After Sunday afternoon’s game, Red Sox manager Terry Francona will announce the team’s plan for its starting rotation. In all likelihood, Jon Lester will be announced as the Game 1 starter and Josh Beckett will be slated for the second game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. There’s no real surprise on either count. There are, however, some slightly more challenging roster issues that continue to confront the Sox as they look to figure out the 25 players who make the roster against the Angels.

TIM WAKEFIELD

It was a difficult decision based on Tim Wakefield’s stature within the organization, but a fairly straightforward one based on his physical condition. The knuckleballer’s All-Star first half, in which he went 11-3 with a 4.31 ERA, yielded to utter disappointment in the second half, as he was able to make just four starts while going 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA. He is unable to field his position due to weakness in his leg, the result of a herniated disc that is impinging the sciatic nerve.

As a result, the Sox confirmed the obvious in deciding that Wakefield will not be part of the first round playoff roster. Even so, the team asked Wakefield to hold off before undergoing surgery to repair the disc, given the possibility that an injury could lead the club to seek a start from the knuckleballer later in the postseason. One need look only to the 2007 playoffs, when a shoulder injury to Wakefield forced the Sox to use Jon Lester as a starter, for precedent about the need to have available starting depth. Though his immense struggles to get to the mound, Wakefield has shown that he is capable of enduring a long layoff yet still pitching well enough to permit his team a chance to win.

“I think it’s kind of obvious the situation he’s in. He’s been trying to go out there kind of on one leg. What we did also talk to him about was not shelving his season. We know one day you can feel good about your pitching and then something happens. Wake has that ability, whether it’s two weeks from now, to throw a pretty good game. He’s on board with that, which we appreciated a lot,” said Francona. “He’s not going to be there in the first round. That doesn’t mean something couldn’t happen … It’s been very difficult for him physically. We didn’t just want to shut him down either. He could still play a role.”

Wakefield declined comment, except to say that the decision was “fine. I’ll be ready.”

ROCCO BALDELLI

A somewhat more unexpected event is the emergent possibility that the Sox might be without Rocco Baldelli in the first round. Because the Angels feature a pair of southpaw starters — Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders — it seemed reasonable to expect a role for the Sox’ right-handed outfield reserve off the bench. The team remains hopeful that Baldelli will be available, but following a strained left hip flexor on Friday, his status is in question.

Baldelli will undergo tests on Monday. The Sox are hopeful that, because their series against the Angels might not employ one of their left-handed starters before Saturday’s Game 3, the reserve outfielder might still be able to make the playoff roster.

“We’ll see where it goes. It’s a big bat to have,” said Francona. “[The injury] doesn’t take him off [the playoff roster]. It certainly could. It hasn’t yet. I think we’re going to treat it aggressively and see where this goes. Potentially, they don’t throw a lefty until the third game.”

SHORTSTOPS

Alex Gonzalez erased any doubts about his hand when he lined a solo homer into the Monster seats on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the second inning on Sunday. If there were any questions about how his hand had recovered from the swelling, that answered them.

Gonzalez’ health is crucial, given that reserve Nick Green remains “stuck in neutral,” in Francona’s words, in his efforts to return from a back injury that — much like Wakefield — has created weakness in his leg.

“He just can’t support the squatting part when he’s hitting and fielding a groundball,” said Francona.

That would appear to rule Green out of the first round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Chris Woodward remains away from the team to be with his wife following the birth of the couple’s third child. The team is unsure when the utility infielder will be back with the club.

Almost by default, that would leave Jed Lowrie as the primary candidate for the backup infield spot. Of course, there are worse fates. The Sox point out that Lowrie has postseason experience by virtue of his time as the starting shortstop last October, and the team has few concerns about his defensive abilities or his ability to hit right-handed. The Sox have been pleased with how Lowrie has looked at the plate in the last couple of games in which he’s had to hit left-handed, and so he would appear likely to be on the postseason roster for the Division Series.

MANNY DELCARMEN

Manny Delcarmen was rendered unavailable to pitch this weekend after he got into a car accident on I-93 on Saturday. The right-hander reported today that he feels better than he did on Saturday, when he faced significant stiffness in his back and neck, but the team had been hoping to see him pitch before making a final determination about whether he might be on the playoff roster. Delcarmen said that he was fortunate that he was driving his Hummer, rather than his wife’s Nissan Murano, or else the injuries he incurred while trying to avoid the car that careened in front of him could have been far worse.