Say it now, the Detroit Tigers are American League champions for the first time since the year of my birth (1984) on a walk-off homer by Maggilo Ordonez that went well into the Detroit night and set off a celebration that will definitely be one to remember.
Go Tigers!!!!!!
Brandon Inge just got his third hit of the night for the Tigers with a single to rightfield.
With that, Joe Kennedy will be the third pitcher for the A’s as he comes in for Gaudin in the top of the sixth inning.
And Craig Monroe made an amazing catch that robbed the A’s of at least two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning in left field.
With that being said, the Tigers ae still leading 5-0 with Inge on second and Granderson on first.
And Kasi’s still trying to understand what I’m saying as well.
I had to explain to my friend Kasi what ALCS meant while I was watching the first inning and Barry Zito’s dominating the first and second innings by mowing down the Tigers’ batters.
Obviously, this will be the only time until the Cardinals open their series tomorrow that I would be able to talk with her without making mentions of the Cardinals in our conversations through instant messaging.
Anyway, as far as the game is concerned, the Tigers have two homers on tonight after Zito retired the first eight and Brandon Inge hit a homer that just went inside the foul pole in left field to put the Tigers on the board in the fourth inning.
Maggilo Ordonez singled in a run in the third to score Curtis Granderson as well in the Tigers’ third.
Pudge Rodriguez also hit a homer in the fourth inning that proved to be the stopping point for Zito as he was pulled in the top of the fourth inning and replaced Zito with Gaudin.
Brandon Inge picked up another RBI in the fourth inning to score Marcus Thames and Placido Polanco hit an RBI single to score Brandon Inge in the fourth inning to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead and that is what the score is now in the bottom of the fourth inning with runners on second and third with one out for Oakland.
There’s been some complaints about the glare off the windows in centerfield that was discussed on the air by the Fox TV announcers at the beginning of the game, which has not been a problem lately as the sun has gone down in Oakland.
I will be filing game reports during Game 1 of the ALCS, because I am bored as shit and I needed something to do while I take a breather from my book.
Barry Zito is on the mound for the A’s while Nate Robertson is on the mound for the Tigers.
I was planning to write this before I left the house yesterday evening, but with the euphoria that has been this season in Detroit, I felt that I should write about now before I take my ass to sleep.
Three years ago, I was fresh out of high school from Whitehaven High School and the Detroit Tigers were doing everything in its power to threaten that dubious record that was set 22 years before I was even born by the 1962 New York Mets of 120 losses.
Three years later I have a possible book deal and the Tigers are four wins away from their first World Series since 1984 (the year that I was born) .
The funny thing about this, is that everyone (including me) was picking the Yankees to win this series and possibly the World Series because of their potent offense and the fact that this team was deserving of their first world championship since 2000.
The Tigers were just going to fold up real nicely and just be happy that they made the playoffs for the first time in 19 years.
Wrong.
The Tigers won because they had excellent pitching and a solid bullpen.
Which is something that the Cardinals are lacking right now, yet they’re one win away from their third NLCS in as many years should they win tomorrow against the Padres.
The Tigers didn’t look at the neediness of a win or loss, according to Jim Leyland, they looked at each game as another chapter to what has been a storybook season for the boys in Motown.
Just win and don’t worry about tomorrow.
Which they have done.
Now the question is can they continue the magic that has been this 2006 season against Oakland.
Last night, I read John Donovan’s piece on the 2006 baseball season on Yahoo! Sports and he mentioned in his piece that no one (not even me) expected the Detroit Tigers to win the American League Central let known finish with the best record in baseball.
That was supposed to be the Chicago White Sox or the Minnesota Twins, with the Cleveland Indians making the Sox’s and Twins’ lives miserable during the season.
Florida, with its small fan base, rookie manager, and a group of kids who are pretty much close to my age (21), was supposed to lose 100 games and threaten the infamous record of losses in a season the same way that Detroit threatened it three years ago.
Not fight for the NL Wild Card.
Freddy Sanchez was not supposed to be a batting champion in his second full season in Pittsburgh.
But contiune to learn the pitchers while he got more playing time.
Ryan Howard was not supposed to hit 60 homers (he’s still on 58 as I write this) in just his second season with the Phillies.
And former Redbird outfielder, Chris Duncan was not supposed to hit 21 homers with 42 RBIs along with a .304 batting average.
None of this was supposed to happen.
What should have happened was that Marlins were going to lose 102 or so games, lose money, and move to Oklahoma City/Charlotte/or some other city that would embrace them with open arms.
Although I haven’t seen that much of Pittsburgh on television, I know for a fact a second-year player in the majors don’t get a chance to lead the National League in bating average for a perennial loser let known be considered for a Rookie of the Year award.
And definitely a guy that just began playing last year and earned the National League Rookie of the Year in 2005 isn’t supposed to hit a possible 60 homers in only his second year.
A team that hadn’t finished above .500 since 1993 is not supposed to go out and beat up on the competition.
And not supposed to, if I might add, put a scare into the defending world champions.
Nor they are supposed to finish with the best record in the American League or even the majors for that matter.
A guy who a year ago was playing down here in Memphis and hit the final home run in the history of Busch Stadium was not supposed to hit 21 homers and be a sparkplug for the Cardinals during their playoff push.
He was supposed to be playing before 12,000 fans, wiping his face in a towel because of the sweltering Memphis summers, and making enough money a month to spend on a night on the town with a few friends.
A centerfielder who hadn’t played in a month was not supposed to hit a pinch-hit homer to tie a game.
He was supposed to take his hacks at the plate, strike out, and sit down on the bench and watch his team push for a playoff berth.
An aspiring sportswriter was not supposed to become smitten by a chocolate cutie at the corner of South Third and Union Avenue nor become a legend of sorts.
I was supposed to be going with a girl he met in a campus bookstore, a girl that I took down to the ballpark two days after Valentine Day and start something big with her.
The summer that it was for me was supposed to be a dream, not something that would turn into a book idea that I found out was accepted by an out-of-town publisher yesterday morning when I checked my email.
Not something that would also become a part of Memphis professional baseball history.
But after what happened this season, none of those doubts nor shocked surprises seem to matter anymore to me.
Because as I said yesterday, anything can happen in baseball.
If you believe enough.
Quick. Raise your hand if you picked the Detroit Tigers to win 90 games.
Can’t do it?
OK, here’s another one, raise your hand if you picked the Tigers to win the division and overthrone the defending world champion Chicago White Sox for the AL Central crown.
And if you did raise your hand when I asked these questions, then you get a lifetime supply of chocolate chip cookies on me.
When this season started, the great baseball minds said that either Chicago, Cleveland, or even Minnesota were going to be in a dogfight for the AL Central crown and as usual the Tigers and Royals were going to serve as the bottom-feeders of the AL Central.
Oops.
Cleveland struggled this season, mainly in part to a lack of fundementals and middle reilef, which were two good reasons why the Indians clawed for a shot at the playoffs until the final day of the season last season.
And injuries to C.C. Sabithia and Casey Blake did not help their cause in repeating what they did last year.
But 25 players and a chainsmoking, hard-cursing man from Perrysburg,Ohio, turned the Motor City once again into a baseball town.
As everyone knows, this is a team that three years ago, was the laughingstock of baseball, with an American League-record 119 losses and a possible threat to break the 1962 New York Mets’ 120 losses.
But as you know, the Tigers on the final weekend of that horrendous season swept the Twins to avoid dubious distinction and walk out of that 2003 season with their heads held high.
And on yesterday, for the first time since 1987, the Motor City will be hosting baseball in October, a constant in the cities of St. Louis, New York, and until this year, Atlanta.
Now as I close this entry, raise your hand if you think this Detroit Tiger team can win the World Series.
I did.
Because in baseball, anything can happen.
Watching the White Sox-Tigers game on ESPN2, I saw myself watching a repeat of what happened when the Indians last year came into U.S. Cellular Field to attempt to put a scare in the White Sox’s AL Central lead towards the end of the season.
But this time, the role of the Sox was played by the Detroit Tigers, who were feeling some heavy pressure from the Minnesota Twins, who like the Indians last season, started poorly at the beginning of the season and made a charge for the playoffs at the end of the season.
And the role of the Indians sadly, was played by the Chicago White Sox, who can now see their bid for a repeat championship slip away after tonight’s loss against the Tigers.
The thing that killed the Sox in August and September was that they couldn’t beat the team they should beat (Royals, Devil Rays, et. al.) and lack of production from Joe Crede, who is a slump of tragic proportions, batting .098 in the month of September and relying on the home run (they lead all of the majors with 224 homers) production of Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye solely.
Not only that, Mark Buherle and Jon Garland hasn’t pitched up to their potential down the stretch. Tonight, Garland threw 102 pitches for the White Sox but gave up four runs in the process to the Tigers, yet the White Sox have never lost a game in which Garland gives up 6 or less runs in a game this season.
And Buherle hasn’t pitched to that same level that everyone saw in 2005, when it seemed like he was unhittable against the opposition. I remember watching a game when the Sox played the Indians in Cleveland and Buherle was on point against the Tribe.
The double play in the bottom of the ninth in Chicago led to the voice of the fat lady to warm up her tones and sing “Auld Lang Syne” to the Sox faithful unless if the Sox can pull off a miracle comeback to get back in this very tight AL Central race.
Just how is the question.
