox entered play Tuesday night with a two-game lead over Anaheim for the best record. Cleveland trailed Anaheim by a half-game for the second-best record and the right to play the Yankees, who led the wild card by 3 1/2 games before entering Tuesday.

Should the current standings hold, Division Series B would play Games 1 and 2 in Boston Oct. 3 and 5. Games 3 and 4 would be in Cleveland Oct. 7-8 and Game 5, if necessary, would be Oct. 10 in Boston.

Division Series A would have Games 1 and 2 in Anaheim, Calif., Oct. 4-5, Games 3 and 4 in New York Oct. 7-8 and Game 5, if necessary, in Anaheim Oct. 10. Wherever former Red Sox manager Grady Little was around 4:15 p.m., Tuesday, he might felt a sharp pain.

Current Red Sox Manager Terry Francona, who replaced Little after the 2003 season, was asked about Curt Schilling making his customary I’m done tip of the cap to the umpires after the sixth inning Monday, and whether Francona considered sending Schilling back out for the seventh. Though he never mentioned Little — and probably wasn’t even thinking about him — Francona’s answer was nonetheless telling.

“In their mind, they’re done,” Francona said. “If they’re done and you want to send them out there, that’s stupidity. Not going to work. There’s a reason they think they’re done. There’s a lot of times when you think in your mind a guy has another inning. But if he’s, for whatever reason, in his mind, has about hit the wall, you’d be silly to send him back out.”

Lest anyone forget, Pedro Martinez pointed to the sky — his traditional I’m done signal — after the seventh inning in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees, before Little sent him back out for the eighth, eventually blowing a 5-2 lead.

Francona said Doug Mirabelli (strained left hamstring) was targeting a Monday return in Toronto, when Tim Wakefield is next scheduled to pitch.

Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service

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