The Tigers will be advancing to the World Series for the first time since 2006
By Jesse Dougherty
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| (REUTERS/Mike Cassese) |
Mariano Rivera tore his ACL on May 4 and missed the remainder of the
season.
Derek Jeter missed the last three games of the ALCS after breaking
his ankle.
Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, and Curtis Granderson forgot how to hit
a baseball.
Alex Rodriguez was more interested in getting girls, than getting
wins.
These are the things that will surface in the New York media, as the
obvious excuses for the Yankees’ shortcomings this October. But at the end of
the day, the Tigers were just the better team.
On Thursday evening, with a full house at Comerica Park salivating
for victory, the Tigers completed a 4-game sweep of the Yankees and punched
their ticket to baseball’s biggest stage in style.
Contrary to the first three games of the season, the Tigers offense
called upon the long ball to take down the Yanks in Game 4. With New York ace
C.C. Sabathia pitching, the Tigers took a patient approach to try and tire his
arm, and with a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, their offense
exploded.
It all happened very fast. Omar Infante single, Miguel Cabrera home
run. Prince Fielder strikeout. Delmon Young single, Jhonny Peralta home run. In
the span of five batters, the Tigers posted four runs and expanded their lead
to 6-0, and didn’t look back.
Nick Swisher provided the only offense for the Bronx Bombers, who
were silenced at the plate for the series’ entirety. His RBI double that scored
Eduardo Nunez in the top of the sixth simply wasn’t enough.
The game ended on a putout by Tigers’ first basemen Prince Fielder,
who they acquired for over $200 million dollars last off-season. Once Fielder
reeled in Jayson Nix’s infield fly, the Tigers rejoiced around the mound,
collectively celebrating an unprecedented ALCS performance.
“We did it,” said Miguel Cabrera in an ESPN interview after the
game, “It’s an unbelievable feeling... Four more wins, guys. Four more wins.”
Cabrera is looking ahead to a World Series date with either the St.
Louis Cardinals or the San Francisco Giants, but before we look ahead, let’s
look back at a dominating performance by a team that deserves supreme
recognition.
In 4 games, the Tigers outscored the Yankees 19 to 6, and while
their offense was certainly human, it was enough to support a pitching staff
that brought its ‘A’ game. When asked about the Tigers’ pitching throughout the
series one word came to Miguel Cabrera’s mind.
“Unbelievable.” said Cabrera to ESPN. “It’s why we’re here right now,
because of pitching. Wow.”
Cabrera’s “unbelievable” could be an understatement for a starting
rotation that dazzled a lineup consisting of Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano, and
Curtis Granderson, among others, for four straight games. As a group, Doug
Fister, Anibal Sanchez, Justin Verlander, and Max Scherzer pitched 27.1 innings
and yielded just two earned runs to the Yankees in the ALCS.
You should probably read that again slowly: they pitched 27.1
innings and yielded just two earned runs to the Yankees in the ALCS.
Offensively, Delmon Young’s clutch bat earned him ALCS MVP honors.
Young went 6 for 17 in the series with two home runs and six RBI’s. He is now
the Tigers all-time franchise leader in post-season home runs, and provided the
go ahead RBI for Detroit in all four games.
The six runs Young produced for the Tigers equal the entire offensive
output of the Yankees in the series, and if that doesn’t describe a dismal
offense, what else could?
Yankees’ hitting coach Kevin Long will most likely be fired in the
weeks to come, Joe Girardi’s job will be put into question on multiple
occasions, and let’s face it, Alex Rodriguez has a long off-season ahead of
him.
But for once, let’s forget about baseball’s Evil Empire and focus on
a different American League team. After all, the Tigers are going to the World
Series.
