So we're here. I predicted, during spring training, that the Tigers would win the AL Central. This was, at the time, laughable to my many friends who are Twins fans. Well, who's laughing now? I always tease them back - hey, we might not make the playoffs every year, but at least when we do, we beat the Yankees. And here we are.
A lot of people panicked after Game 4, and writing this after Game 5 is over is well, obviously you'll take what I say with a grain of salt. I should have been more prudent. But I'm also the kind of hometown fan who likes to ignore the pressure situation until it happens. Don't think about. Don't talk about it. Don't predict anything. Wear the right underwear, wear the lucky shirt. I'm probably more superstitious about baseball than any other sport, if only because the deciding factor can hang on a single pitch. During Game 5, in the 8th and 9th as the Tigers had a 1-run lead, I'm sitting there sweating because you know that the tying run is always at the plate with the Yankees - anyone can blast it out of the park there. So you're just hoping a base-runner doesn't get on, because that can be the end of that.
The Tigers have a Jekyll-and-Hyde bullpen. They have some studs. Benoit. Valverde. I trust these guys. I trust Benoit to be solid and I trust Valverde to almost always give me a heart attack, but somehow come through in the end. I trust Phil Coke to provide 7th inning relief or help out on lefties. I trust Al Alburquerque in the way you can trust a rookie who gets a lot of strikeouts. After that, I don't trust anyone. That's why I didn't take the score of Game 4 to heart. See:
The Tigers were down 4-1 with the bases loaded when Leyland called in Al-Al. No outs. This is a logical move - Al-Al is our best strikeout reliever and if anyone is going to get out of a jam like that, it's him. This was Leyland's turning point. If Al-Al gets out of the jam, the game comes out differently. Not saying the Tigers win, mind you, but it'd look different. Instead, Al-Al gives up two hits on a balk and a single. Al-Al, for all I like him, looks very overwhelmed in the playoffs so far, but maybe that's because Leyland keeps throwing him into the highest of high pressure situations. Anyway. The score is 6-1 and Leyland trots out Daniel Schlereth.
I like Daniel Schlereth. Dude has a good beard. His dad gives decent analysis on ESPN. Good for him. But Schlereth hasn't ever really proven anything to the Tigers yet and, as a result, Leyland always puts him out there when the game is already over. If we're behind, I consider Schlereth to be the white flag of "okay, we're done." And as such, more runs are given up. Schlereth is out, then Ryan Perry. None of our really trusted guys come out. In fact, Game 4's pitching lineup other than Coke was mostly a batch of "adequate" guys - not playoff guys. Leyland had a plan. He wanted Fister and Scherzer, Benoit and Valverde ready for Game 5. That 10-1 wasn't indicative of how the Tigers would play, who they would trot out, the next day. And indeed, Game 5's lineup held the Yankees to 2 runs. That's because two starters went 6 innings (and change) and handed the ball to Benoit and Valverde.
And how about Benoit in the 7th? As I watched that, and saw only Valverde warming up, I knew we would win or lose by Benoit and how he pitched out of that bases loaded jam. He walked in a run, but never lost his composure, although he seemed genuinely irritated at the start by having to remove his band-aid. Seriously, Joe Girardi? That's a dick move. I'm glad you lost. It's a band-aid. Anyway, as I watched, holding my breath, I said to myself, "hey, this was our big-money acquisition this season. We brought him in precisely for this moment." And I knew we had to win or lose by him, because he was the best we had. If he blew it, we're beaten. No losing the game or any sour grapes, just straight up - their guy was better than our guy. Honorable defeat, so to speak. But Benoit lived up to his payday and made it happen. It was easier to cope with when I sat back and said "I trust my front office."
The Tigers will surely have Verlander ready for Game 1, which hopefully will not be rain-delayed again. I'm interested to see if Fister or Scherzer pitch Game 2, or if they bring out Porcello again. I thought Porcello was sufficient in Game 4 of the ALDS and, if Verlander wins Game 1 (is that really a question?), it'd be a safe play to bring in Porcello and then have Fister and Scherzer ready to go for Games 3/4. Assuming those split (and they could both be wins), Verlander comes in again in Game 5 to either win the series or put the Tigers in the lead to eliminate. The pitching matchups favor the Tigers, I think, but their bats need to wake up. Alex Avila has been an MVP for the Tigers - seriously - and needs to get his bat back after an awful ALDS. With Delmon Young possibly out for some time with an oblique injury, an Avila resurgence would make up the difference.
Really, though? I think the Tigers cut through Texas pretty evenly. They take it in six - splitting the first two in Texas, then the first two in Detroit, before winning Games 5 and 6 to end it.
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