Ervin Santana

In a perfect world, the Angels would have their top off-season target Zack Greinke secured to a long-term deal or get a firm decision from the free-agent right-hander that he is signing elsewhere by the end of the World Series. That would give General Manager Jerry Dipoto a clear view of the Angels' roster and payroll before having to make three key early November decisions: whether to extend a qualifying offer of about $13 million to outfielder Torii Hunter and whether to pick up 2013 options for pitchers Dan Haren and Ervin Santana.

SEATTLE - Ervin Santana is so even-keeled you wouldn't know if he was throwing a no-hitter or getting shelled, a temperament that helps him cope with the stress of being a big league pitcher but irritates those who want him to show more fire on the mound. So it's hardly surprising that Santana, in his 12th year with the only organization he has known, attached no special significance to what very well could be his last game as an Angel, Sunday night's 2 2/3-inning, six-run, seven-hit effort in an 8-7 loss to Texas.

SEATTLE - Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson revealed after Monday night's 8-4 win over the Seattle Mariners that he will undergo arthroscopic surgery immediately after the season to remove bone spurs from his elbow, a condition the left-hander said has been bothering him since the All-Star break. “I've been pitching through some little problems the last couple of months,” said Wilson, who allowed two earned runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking five, to improve to 13-10 with a 3.83 earned run average.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Angels shuffled off the field, their season over every way but mathematically, surrounded by the sights and sounds of joy. The Texas Rangers did not dance in the faces of the Angels, but the public address announcer shouted deliriously into the night air. "With tonight's win, the Texas Rangers have clinched a spot in postseason play," he said. The crowd went nuts. Mike Napoli appeared on the video board, the slayer of the Angels wearing a contented smile, and the crowd went nuts again.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Seldom has a team had such a disheartening day at a ballpark without losing. The Angels watched the rain for seven hours. On television, they saw the Oakland Athletics pull off a stunning victory. The outcome they most dreaded - a doubleheader Sunday - is exactly the one they got. If the Angels lose both games Sunday, and if the A's win their game, the Angels would be eliminated from playoff contention. The Angels and Texas Rangers were rained out here Saturday, even though Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said he would have waited into the wee hours if possible.

The Angels do not need a complicated formula to figure out their chance to make the playoffs. They must win their final three games, and the Oakland Athletics must lose their final three games. Then, and only then, could the Angels force a tiebreaker for the final playoff spot. That means the Angels need seven games to go their way - and maybe eight, depending on the Tampa Bay Rays. Not much chance of that, and so the Angels all but called it a season Sunday night. Mike Napoli drove the ceremonial stake into the heart of his former team.

The odds are against the Angels, and now Mother Nature might be too. If the Angels can force a one-game tiebreaker for the second and final American League wild-card spot, they could be forced to use a starting pitcher on short rest. The Angels trail the Oakland Athletics for the second AL wild-card spot by two games, with five to play. Rain is forecast here all day Saturday, with Ervin Santana the scheduled starter for the Angels. If the game is rained out and the Angels play a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers on Sunday, the choices in a tiebreaker would appear to be Santana or Zack Greinke, each on three days' rest.

It seems almost blasphemous for the Angels to root for a division rival, one that seized the American League West title from them in 2010 and hasn't let go, but that's an unsavory byproduct of the wild-card system. The Angels began play Tuesday seven games behind Texas in the AL West with nine to play. They were two games behind Oakland for the second wild-card spot. The Rangers and Athletics were playing in Texas. Do the math. "If it comes down to simply numbers, I'm rooting for Texas, because we're closer to Oakland," Angels left fielder Mark Trumbo said.

The Angels, behind another superb effort by resurgent right-hander Ervin Santana, beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2, Friday night for their 82nd victory, assuring them of their eighth winning season in nine years. Whoopee. That might be cause for celebration in Pittsburgh or Cleveland and a ticker-tape parade in Houston, but the Angels had more in mind when they splurged on free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson last winter and acquired Zack Greinke in July. They expected to contend for the World Series title, but their uneven play over six months has left them in need of a miracle - in this case, an Oakland or Baltimore collapse - to reach the one-game wild-card playoff.

It's beginning to look like April in Angel Stadium, where the home team picked the wrong time to reprise its role as the Big Engine That Couldn't. A once-prolific offense is no longer pressuring opponents early, leaving starting pitchers with no margin for error. There have been costly errors, some questionable baserunning and a noticeable lack of clutch hits, all hallmarks of an Angels club that was a dismal 8-15 in that first month of the season. The Oakland Athletics took advantage again Wednesday night with a 4-1 victory, their third in a crucial four-game series that concludes Thursday and their 21st win in 26 games.