Starting Lineups:
NYY- Jeter (SS), C-Grand (CF), Cano (2B), A-Rod (3B), Teix (1B), Swish (RF), Jorge (DH), Martin (C), Gardner (LF)
DET- Jackson (CF), Santiago (2B), Young (LF), Cabrera (1B), Martinez (DH), Kelly (RF), Peralta (SS), Avila (C), Betemit (3B)
3 Things to Watch For:
1) Which Starting Pitcher Blinks First
Verlander-CC it ain't tonight, as A.J. Burnett, he of the 5.15 ERA/4.77 FIP in 2011, faces Rick Porcello and his 4.75/4.06 line. As guys who weren't expected to factor into the equation this series, both will have the shortest of short hooks ready for them tonight from their managers and it will be critical for them to limit damage if/when they put runners on. These guys are opposites in their makeup, A.J. all stuff and no command and Porcello not much stuff so relying on command, and history suggests A.J. could be in for the better outing (if that means anything). In 6 outings and 30 innings over the last 4 seasons, A.J. has allowed 13 ER and 35 baserunners against Detroit. Porcello has given up 16 ER and 45 baserunners over 29 innings in that same timeframe, striking out only 11 in the process. Whichever guy can buck the trend of poor pitching in 2011 and shaky histories against the other team will give his club a leg up.
2) Which Random Tiger Hitter Makes a Key Play
In Game 1 it was Delmon Young going 2-4 with a HR and 2 runs scored. In Game 2 it was Don Kelly pinch hitting in the top of the 9th and getting what turned out to be a very important insurance run on an RBI single. Last night it was the immortal Ramon Santiago and his .260/.311/.384 season line going 2-4 with 2 RBI. I thought it would be Miguel Cabrera who would carry the team, and he did his fair share of damage in Game 2, but the Tigers have consistently gotten offense from some unlikely sources in this series. With what he showed in the past 2 games, it could be Brandon Inge that steps up tonight, but I'm hopeful he'll decide not to and make a liar out of me.
3) Which Yankee Hitter Decides to Start Hitting
The Horse doesn't have a hit in 10 ABs this series. Russell Martin has 1 in 9. Swish 2 in 11. Teix 1 in 11 with 4 Ks (and just 16 in 99 career postseason ABs as a Yankee). Jeter has 4 hits but 6 Ks and a small army left on the basepaths. Cano has been nonexistent since Game 1. It's essentially Jorge Posada and Brett Gardner carrying the offensive load right now, and that just doesn't cut the mustard. The Yankees are facing a guy who they've knocked around before and are set up for tonight to be the night to start breaking out of this mini-funk (can't call it a slump after just 2 games). The question is, who's going to be the one to do it? Who's going to lead the charge, get the ball rolling, and get some good vibes going at the plate? The cliche "hitting is contagious" has some truth to it, and somebody needs to start spreading those germs early tonight.
Player to Watch: A.J. Burnett
All the hitting in the world don't mean shit if your pitcher can't hold the lead. It's what the Yanks experienced last night with their best on the mound and it's something they've experienced multiple times with A.J., their worst, on the mound. A.J. was much better in September than he was in August, but his signature outing was still against a Fraud Sawx team that had packed it in. The Tigers are a team on the verge of advancing to the ALCS and aren't going to roll over for him like Bahhston did. A.J. needs to be sharp, he needs to work quickly, and he needs to get ahead in counts because he's going to have Phil Hughes handcuffed to him from the start if signs point to him melting down. Out of all the pitchers I say this about, A.J. is probably the easiest guy to recognize when he doesn't have it. So tonight, we need to see this guy:
... and not this guy:
It's do-or-die time for the Yankees. Tonight is their Game 5. I'd much rather have at least one more day to write game previews and pick out YouTube songs instead of starting to figure out what offseason topics I'm going to discuss first. The offense has sleepwalked through the last 2 games, not taking advantage of all the chances they've had. Tonight they need to get it together and wake up. A little RATM should help that.
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