Tuesday, October 04, 2011

My keys to Game 4 of the ALDS tonight between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees

To be honest with you, I don't think the Tigers best lineup includes Donald Kelly starting in right field and batting sixth. We'll see if Tigers manager Jim Leyland will have another Alexis Gomez moment in the postseason,. Remember the role he played in the 2006 ALCS? Other than a hunch, it doesn't make sense.

- Wilson Betemit has a much better chance of hitting Yankees starter A.J. Burnett than Brandon Inge. Check that. Everybody has a good chance of hitting Burnett these days. The Tigers must pound this guy early.

- The key players for the Yankees are Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira. Alex Rodriguez isn't the player he used to be. His slumping in this series isn't a surprise. Cano had the big grand slam in Game 1, but Game 2 and Game 3 didn't swing the bat well. Teixeira breaks loose, and he is more than capable of doing so, the Tigers could be in trouble.

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1 Comments:

Anonymous woody said...

Burnett still has good, if unpredictable stuff...he nearly averaged a K per inning. had a horrific August, was OK rest of season. A bit wild and homer prone, but sometimes guys like this can be wildly effective.

Tiger hitters need patience. This is a guy who can beat himself with lack of control. Wonder if Giardi at this point would rather have Colon to use instead. Second guessers will descend on Giardi for that roster decision if Burnett implodes.

Probably most important for the outcome is whether Porcello has his sinker working. If Yanks put runs on the board vs Porcello, they can hook Burnett early if he runs into trouble.

8:04 PM 

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