- It was inevitable the Tigers had to go to their bullpen tonight. Phil Coke wasn't good in the seventh. He was brilliant. Getting Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira back-to-back like that was incredible given Coke's struggles this season. And Cano really fought him hard in that at bat, too.
- Doug Fister has a tremendous competitive heart. Even when he was coming off an injury earlier this season and didn't pitch well (and the Tigers didn't play well behind defensively), he really fought with every pitch until the end of his outings. Same tonight. Great performance under the circumstances.
- The Tigers are fortunate they are not getting blown out. They got their share of breaks early in this game, but they also made their own. Count me among those who bemoans the lack of range of shortstop Jhonny Peralta (and his lack of overall production this season), but without two great plays by Peralta, this game would have had a totally different complexion. He deserves credit for it.
- Yankees fans are misguided for booing Alex Rodriguez. They should be booing manager Joe Girardi instead. The Yankees best lineup against right-handed pitching features Eric Chavez at third base, not A-Rod at this point. It's good for the Tigers, though.
- It's difficult to imagine the Tigers winning this series unless Miguel Cabrera breaks loose with more power. That was a disappointing at bat vs. the very hittable Derek Lowe in the top of the seventh.
- Derek Jeter is still a very good shortstop defensively. He's made some excellent plays in the postseason so far.