BOSTON - The Red Sox revealed yesterday that knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has been suffering from some right shoulder soreness, forcing him off the ALDS roster.

Previously, the Sox had implied that Wakefield's injury - which cost him a start at the end of August - was more related to his lower back.

Wakefield received a cortisone shot Sunday morning, the morning after making his final regular-season start. He threw briefly again Tuesday morning, shortly before the Sox made the decision to keep him off the roster.

Manager Terry Francona acknowledged that a new rule - which mandates that if a player is removed from the active roster in mid-series, he must also miss the next postseason series in its entirety - played a factor in the decision to leave Wakefield off the ALDS roster.

"As the day evolved,'' said Francona, "we knew that we were going to put Wake in an unfair position. If we ask him to pitch, he was going to be ready to pitch and then if we had to take him off the roster, we would lose him for the next round if we're fortunate enough to get there. So it definitely played a part in our thinking.''

Wakefield will progress slowly in the next few days. He'll play some catch and work up to a side session. He'll accompany the Sox to Anaheim Saturday and be monitored by the training staff.

"We'll do what we think is right,'' Francona said.

Angels haven't seen Dice-K

The Red Sox will send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound for Game Two of this series on Friday. It will be the first time this season Dice-K will face the Angels. Even though this is his first MLB postseason game, the right-hander has played in some big games in Japan.

Francona was asked yesterday how curious he was to watch Dice-K's playoff debut.

"I'd say more than curious,'' said Francona. "I think that has not been an issue with us. I think we have enjoyed watching the way he has handled certain things that have been thrown at him. We've all seen the bumps in the road, the hiccups in some of the outings. But, being intimidated or shrinking from a challenge won't be one of them. I think this stage will be a good place for him to show what he can do.''

Dice-K agrees.

"Because of those experiences [World Baseball Classic and high school championship, which is huge in Japan] I will be able to approach this game with the same approach and mentality that I've been able to approach my games during the regular season.''

Lineup intact

Boston finally had the lineup it wanted heading into Game One of the ALDS against the Angels. Everyone, for the most part, was healthy.

"We tried to get to a point where [last night] we would have our lineup and pitching staff in order,'' Francona said. "Doesn't mean you win, doesn't mean you lose. But it means we send out our team the way we envisioned it and let them go play."

The manager also said it wasn't easy the last couple of weeks playing with different players out of the lineup at different times.

"We've remained together and strong and united,'' Francona he said.

Angels skipper Mike Scioscia, however, had to continue mixing and matching. Unlike the Red Sox, the Angels haven't had their "model'' lineup at any point this season. Still, the club has been able to win all year.

"We've done it all year,'' said Scioscia. "And we'll continue to do it.''

Home sweet home

Francona was asked about the value of having the home-field advantage.

"We've been a better team at home,'' he said. "I think the Angels have been a better team at home; most teams are. Saying that, whoever plays better is going to win. But if you had to ask me which I would prefer, I'd rather play at home, for various reasons.

"We get to hit last. I think there can be some magic here at Fenway. This is our ballpark and we've played 81 games here. The place can get crazy late when things start happening. We know the field; we're supposed to be better here. But batting last is big, and should be an advantage.''

Around the bases

The Sox went into the ALDS with a 2-4 record in Game 1 openers. This is the first ALDS the Sox have opened at home. Previously, they've opened at Cleveland (1995, 1998, 1999), Oakland (2003) Anaheim (2004), and Chicago (2006) . . . Jason Varitek had the most postseason playoff experience heading into this series, with 39 games. Ten Red Sox players went into the ALDS with no playoff experience: Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Cash, Eric Hinske, Jacoby Ellsbury, Manny Delcarmen, Matsuzaka, Coco Crisp, Javier Lopez, Hideki Okajima and Jon Lester . . . The umpires last night were Gary Darling (home plate), Dan Iassogna (first base), Brian Runge (second base), Ted Barrett (third base), Tim Tschida (left field) and CB Bucknor (right field). Darling, a veteran of six divisional series, three league championship series and one World Series, is the crew chief . . . Current NESN analyst and former Sox second baseman Jerry Remy won the redsox.com election as president of Red Sox Nation.