October 3, 2006 - Yankees 8, Tigers 4: Jeter and Abreu, enough said...

Jeter: 5-for-5 with a HR, and starting up the offense... Abreu driving in 4 in his postseason debut...

Of course, you have some negatives across the board: Torre's bullpen management... uh... Torre's bullpen management... and uh... yea! Torre's bullpen management...

Actually, to be fair, I can't blame it all on Torre, Granderson is a left-handed hitter, Wang had pitched 93 pitches, but here's the thing: Granderson isn't exactly amazing, hitting .260 this season, striking out 174 times (third in the league, and for a lead-off hitter? Eh...), and Wang was still getting guys out, getting the first 2 guys out in the 7th...

Stay with the hot hand? I would have kept Wang to finish the inning, Proctor for the 8th, Mariano for the 9th... instead, Myers gives up a HR to Granderson, Proctor gives up two singles before an out, and Farnsworth comes in, and was shaky but didn't yield another run...

Farnsworth was my biggest worries, posting abysmal numbers in the 2003 NLCS, and the 2005 NLDS for the Cubs and Braves (respectfully)... but if he can get his barrings, and pitch that heat that we all know he has more often, he should be fine...

Otherwise, it was a great night: Damon breaks out of his slump with a 2-for-5 game, scoring 2 runs... Sheffield with an RBI single... Giambi with a 2-run HR... the only two who didn't join the hit parade was Cano and Matsui... no biggie though...

A good night all together, but now, we get Verlander vs. Mussina... as most of you know, the Tigers are hackers (striking out as a team more than any other playoff contender), and Mussina has great stuff to keep the hitters off-balanced...

Verlander? He hasn't pitched since September 24th, a 9-day rest span... he looked great, though he has had mediocre starts his last three times out, yielding 6 runs against the Rangers, 6 against the White Sox, and yielding 2 runs in 5 innings against the Royals...

And the only start he had against the Yankees this year? He got bombed for 6 runs in 5 innings...
The Tigers aren't timid or scared, the Yankees better be careful or the Tigers can sneak up and steal a game from them at the Stadium... only time will tell though...

Happy reading!

B(rent)