Detroit Tigers into ALCS: What makes Tigers dangerous; where Yankees lack
NEW YORK: Last night, the Detroit Tigers held off the New York Yankees in a nail biting 3-2 game. It was Game 5, the deciding game of the series and the setting was Yankee Stadium.
The New York Yankees have made a habit of slaughtering teams from the AL Central Division. Especially the Minnesota Twins, who seem to go into hiding when the Yankees come to play.
Yet last night was different, as the Tigers fended off loaded bases in the 4th and 7th innings. The starting pitcher for the Tigers was Doug Fister and for the Yankees it was Ivan Nova. The Tigers started off strong, with Don Kelly and Delmon Young hitting 2 homers in the first inning off Nova to get a 2 run head start on the Yankees.
Then came the drama in the fourth. The bases were loaded, with Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher, and Alex Rodriguez all on base. Just one out in the inning up to this point. Fister was able to get both Russell Martin and Brett Gardner to hit pop fly outs. The Tigers had just dodged a massive bullet. The next inning, the Tigers got their 3rd run of the game off of a hit by Victor Martinez, which drove in Austin Jackson. In the bottom of the 5th, Robinson Cano struck back, blasting a ball into the stands to make it a 3-1 game.
More drama came in the 7th inning as the Yankees once again had the bases loaded. This time Joaquin Benoit was pitching for the Tigers. Benoit looked shaky, nervous, and eager to get pulled. He looked like he needed a hug or a bottle of milk from his mother. He looked that helpless. At bat, was Alex Rodriguez, the Yankee’s premier slugger. It looked like easy pickings for the Yankee’s future hall of famer. The first pitch by Benoit to A-Rod looked like Benoit had lost complete confidence as it was high and very wide. It looked to be at that point in the game where the New York Yankees would step up and finish off the Tigers. However, after regaining his composure, Benoit magically struck out Alex Rodriguez, flummoxing New Yorkers everywhere. The bases were still loaded, but now there were 2 outs and not 1. Benoit looked like he was going to get out of the inning unscathed. However, Mark Teixeira drew a walk, scoring in Derek Jeter, and the score was now 3-2. Benoit certainly looked ready to die.
While all of this is going on, sportscasters and baseball fans everywhere are wondering why the Tigers don’t put in their starting ace Justin Verlander to get an out or two. Verlander had only pitched one game in the series due to rain, and so bringing him in wouldn’t be considered crazy. Plus, the Yankees had already trotted out their ace CC Sabathia in the 5th inning. But perhaps CC giving up a run in the 5th reconfirmed to the Tigers that putting their ace out on the mound on short rest was not such a smart idea.
So while all these thoughts about putting Verlander in are swirling in people’s minds, the Tigers are in a bases loaded jam with 2 outs, and up by 1 run. Putting in your ace to get 1 out and maybe just 1 pitch would make sense. But the Tigers didn’t put in Verlander. They stuck with the vulnerable looking Benoit. The next batter after Teixeira was Nick Swisher. In an at bat that was as intense as you can get, Benoit struck out Nick Swisher, preserving a 3-2 run for his team.
The 8th inning proved to be futile offensive outing for the Tigers. All 3 Tigers batters got out. In the bottom of the 8th inning, the Tigers stuck with Benoit. This looked to be a very risky decision after the previous inning that Benoit had. The decision worked out for the Tigers, but only by the grace of 6 feet. When Jeter came up to bat in that inning, Brett Gardner was on first base, and was starting to steal. Jeter then proceed to blast the ball into the chilly October night and memories of past Yankee victories were starting to come alive. However, to the dismay of Yankee Stadium, the ball fell 6 feet short and was caught by Don Kelly for the 3rd out. Another 6 feet, and the Yankees are up 4-3, with their closing pitcher Mariano Rivera coming in to put the Tigers to sleep. But the baseball gods didn’t have this out come in mind. The Tigers still had a 3-2 lead entering the 9th inning. In the top of the 9th inning, the Yankees decided to bring in Rivera to come in to keep the score 3-2. In approximately 2 minutes, Rivera mowed down three straight Tigers hitters, giving his team one more shot at October glory. The bottom of the 9th inning was as dramatic as you could get. The Yankees down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th. The month is October, and a trip to the ALCS is at stake. The Tigers trotted out their own great closer named Jose Valverde. Valverde hadn’t blown a save all season, and he wasn’t about to make any changes to that impressive stat. He had 49 saves in the regular season in 49 opportunities. An amazing accomplishment, no doubt. The only thing that stood in the way of Valverde and another save was the heart of the Yankee lineup. Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, and Alex Rodriguez. Three of the most feared hitters in baseball. Granderson and Cano both hit fly balls that were caught as outs. The last out and the last chance for the Yankees to win rested in the bat of Alex Rodriguez. Would A-Rod be the hero or the goat? After an intense at bat, Valverde struck out Alex Rodriguez, getting the save, and getting his team the win over the New York Yankees. Yankee Stadium was quiet as a mouse, with only the occasional cheering coming from die hard Detroit Tigers fans. The Tigers had slain the dragon. They had beaten the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium in the Post-Season! It couldn’t get any sweeter than that. Plus, as if to rub salt onto an already gashing wound, Alex Rodriguez had the honors of being the final out. It was all too sweet for Yankee haters across the globe. The Tigers were marching on to Arlington, TX to face the Rangers in the ALCS. The Yankees were staying home for the rest of the year.
The Tigers proved that they are a serious team with serious chances of winning the world series. The Yankees proved that they are a bunch of over-rated yahoos. But why did the Tigers beat the Yankees? Why are they so dangerous? The answer comes in their pitching. The Tigers have the best starting pitcher and the best closing pitcher in baseball. That’s the short, but accurate answer. The Tigers are a dangerous team because they have the best starting pitcher and the best closer in baseball. In addition to that, the baseball world learned that the Tigers have other pitchers who can step up in and get the job done as well. Their pitching staff is very deep and very capable of stepping up in clutch moments. Also, they have some great hitters like Delmon Young and Don Kelly who can get timely hits. Great pitching + timely hitting = success in Major League Baseball. But a key thing that the Tigers did that the Yankees didn’t do, was show confidence in their overall team.
The Yankees’ decision to bring in their Ace on short rest was a panic move, and a way of saying they didn’t trust their other pitchers. The Tigers leaving Benoit and their other pitchers in the game, showed that they have confidence in everyone on that team. That’s a huge difference.
But something else struck me after the game that wasn’t directly related to what happened last night. The Yankees are OLD. Yes, I said it. The Yankees are OLD. Mariano Rivera is 42 years old. Jorge Posada is 40. Derek Jeter is 37. All 3 guys are OLD. For the past 15 years, these three guys have been the rock of this Yankee team and now, all three guys are on their way out. There’s a fourth guy who’s no longer on the team that is in the same class as these guys. That would be Andy Pettitte. Who was a starting pitcher for the New York Yankees from 1995 to 2011 with a 4 year stint in Houston in the mid 2000′s.
These four guys Pettitte, Jeter, Rivera, and Posada have been the heart and soul of the Yankees for the last 17 years. In 5 years, all 4 of these guys are going to be retired. The reason why the Yankees have won all their recent world series titles in the mid 90′s through the 2000′s is due to these 4 guys. All the other pieces have been added to assist these 4 guys. It’s that simple. A-Rod, Teixeira, Swisher, Granderson, Sabathia, and every other big name free agent that the Yankees have signed have been to assist Pettitte, Jeter, Rivera, and Posada. Those 4 guys have been the anchor of the Yankee organization for the whole stretch of World Series titles that the Yankees have won in the 90′s and 2000′s.
With these 4 guys on their way out or already retired, the Yankees need to get some young blood in their organization to fill the massive shoes left by all 4 players. The way that they got all 4 of these players wasn’t through stealing other teams players, it was through the draft or rookie free agent signings. They already have one all-star guy that fits that mold. That would be Robinson Cano, who they signed in 2005 as a rookie. They need more guys like Cano that can fill the role of the old guys for the next 14+ years.
In essence, what I’m saying is the Yankee way of signing top notch free agents at their peak isn’t working. It’s drafting well and getting good young prospects that is working. Until the Yankees realize that they need more young talent and need to focus more on drafting then free agent signing, they aren’t gonna get any better.
As for the Tigers, they need to keep doing what they are doing. Rest Verlander appropriately and trust everybody in the organization. Their pitching is great, their hitting is sufficient to win, etc. The Tigers need to keep the pedal to the metal in the Motor City.
Jose Valverde
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