BOSTON - The Boston Red Sox are preparing to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALDS, which begins tomorrow night at Fenway Park, but the accolades from the regular season continue to roll in.

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was selected as the American League Player of the Month while teammate Jacoby Ellsbury was named the A.L.'s Rookie of the Month for September.

Ortiz produced one of his most successful months of the season without Sox cleanup hitter Manny Ramirez hitting behind him. While Ramirez missed 24 games with a strained oblique, a bruised and banged-up Ortiz hit .396 with nine homers and 27 RBI in 26 games.

Ellsbury has quickly proven he can handle the major-league level, and was especially good after his September callup. The 24-year-old outfielder saw a ton of action last month with Ramirez and Coco Crisp both missing games.

Ellsbury took advantage of his opportunity and hit .361 with three homers and 17 RBI in 26 games. He also hit safely in 23 games, including 6 doubles, 1 triple, 16 runs scored and 8 steals, following his recall from the Pawtucket Red Sox.

The Red Sox have had three players win the Rookie of the Month award, including pitcher Hideki Okajima (April) and second baseman Dustin Pedroia (May).

The gang's all here

The Red Sox held an optional workout yesterday, but you would have never guessed it by the number of players who showed up at Fenway Park. Pedroia, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, Julio Lugo, Doug Mirabelli, Kevin Cash, Brandon Moss, Alex Cora, J.D. Drew, Bobby Kielty and Royce Clayton all punched in for on-field batting practice. Pitchers Josh Beckett and Kyle Snyder were also in the house. Ramirez and Mike Lowell also showed up for work and took BP inside.

Francona sends congrats

The Philadelphia Phillies won the N.L. East crown in dramatic fashion, and the feeling hit home for Red Sox manager Terry Francona. Boston's skipper managed the Phillies for four difficult seasons (1997-2000). After Philadelphia clinched the division, Francona made a few phone calls to his former employer to offer his congratulations.

He especially mentioned Philadelphia chairman Bill Giles when asked about the Phillies yesterday, saying: "If it was up to Bill Giles he would spend every cent of his money to try to give that city a winner," said Francona. "He bleeds for that team so the enjoyment and pride he's feeling, I'm really happy about. . . There are some good people who I went through some very difficult times with. I remember how those people treated me when things weren't very good."

Under Francona, the Phillies never finished higher than third in the division.

Look to TBS

Fans got a sneak preview of postseason baseball last night as the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres needed to play a tie-breaker to decide the N.L.'s final playoff spot. The game was broadcast on TBS HD, the network that will carry the upcoming divisional series and the NLCS. For Cox Communications customers, the station is located on channel 736. Red Sox announcer and Rhode Island resident Don Orsillo will call games for TBS during the postseason.

Theft protection

The Red Sox' pitchers spent some extra time talking speed yesterday at Fenway Park.

The Angels boast one of the most aggressive base-running teams in the American League, and the Sox are well aware that keeping Chone Figgins (team-high 41 steals), Reggie Willits (27), Orlando Cabrera (20) and Gary Matthews (18) in check on the basepaths is a top priority.

"We're going to talk about that today,'' said backup catcher Doug Mirabelli. "We have to try to keep guys off the basepaths. Every team usually has a couple guys that can steal bases, but these guys really stand out because of their aggressiveness. The pitcher's ability to keep those guys from getting good jumps or at least giving 'Tek a chance to throw out some guys is big for us.''

Pitching coach John Farrell said he'll talk to starters Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Curt Schilling about tactics to hold runners on base, but never to the point of distraction.

"We know they're a team that uses the running game extensively in their offensive approach. Whether we look to do something different, well, we still have to execute pitches in the strike zone,'' Farrell said. "We still have to be able to give Jason (Varitek) or Doug a chance to throw some people out if they do attempt to steal so this becomes a little bit more of a responsibility on the shoulders of the pitchers to be able to unload the ball in an adequate delivery time. The one thing that we can't do is sacrifice location.''

While the Angels totaled 43 more (139-96) steals than the Red Sox, the Sox feel they have some speed to burn, too. The emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury gives the team a 'Dave Roberts-type' weapon that can be dangerous, especially in a short series.

"Speed is one factor on a team that you can't put a value on. It can change a game,'' said Mirabelli. "We have guys like Ellsbury and Coco (Crisp) and (Julio) Lugo who've all stolen bases this year. The ability to steal second base, steal third base or steal second base and have someone move you over definitely makes it easier for the guys coming up behind them.''