Consistency – Like their game on the field, this was of the highest importance. Consistent, fairly frequent content…

Content – Sharing updates and engaging with followers is what baseball fans are looking for from their team’s rising stars.

Humor – All the guys chosen get high marks in that area.

Finally, Personable – Sounds silly, but I see plenty of guys completely ignore compliments, recommendations, and questions. That’s not good Twitter etiquette.

These ten players utilize the social media tool to reach baseball fans, relating their unique experiences, and making even more of a name for themselves off the baseball field.

I also decided to include independent baseball players, despite not being affiliated with the major leagues, indy league has become more important to major league teams. And certainly more popular. And had I not allowed them, I would’ve had to omit the number one pick. And that would’ve been impossible.

1. Michael Schlact @michael_schlact Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (Atlantic League)

2. Ryan Westmoreland @RWesty25 Boston Red Sox

3. Deck McGuire @deckmcguire Toronto Blue Jays

4. Jiwan James @jiwan23 Philadelphia Phillies

5. Justin Jackson @JaxChillinONE Toronto Blue Jays

6. Richard Giannotti @JustMeGee Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

7. Brandon Douglas @BrandonDouglas5 Detroit Tigers

8. Ian Kadish @BearJew36 Toronto Blue Jays

9. Zack Wheeler @WheelerPro45 New York Mets

10. Kevin Rath @KRath702 Chicago White Sox

Twitter has been a source of controversy and debate in connection with athletes, but those ten players have successfully reached baseball fans on social media. It’s an interesting concept. Athletes, particularly young ones, are hotly protected by their teams and agents. But there’s a way to be themselves and socialize, as well as increasing their visibility, without embarrassing themselves or those invested in them.

In the future, more minor league players will surely join with the hope of creating a following before they’ve made it to the majors. They can look to these ten to know exactly how it’s done and the value of the experience.

All players were listed with team they were with in 2011. Free agency wasn’t taken into account.

Our featured bloggers that provided us with the in depth Report Card series that has just concluded are back to give everyone an in depth look at what the off season holds for the major league teams they cover.  A look at what each team needs, what each team has already gained and lost, and some of the youth in each team’s system will be examined in these articles.  You can find all of the author’s information at the bottom of the article.

Key Free Agents Leaving
The Tigers waived goodbye to two key parts of the 2006 American League Championship team, Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez.  Magglio signed before the 2005 season, coming off of micro-fracture knee surgery.  He responded with 2 All-Star seasons, and a batting title.  Carlos Guillen was acquired before the 2004 season to fill the shortstop gap.  He responded with 3 All-Star seasons, but the past three seasons were shortened due to injury.

The Tigers are also not expected to resign Brad Penny.  The Tigers first four rotation spots are held down by Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, and Doug Fister.  Prospect Jacob Turner may be ready to take over the number 5 spot.

As of this writing, third baseman Wilson Betemit has yet to be resigned by the club.  Betemit was acquired from the Royals in June, and provided offense the Tigers were looking for from the position, but his defense left a lot to be desired.

Utility man extraordinaire Ramon Santiago, who ended up becoming the starting second baseman by default, has also yet to be resigned by the club.  Santiago was signed as a young free agent by the Tigers, and was actually traded to acquire Carlos Guillen, but soon found his way back to the Tigers.  Santiago played every position asked by the Tigers, and played well off the bench.  Rumor has it that some clubs are looking at Santiago as a starter, while the Tigers still view him as a utility bench guy.

Key Areas Needing Improvement
The Tigers have a few areas to look at for improvement.  First, the Tigers needed a backup catcher for Alex Avila.  Avila was a workhorse for the Tigers, but never had a true backup for the entire season.  The Tigers also need to settle the revolving door at second base.  No fewer than six players started at second sometime during 2011.  The Tigers may also look to upgrade third base.  Brandon Inge has manned the position for years, but the club may look to upgrade the offense at the hot corner.

The Tigers will look to add a bullpen piece as well.  Lefty Brad Thomas battled an injury all season, and was recently out-righted to Toledo.  If the Tigers do not feel Ryan Perry is ready, and by his 2011 season the club may feel that way, the Tigers will look to add another piece.

Pieces That Are In Place
As of right now, the Tigers are set in the outfield with Delmon Young, Austin Jackson, and Brennan Boesch.  Half of the infield is set with Jhonny Peralta at short, and Miguel Cabrera at first.  There has been talk of Peralta possibly moving to either second or third, if the Tigers were to sign a big-name shortstop.  Alex Avila is entrenched as the starting catcher.

The bullpen is pretty set, but the Tigers might look to add one more guy.  Jose Valverde will close in 2012, with Joaquin Benoit setting him up.  Phil Coke will reprise his role as the seventh inning guy.  Al Alburquerque should be guaranteed a 2012 spot with his outstanding 2011 season, while Daniel Schlereth made good strides and will have a spot as well.

Possible Trade Pieces Within The Organization
The Tigers have a few young pitchers coveted by other teams, including number one prospect Jacob Turner, and Rick Porcello.  The Tigers are not actively shopping either player, but would probably move either for the right price.  Delmon Young has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate in an effort to obtain a second baseman, but like Turner and Porcello, the Tigers would move Young if the price was right.

Any Moves Already Completed
The Tigers signed Gerald Laird to a one-year, $1 million deal to backup Al Avila at catcher.  The club also picked up the option on closer Jose Valverde.

2012 Rookie Outlook
The rookie that will most likely make an impact for the Tigers this season is number one prospect Jacob Turner.  Turner was drafted ninth overall in 2009.  Turner’s career 3.36 ERA in the minors looked so good on paper, the Tigers brought him up for his first three career starts, all coming in 2011.  Turner’s numbers were less than impressive, going 0-1, 8.53 ERA, giving up 12 earned runs in 12.2 innings pitched.  He did have 8 strikeouts and only 4 walks in those 12.2 innings.  The hard-throwing righty has a mid-nineties fastball, and a low 90s two-seamer.  Turner also throws a change-up, but mainly relies on that blazing fastball.

2012 looks to be a good season to bring Turner up.  The first four rotation spots look to be set with Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, and Porcello.  2012 could afford Turner an opportunity to get accustomed to major league life without having the pressure of being an ace.  Turner is a high draft pick, and could ease his way into the rotation by starting out as a number 5 behind the veterans (yes, Porcello is a veteran, with three full seasons under his belt).

2009′s second round pick, left Andy Oliver, may also see some time with the big club this year.  If the Tigers decide not to promote Turner, but don’t want to sign another starter, Oliver would probably be next in line.  Over the past two seasons, the Tigers have given Oliver seven spot starts.

Nick Waddell
Seamheads

These report cards were written by twenty nine talented individuals across the internet that keep a close eye on the team they cover.  It was the first of our “Featured Blogger” series.  The second part, an Off-Season Outlook, will be brought to you the remainder of this week.  The same writers will return in the Spring to provide a 2012 Season Preview about the teams.

This year’s Featured Bloggers are listed below along with their website and the link to their Report Card:

American League East
Baltimore Orioles - Austin Gisriel, Seamheads
Boston Red Sox – Michael Lynch, Seamheads
New York Yankees – William Tasker, The Flagrant Fan
Tampa Bay Rays – Yossi Feins, The Rays Rant
Toronto Blue Jays – Peter DeMarco, Some Thoughts On Baseball

American League Central
Chicago White Sox – Terry Keshner, Planet Back
Cleveland Indians – David Henderson, Tribe Cards
Detroit Tigers – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Kansas City Royals – Todd Fertig, I-70 Baseball
Minnesota Twins – Von Hendry, Seamheads

American League West
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Bryan Grosnick, Roto Hardball
Oakland As – Jason Leary, Junk Ball
Seattle Mariners – Nick Waddell, Seamheads
Texas Rangers – Dan Edmonson, Chicken Fried Baseball

National League East
Atlanta Braves – Andrew Martin, Baseball Historian
Florida Marlins – Eddie Gilley, Eddie Gilley Blogspot
New York Mets – AC Wayne, Mets Public Record
Philadelphia Phillies – Matthew Buesing, Fire And Ice Sports
Washington Nationals – Aaron Somers , District On Deck

National League Central
Chicago Cubs – Robert Harris, Blue Batting Helmet
Cincinnati Reds – Gary Schatz, Full Of Schatz
Houston Astros – Michael Barr, Fan Graphs
Milwaukee Brewers – Paul Heinz, Paul Heinz.com
Pittsburgh Pirates – Ryan Sendek, Analysis Around The Horn
St. Louis Cardinals – Daniel Shoptaw , C70 At The Bat

National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks – Patrick Lagreid, Baseball On My Brain
Colorado Rockies – Michelle Hoag, Rockies Woman
Los Angeles Dodgers – Paul F Sullivan, Sully Baseball
San Diego Padres – Michael Metzger, Padres Trail
San Francisco Giants – Julian Levine, Giants Nirvana

Bill Ivie is the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com and the founder of i70baseball.com, an official Baseball Digest website covering the Cardinals and Royals.

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BaseballDigest.com aims to keep up that tradition.  This season, we bring you a Report Card on each team in Major League Baseball from writers that cover that team directly.  At the bottom of each write up, you will find the writer’s name, website, and any other pertinent information.  

The Detroit Tigers were predicted to be part of a three-team race for the winable AL Central, along with the Twins and the White Sox.  The Tigers stuck around and eventually overtook the surprising Indians, and never really looked back.  An ALDS match-up against the Yankees went 5 games, and despite sloppy play and sloppy fields, the Tigers were victorious.  The ALCS, however, was a disappointment for the Tigers and their faithful.  The Rangers offense and pitching continued their hots ways, and shut down the Tigers in 6 games.

Rotation: B+
The rotation started off shaky.  Phil Coke attempted to make the transition from reliever to starter, and went 1-7 with a 4.82 ERA for his efforts.  Justin Verlander turned in a Cy Young-type (and possible MVP-type) year going 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA while making his fourth All-Star team.  Verlander was the unquestioned ace of the staff, seemingly sstopping losing streaks whenever he pitched.  Max Scherzer realized some of his potential and turned in a year of improvement.  Scherzer was up and down during the beginning of the season, but became a steady number 2 starter as the season wore on.  Young Rick Porcello also notched another year of big league experience under his belt, and pitched very well in the playoffs.  Porcello’s growing pains were felt at times, but overall he showed that he can pitch in the big leagues and has an exciting future at age 22.  Brad Penny was mediocre as the number 5 pitcher, going 11-11 with a 5.30 ERA.  Penny was very inconsistent, looking very good one start, and imploding the next.

The big boost to the rotation came in terms of a deadline deal with the Mariners for Doug Fister.  Fister’s numbers with the Mariners were indicative of a good pitcher on a bad team.  His time with Detroit over the last two months of the season reminded many Tiger fans of 1987′s Doyle Alexander, except Fister in under team control for a few more years, unlike Alexander who was a free agent at season’s end.  This move was not only a boost to the rotation for the playoff push, but also locked in Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, and Porcello as four of the five pitchers of the rotation for a few years.

Bullpen: B-
Jose Valverde was perfect going 49 for 49 in save opportunities during the regular season, a career high for him, while making his third All-Star team.  Al Albuquerque provided a steady, calming presence on the mound until a concussion caused by an errant batting practice ball in Baltimore seemed to derail his season.  Joaquin Benoit, the big bullpen free agent acquisition for the Tigers in the off-season started terribly, but he rebounded nicely to become a light-outs eighth inning setup man.  Daniel Schlereth had good stats, but did not pitch in too many big situations.  The team had high hopes for Ryan Perry, who ended up being sent to Toledo in an effort to build his confidence and give him some more work.  Overall, the bullpen was not a liability for the Tigers, but was not a source of strength.

BD Report Cards brought to you by Seamheads

Catchers: A
Alex Avila was a workhorse for the Tigers in 2011, catching in 132 games without a true backup.  Avila responded to the lion share of work by becoming an All-Star starter and a Silver Slugger.  Avila hit .295 while showing power with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs.  His defense was also fine, throwing out 32% of all base-stealers for fourth-best in MLB.

In 2010, Avila had Gerald Laird backing him up.  In 2011, he had Victor Martinez…sort of.  Martinez was given some catching duty early in the year, but when an ankle injury struck, the idea of Martinez as a backup was scrapped and Avila played every day.  Omir Santos was a September call-up to give Avila a bit of a break, but only started 4 games in the month.

Infield: B-
Miguel Cabrera manned first base, with Victor Martinez and Don Kelly providing little backup.  Cabrera hit as usual, .344 with 30 home runs and 105 RBIs while making his sixth All-Star team.  Martinez also hit well over .300 and drove in over 100 RBIs primarily as a DH.  Shortstop Johnny Peralta made everyone believe that the Tigers made a shrewd deal in acquiring him in July 2010 showing he could still hit, and could still play short, which was questioned in Cleveland.  Peralta made his first All-Star team while hitting a very nice .299.  The big question marks were third base and second base.

At third, Brandon Inge provide his usual solid defense but had very little offense.  Inge was sent to Toledo to work on his swing when the Tigers swung the deal for Wilson Betemit.  Betemit provided a bit of offense, but his defense left a lot to be desired.  Even catcher Alex Avila started a game at third.  Don Kelly got quite a few starts, and showed he could be a cheaper version of Inge, all glove, little bat.

Second base was a revolving door all season.  Scott Sizemore started the season, but was traded to Oakland for David Purcey.  Ryan Raburn was given the job, but showed below average defense and a lousy bat.  Danny Worth and Will Rhymes were given spot starts, but neither one stuck.  When Carlos Guillen finally came off of the DL, he was plugged in.  That move started great, but ended in another Guillen injury.  Utility man extraordinaire Ramon Santiago provided perhaps the steadiest influence at second, and finished the season as the starter.

Outfield: B-
Austin Jackson entered year 2 as the starting centerfielder for the Tigers, looking to improve on his 2010 campaign when he finished second in rookie of the year voting.  Jackson’s offense took a dive, but his defense was highlight-reel worthy.  Brennan Boesch continued his 2010 hot hitting before a thumb injury ended his season.  Boesch showed that he deserves a starting position with both solid fielding and hitting.  Magglio Ordonez signed a one-year deal before the season but had a terrible first half.  Ordonez hit under .200 until a mid-season stint on the DL sidelined him.  Once Mags came back, he seemed to hit like the Mags of old, except without the power.  Ordonez hit near .300 for the second half of the season, but only 5 home runs all season.

Like Doug Fister for the pitching rotation, August trade acquisition Delmon Young provided a spark to the Tigers offense.  His timely hitting helped solidify the left field spot, and after Boesch went down with his injury, Young became even more important.

The backup outfielder provided some speed off the bench, and with Ryan Raburn, a bit of power.  Andy Dirks and Casper Wells were the backups until Wells was traded to Seattle in a the package for Fister.  Don Kelly added some good defense, but offensively mediocre until the playoffs.

The defense, besides Jackson, was questionable to say the least.  Raburn and eventually Young in left made Tigers fans hold their breath when a ball was hit that way.  Magglio in right was always an adventure as well.  Young’s fairly consistent hitting, and knack for coming up big overshadowed his lack of range in left.

Top Offensive Player
Miguel Cabrera was hands-down the best offensive player.  The only player close to matching Cabrera was Victor Martinez, but Cabrera provided better power, and led the team in walks.  Cabrera proved once again that he can hit, leading the American League in average and on-base percentage, and placing in the top 10 in home runs, RBIs, hits, runs, slugging, and OPS.

Top Pitcher
No question the top pitcher was Justin Verlander.  Verlander turned in a year that will probably win him a Cy Young, and has him in the discussion for MVP.  He would be the first Tigers Cy Young winner since Willie Hernandez in 1984; Willie also won the AL MVP award that year too, interestingly enough.  Verlander was named to his fourth All-Star team, and had Tigers fans thanking Dave Dombrowski that the ace is locked up for a few more years.  The stat that amazes most is that of Verlander’s 24 wins, 17 of those wins came after a Tigers loss.

Nick Waddell
Seamheads

Verlander became the third Tigers’ pitcher to pull off the feat, joining reliever Willie Hernandez (1984) and starter Denny McLain (1968). Verlander received 13 of the 28 first place votes and finished with 280 total points, 38 points ahead of Boston Red Sox outfielder and runner-up Jacoby Ellsbury.

But not everyone was happy with Verlander’s selection or the overall vote tally. A heated debate began on Twitter between fans and members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), which casts the votes,  shortly after the 2 p.m. ET announcement. Many fans, and most likely some writers, don’t feel that a pitcher should win the MVP award, since the hurlers already have the Cy Young Award. Jim Ingraham of Ohio’s News-Herald took it one step further by not even including Verlander on his ballot. He didn’t pussy-foot around his reasoning why:

I had three Detroit Tigers on my ballot. None of the three was Justin Verlander, who won the award, getting 13 of a possible 28 first-place votes.

I was the only voter who didn’t include Verlander anywhere on his 10-player ballot.

This was my reasoning:

The short version is I don’t believe pitchers should be eligible for the MVP Award.

Some fans expressed their displeasure at the perceived bias by voters against the designated hitter (i.e., “They don’t play the field, they’re not complete players”), but who have no problem selecting a pitcher that plays every 5th day and doesn’t bat. It wasn’t just the fans that objected though, so did Jose Bautista.

“There’s nothing in the criteria that says a pitcher cannot receive the award,” said Bautista on a conference call. “But at the same time, there’s a couple of items that should eliminate a pitcher from receiving the award from the get go.”

“When one of the first items in the criteria for the MVP award states that the player should be on the field for the most amount of games for their own particular team and knowing that us position players have to be out there 150 plus times over … I don’t know, 30, 32, 33 times that a pitcher has to go out there, in my eyes that’s pretty much an elimination right there,” said Bautista.

It wasn’t all sour grapes from Bautista though, who congratulated the winner.

“It doesn’t make a difference to me if Verlander of Ellsbury wins,” said Bautista. “The bottom line is that I wasn’t chosen but, at the same time, I know that he (Verlander) had a great season and I feel excited for him, that he was able to get the award. Congratulations to him.

Added Bautista: “I’m not knocking on Verlander or the year that he had.”

The biggest argument of the day came though when the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant revealed his ballot. Grant, who covers the Texas Rangers, had selected the team’s versatile hitter Michael Young as his MVP. Young finished 8th in the overall voting and also received a second and third place vote.

As is usually the case on Twitter, some fans got out of hand, but overall the fans had a point. Young had a marvelous season, but struggled defensively, and the Rangers likely would have won the AL West even if Young had produced less offense.

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe felt the New York Yankees’ Robinson Cano was more deserving of the award than his teammate Curtis Granderson, who most thought (myself included) had the best chance at the honor along with Ellsbury and Toronto’s Jose Bautista. While Abraham selected Cano 4th, he had Granderson 8th, with players such as Texas’ Ian Kinsler ahead of him. While Kinsler had a monster September (1.132 OPS), the rest of his season was good, but not elite.

Abraham bewildered many though when he gave his 5th place vote to Tampa Bay’s Ben Zobrist. His reasoning was only semi-sound.

“Ben Zobrist (Rays): I was settled on the first four before the final few games of the season. Then the Rays won the wild card and I felt they should be represented fairly prominently on my ballot. Zobrist has been a quietly consistent and excellent player for Tampa Bay for several years now. He also had a WAR of 6.6 and started 33 games in right field in addition to his duties at second base.”

While it’s great to use advanced metrics, Zobrist had two months with an OPS under .700 and outside of April and July, had an ordinary season..

As for Verlander, he was his usual classy self and immediately took to Twitter to thank the fans.

JustinVerlander Thank you to everyone – teammates, fans, baseball writers). #DetroitPride (trend it – let’s have some fun with this)

The National League MVP announcement is at 2 p.m. ET this afternoon. Matt Kemp, Ryan Braun (my pre-season prediction), Prince Fielder, and Lance Berkman are among the favorites. But to add the debate, let’s see how NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw finishes. Afterall, he won the pitcher’s Triple Crown (Wins, ERA, Strikeouts).

The complete AL MVP vote:

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Verlander received all 28 first place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) to defeat second place finisher Jered Weaver (LAA) by 63 points. James Shields (TB), CC Sabathia (NYY), and Jose Valverde (DET) rounded out the top five in the voting.

The 28-yr old right-hander’s season also included a no-hitter on May 5 versus the Toronto Blue Jays. It was the second no-no of his six year career. He topped double figures in strikeouts four times, including a season high 14 against Arizona on June 25, and averaged nine strikeouts per nine innings (second only to the 10.1 he averaged in 2009).

Verlander will most certainly garner a number of MVP votes when the BBWAA announces the results next Monday, Nov. 21. He’ll face stiff competition though from the likes of Curtis Granderson (NYY), Jose Bautista (TOR), Jacoby Ellsbury (BOS), and others. (My vote goes to Granderson). 

MLB.com’s Ian Browne takes a look at the AL MVP race and Verlander’s chances. Click here to read all about it.

Here’s the complete AL Cy Young voting: 

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Epstein fired manager Mike Quade on Wednesday after just a little over one season in Chicago. The Sun-Times has the story.

Dodgers fans are ecstatic that the McCourts are selling. The LA Times has the full story.

Ryan Rayburn started the 6th with a single off of Rangers’ starter C.J. Wilson to give the heart of the order a chance to do some damage. But with Adrian Beltre hugging the third base line, Miguel Cabrera hit a perfect double play ball to him. With a potential rally about to be quashed, the ball hit the front of the third base bag and shot high over Beltre’s head into the left field corner. Rayburn raced around the bases to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead and Cabrera thanked the heavens for his good luck double.

It was only the beginning of the end for the Rangers though. Victor Martinez followed with an RBI triple out of the reach of a diving Nelson Cruz and Delmon Young topped that with a long 2-run home run. Just like that, the Tigers first four batters hit for a natural cycle and gave the team a four run lead.

Without being able to bring in Jose Valverde, Jim Leyland stuck with starter Justin Verlander for 133 pitches and leaned heavily on left-hander Phil Coke to get a five out save. Coke struggled, allowed a run, but finished off the win.

Notes

Max Scherzer, who tossed six solid innings in Game 2, will start Saturday night as the Tigers try to even the series at three games apiece. Scherzer held a 3-2 lead going into his final inning of work, but allowed a game tying home run to Nelson Cruz, who won the game with an 11th grand slam.

Texas will counter with left-hander Derek Holland, who lasted just 2.2 innings in Game 2. Holland has only faced Detroit one other time in his career.

Delmon Young added another home run in Game 6 and five of his eight playoff hits (in 30 AB) have been home runs.
After going 1-15 in the ALDS, Nelson Cruz is 6-20 with the ALCS with five home runs. He’s homered in four of the five games played. Cruz’s 11 home runs over the past two post-seasons are the most by any player in back to back years.

The Rangers are still playing in the post-season, but reports are out that they are going to throw a bundle of money at CC Sabathia, should the Yankees left-hander opt out of his current deal.

C.J. Wilson is having a post-season he’d like to forget. The southpaw has allowed 14 earned runs in 15.2 innings pitched and has twice given up three home runs in a game. Though he went 16-7, 2.94 in the regular season, his playoff performance in three starts may make teams think twice about signing the free agent.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Mike Napoli’s RBI single snapped a 3-3 tie and Nelson Cruz, who hit a walk off grand slam in Game 2′s extra inning victory, put the game on ice with a 3-run blast. It was Cruz’s fourth home run of the series. Much like that Game 2 loss, Detroit led most of the way thanks to their starting pitcher. Monday it was Max Scherzer who held a 3-2 lead until Cruz tied the game with a solo home run in the 7th inning.

This time around it was 22-yr old Rick Porcello who blanked the Rangers through the first five and held a 2-0 lead thanks to a 3rd inning Miguel Cabrera double that plated two runners. But after facing just one batter over the minimum, Porcello ran into trouble in the Texas half of the 6th inning. An RBI double by Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus’ RBI single tied the game at two apiece. Porcello’s own throwing error allowed Andrus to move into scoring position and Michael Young took advantage with a go ahead single.

Brandon Inge gave the Tigers a temporary reprieve with a solo home run off reliever Alexi Ogando, but Detroit couldn’t escape Texas’ extra innings magic. Scott Feldman, who pitched so marvelously in relief in Game 2 to allow Texas to play catch up, tossed one inning to earn the win.

Cy Young to the Rescue?

There’s no doubt that Detroit’s Justin Verlander will win the AL Cy Young Award and will most certainly receive a good number of AL MVP votes as well. But can he do what is needed to force a Game 6 back in Texas on Saturday? Everyone will get that answer Thursday afternoon when Verlander makes his second start of the ALCS against Texas’ number one, C.J. Wilson.

Just like his first start in the ALDS, Verlander’s ALCS debut was cut short by rain. Unlike the ALDS game, in which play was suspended and resumed the next day, both teams sat through a pair of rain delays in Game 1 on Saturday and watched the game become a battle of the bullpens.

Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland brought Verlander back in Game 3 of the division series and saw his prized right-hander struggle early in the contest after coming back on just two days rest. Verlander eventually cranked his fastball up to triple digits, but couldn’t hold a 4-2 lead late.  Thursday, he’ll be working on his normal fifth day for his most important start of the season. And no one would be surprised if Verlander was tuned into the Weather Channel and hoping for clear skies in Detroit on Thursday.  Especially after the start of Game 4 was delayed two hours and 13 minutes by rain.  (Verlander won’t be happy to know there’s a 30-40% chance of rain beginning at 4 p.m. on Thursday – first pitch is slated for 4:19 pm.)

Verlander is 6-2, 2.31 in nine career starts vs. Texas, but hasn’t had great success in the two post-seasons he’s participated in. He was 1-2 in his rookie season in 2006, and allowed 17 earned runs in 21.1 innings pitched. So far this year, the 24-game winner has allowed eight earned runs in 13 innings, including three runs in four innings in Game 1.

Is There A Doctor In The House?

The Tigers are falling apart day by day; Delmon Young injured his oblique in the ALDS and was only added back to the ALCS roster after Magglio Ordonez fractured his ankle. Victor Martinez then hurt his rib cage in Game 3 on a home run swing.

MLB.com’s Louie Horvath took an inside look at some of the Rangers’ accomplishments through four games. Click here to read all about it.

Cruz Doing It All

Nelson Cruz isn’t just a slugger, the guy can play some right field too. With the game tied 3-3 in the 8th inning of Game 4, Cruz played the hero with his arm. With Cabrera on third base and less than two outs, Young lifted a fly ball to right. Cruz caught it and fired a perfect one hop throw home to catcher Mike Napoli, who withstood a Cabrera collision for a game saving double play.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Tigers’ starter Max Scherzer had given up a pair of early runs, but held a 3-2 lead entering the 7th inning, thanks to a Ryan Rayburn 3-run home run off of Rangers’ starter Derek Holland. That’s when Cruz played the hero for the first time, tying the game against Scherzer with a solo blast in the 7th inning. Then Cruz put his name in the record books when he became the first player in League Championship Series to hit a walk off grand slam. It came in the 11th inning after Ryan Perry had allowed three straight singles, and gave the Rangers a 7-3 victory. It was a home run that fit the moment; a majestic shot that simply had to stay fair, which it did.

The series resumes in Detroit this evening (Tuesday) with the Tigers sending Doug Fister up against the Rangers’ Colby Lewis. Fister took the loss in Game 1 of the ALDS, but escaped a number of jams in a five inning appearance to pick up the victory in the decisive fifth game against the New York Yankees. He’s 2-3 in six career starts against the Rangers, with a 4.38 ERA. Cruz could find himself continuing to have a hot hand since he’s 7-14 lifetime against Fister with a home run. Also of note is David Murphy’s 6-16 (.375) performance with a pair of home runs.

Though he won’t discuss it, Lewis has been bothered by a bad hip for much of the season. It didn’t stop him from pitching six innings of one hit ball in a Game 2 win against the Rays in the ALDS. Lewis hasn’t had much success against the Tigers though, posting a 7.48 ERA in five career starts and one relief appearance. He’s managed a 2-2 record despite having allowed 40 hits in just 27.2 innings pitched.

Alex Avila (3-9, 1 HR), Austin Jackson (6-15, 1 HR), Miguel Cabrera (5-12, 3 RBI), and Victor Martinez (5-11, 2 RBI) have all enjoyed enormous success against the 32-yr old right-hander. With Delmon Young bothered by a sore oblique, Don Kelly should get the start in left field. He had two hits in Game 2 after entering the ball game as a defensive replacement and hit the ball well in the ALDS.

Tigers Have Work Cut Out For Them

Only three teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the league championship series- the 1985 Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, and the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

If the Tigers are to become the fourth team they need to start coming up with hits in the clutch. They were just 1-12 on Monday with runners in scoring position. They also need to a better job of getting on base. Ramon Santiago is the only player with more than two hits (5) in the series.

Rangers’ Pen Mightier Than The Sword

The key to Texas’ Game 2 victory was the tremendous job their bullpen turned in after manager Ron Washington pulled starter Derek Holland after just 2.2 innings. Scott Feldman, in particular, stood out with 4.1 scoreless innings of relief. Overall, the Rangers pen has allowed just five hits in 12.2 innings and has not allowed a run. They have also walked just three hitters and struck out 16.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Is there anything that unites our country’s deep political divides more than post-season baseball? The traditional, and ceremonial bunting of red, white and blue stripes that adorn the ballparks of the teams participating in the playoffs serves as a symbolic reminder of our common goals, interests and passion for the game of baseball.

With the arrival of Major League Baseball’s post season, it means that October is here and the imaginative uncertainty of what these games have in store, has fans giddy in anxious anticipation of untold heroics. The saying, turned, cliche, “You can’t script October”, is true but there are certainly things you can expect, such as the certainty that a new set of elite players will have their names forever etched in the history books.

The post-season has been host to some truly memorable events, from Bobby Thompson’s “shot heard round the world” to Reggie Jackson’s 3 consecutive home runs, moments like these are forever immortalized in time. And with the recent remembrance of the 10-year anniversary of the tragedy of 9-11, who can forget former President George W. Bush, throwing out the first pitch of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium? As he took the mound and threw a picture perfect strike that galvanized a packed stadium to a standing ovation, reminded all of us that in the lights of the post season, we aren’t Republican or Democrat, but baseball fans and Americans first and foremost. The iconic images of our country’s leader walking into, what at the time, we all viewed as harms way, was captured atop a cardboard canvas by baseball card manufacturer Topps. Over the summer, the New York based card manufacturer paid tribute to this indelible memory in card #147 of their Allen and Ginter Set. It was easily one of the most poignant baseball cards produced by any company in recent memory. No where was this more evident then the secondary baseball card market. A shortprinted autograph variation of Bush’s 2011 Topps Allen and Ginter card sold on eBay for a whopping $1,393.88.

So, is there really anything more American than baseball? Family, God, love of country and apple pie are all worthy contenders but when it comes to making memories and uniting a country, nothing can compete with the boys of summer playing under the bright lights and the grand stage of the post-season. So let the kids stay up late, pop some popcorn and set the DVR, because unforgettable moments await as we countdown the hours to game time of the 2011 MLB Playoffs.

By Rob Bertrand

Scherzer will take the hill in Game 2 with his team again down a game after rains affected the opener of the American League Championship Series on Saturday. The Texas Rangers edged Detroit 3-2 after a pair of rain delays limited the game’s starters, Verlander (4) and C.J. Wilson (4.2), to less than five innings.

Scherzer came to the Tigers prior to the 2010 season as part of a three team deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Yankees that sent Curtis Granderson to the Bronx and Edwin Jackson to the desert, and brought Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from Arizona, and Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from New York. (The Yankees also sent Ian Kennedy to Arizona.)

The former 1st round pick (11th overall) out of the University of Missouri has had his ups and downs in his two years in Detroit. The possessor of a mid- to upper-90′s fastball, Scherzer also mixed in a biting slider and changeup to strike out better than eight batters per nine innings. Though his win-loss record improved from 12-11 in 2010 to 15-9 this season, Scherzer’s ERA went up nearly a full point to 4.43 and his WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched) increased as well. The news wasn’t all bad though as Scherzer showed better control and reduced his walks per nine innings from 3.2 to 2.6 from the prior year.

Scherzer is one pitcher who has embraced advanced metrics to improve his own game. MichiganLive.com’s Steve Kornacki spoke with the Tigers’ pitcher about it last year.

If Scherzer was nervous in his post-season debut, he didn’t show it. Though he walked a pair of batters in the first inning, he retired the side in order the next three innings while the Tigers were in the process of building a 4-0 lead. Robinson Cano finally broke through with a single to left field on a 2-2 pitch in the 6th and Jorge Posada followed a Nick Swisher walk in the 7th to knock Scherzer out of the game.

Scherzer’s other post-season appearance came in the decisive Game 5 when he threw 1.1 innings and allowed a pair of singles, one of which came into score after Scherzer was out of the ball game. He hopes his success against Texas will continue on Monday. In six career starts against the Rangers, Scherzer is 3-0, 3.41 and has allowed just two home runs in 37 innings pitched.

Injuries Taking Toll on Tigers’ Offense

It it often said that pitching and defense wins championships and the Tigers will be trying to stick to that motto. Their offense had already taken a hit when Delmon Young, one of the heroes of the ALDS with three home runs, had to leave the finale with a strained oblique and was left off the ALCS roster. Now the Tigers are to without right fielder Magglio Ordonez for the remainder of the series with Texas.

Ordonez had to leave Saturday’s Game 1 when the ankle he broke last year proved to be too painful to play on. Ensuing tests showed that Ordonez had re-fractured the ankle and was done for the 2011 post-season. Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland has a few options to choose from as the series continues this afternoon after Sunday’s Game 2 was rained out. Ryan Rayburn, who has seen time at 2nd base this season, is likely to be in left field in place of Young for most of the series. Left-handed hitter Don Kelly, who surprised with his offense in the ALDS, is the top choice to replace Ordonez in right field. The drawback is that Kelly is just 4-21 against left-handed pitchers and Texas has three left-handed starters (C.J. Wilson, Derek Holland, and Matt Harrison).

Leyland could also choose to use third baseman and right-handed hitter Brandon Inge, who has 41 games of outfield experience, or left-handed rookie Andy Dirks, who has an .871 OPS against left-handed pitchers, but hasn’t played since September 28.

Sunny and Clear

Weather shouldn’t be a factor today at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX.  The game time temperature is forecast to be 77 degrees with no rain in the area.

Update 5:35 pm 10/10

Surprise, Surprise! Detroit held out announcing who would replace Magglio Ordonez, and for good reason. The player is none othre than Delmon Young, who was ruled out of the ALCS due to a strained oblique. Not only is Young now on the roster, but he started Game 2 in left field for Detroit.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

This postseason, we have reached out to four featured bloggers to give us a run down of their team’s path to the League Championship Series and asked them to share with our readers some thoughts about the team they cover.

Batting leadoff for our series is Jennifer Cosey of the website Old English D discussing the Detroit Tigers.

One of the best moments from Thursday night’s winner-take-all came when local Fox Sports Detroit sportscaster John Keating was talking with Jon Morosi, national baseball writer for Fox Sports.  What was so special about two media members talking after the game?  It wasn’t what they said.  It was the fact that Yankee Stadium was empty, hushed, and half-dark.  The Detroit Tigers had silenced “America’s team,” along with its legion of fans and a contingent of bandwagon supporters.

In the final weeks of the regular season, the Texas Rangers went on a 14-2 run to finish one game ahead of the Tigers.  The Rangers are a formidable opponent.  They feature potent bats, and a rookie pitcher in Ogando that virtually owned the Tigers this season.  Even though he is coming out of the ‘pen for the Rangers, he could have a significant impact on the series.

Texas will throw three lefty starters against a righty-heavy Tigers lineup.  The Tigers hit .281 against lefties this season, but scored only 219 runs off southpaws.  Although the Tigers took the season series 6-3, don’t look for either team to reference that statistic.  Texas is healthier now than when facing Detroit earlier in the season.  This series will be “a whole new ballgame.”

Jim Leyland was questioned for refusing to consider pitching Verlander in relief for Game 5 of the ALDS.  Verlander himself lobbied more than once for a chance to get into that game.  That move has Leyland looking good now, as Verlander is rested and ready for a Game 1 matchup against C.J. Wilson.  The Tigers will get a chance to throw Verlander, Scherzer and Fister twice if the series is extended.

With Justin Verlander making a strong case for a pitcher winning the MVP for the first time since Dennis Eckersley in 1992, and Miguel Cabrera quietly putting together an MVP-caliber season of his own, Victor Martinez’ outstanding work has received less notice.  The free agent acquisition is batting .299 with two strikes, .321 with two outs, and .375 with two outs and men in scoring position.  To say he provides protection for Cabrera is a gargantuan understatement.  He’s batting a seemingly outrageous .388 after Cabrera has been issued an intentional pass.  The man has redefined the phrase “make ‘em pay.”

Sitting in the shadows all season has been Detroit shortstop Jhonny Peralta.  Not only has he been steadier than anticipated at short, his contributions with the bat have gone virtually without mention.  While defensive metrics can be amorphous, his career highs in both UZR (9.9) and Rtot (10) [number of runs above or below average, based on the number of plays made] leave little doubt that he had a very good year with the glove.  On the other side of the ball, Jhonny finished with 21 home runs, 86 RBI (while batting 6^th or 7th in the lineup), and an OPS of .824.  Although his bat didn’t loom large in the ALDS (.222 with one RBI), look for him to be an important part of the next round.

Predictions are a huge part of sports, with national analysts and beat reporters alike making their picks.  I don’t like sooth-saying.  The unpredictability of sports makes them great.  The best number-crunching doesn’t make for a reliable crystal ball.  Trying to count the number of experts who picked the Tigers to fall to the Yankees would be an exercise in futility.  I intend to enjoy all the drama of every 27 outs.  Play ball!

Elimination games have inherent drama. It goes against everything that the regular season stands for. 162 games allows for tomorrow’s. There’s always something to worry about for the next game. Relievers have to be managed. But, elimination games change all of that. Starting pitchers can throw in relief, leaving a manager with options and decisions he never had during the season. That all leads to a sort of tension that most baseball games don’t have. Every pitch is important. Every decision means a possible end. Does a Manager change his normal plan or does he do whatever it takes? Joe Girardi and Jim Leyland certainly managed differently. Girardi was the aggressor, but Leyland would make subtle decisions that helped influence the game. As much as the Baseball Manager is often devalued, game five would very much be the chess match between Girardi and Leyland. That chess match would lead to a rare type of baseball game that held us captive for every single pitch.

The first move in the chess match came before the game as Jim Leyland made the decision to put Don Kelly in the lineup and bat him second. Kelly, who is the 25th man on the roster, hit .245/.291/.381 in 257 at bats. He is the epitome of a bench player who is used more for defense and speed. To bat second in an elimination is a result of a real gut decision by a veteran Manager. It paid off right away with Kelly hitting a homerun.  ”Sometimes things just work out for you. He’s been swinging the bat well. To have that memory for that kid is really special. He’ll have that for the rest of his life,” said Jim Leyland.

The Tigers began as well as they could’ve hoped for with back to back homeruns from Don Kelly and Delmon Young on back to back pitches in the top of the first inning. Nova would toss a scoreless second, but he would continue to get hit hard. He didn’t come back out for the third inning. At the time, it seemed mysterious as to why Girardi would remove Nova so quickly. It would be announced later that Nova had a tight right forearm. “His forearm tightened up a bit and we didn’t like the way the ball was coming out of his hands. I had to make a change. Our bullpen did a tremendous job,” said Girardi. Even if he wasn’t hurt, it is difficult to criticize Girardi.

It is game five. Nova was getting hit. Joe Girardi could not afford to be patient with any of his pitchers. Perhaps he would be had C.C. Sabathia been the starter, but in an elimination game setup with a rookie pitcher on the mound, patience can lead to a four or five run deficit quite quickly. With the lack of a dominant starter, Girardi had to play his one strength that he held over Jim Leyland’s club. Girardi has dominant late inning relievers who are rested. Mariano Rivera and David Robertson could go multiple innings. It was Girardi’s job to get to the 6th inning with the game close. In order to do that, he had to manage the middle innings as if they were late inning, match up situations. If he could get his bullpen to his late innings guys, the Yankees had a chance.

When Nova didn’t return Girardi would send Phil Hughes and Boone Logan to get through the third and fourth innings. They would combine for 2 innings, allowing 3 hits, and 3 strikeouts. Then, Girardi called on Sabathia. The Yankees’ ace gave up a run in the fifth, but limited the damage to keep the Yankees within three. Robinson Cano would bring the Yankees back to within two runs with a solo homerun in the fifth inning.

Sabathia started the sixth, but was removed after he allowed a walk to Jhonny Peralta. Rafael Soriano pitched 1.2 dominant innings. Girardi finally got to his lone real strength heading into the game. He finally was able to get to his best two relievers.

Meanwhile, Jim Leyland had his own chess match to play. Doug Fister flirted with some trouble, but was able to keep Yankees hitters off balance enough to keep the Yankees off the scoreboard until Cano’s homerun. Because Leyland had Verlander throw a side session, his ace wasn’t available. With a weak bullpen, Leyland didn’t have the options Girardi did. Doug Fister helped make Leyland’s job easier by holding the Yankees to 1 run, 5 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts during his 5 innings of work. If it were the regular season, Fister would’ve came out for the fifth as he threw just 92 pitches. But, the Yankees were starting to get to him and as Game one showed, once Fister loses his command, he becomes very hittable. Leyland had his own weapon in Max Scherzer, who had dominated the Yankees in game two as well as during the regular season.

Scherzer would dominate in a scoreless sixth, but he would allow an infield single to Derek Jeter after striking out Brett Gardner to leadoff the seventh. Leyland would call on Joaquin Benoit to face Curtis Granderson. Granderson would single. Cano would get on with an infield single. It would be bases loaded for Alex Rodriguez.

It always seems to come down to Rodriguez, doesn’t it? No matter the moment, Alex Rodriguez seems to always be at the center of it. Benoit would strike him out, making Rodriguez’s 2009 post season seem like a distant memory.

Benoit would walk Mark Teixeira, but would get Nick Swisher with a strikeout. The chess match headed to the eighth with the Tigers clinging to a 3-2 lead. The Yankees had chances, but were 2 for 9, leaving 10 men on base with runners in scoring position through seven innings.

Girardi’s chess match continued as planned with David Robertson pitching a scoreless eighth. Although the offense couldn’t get going, Joe Girardi successfully navigated his team to the last two innings with a clear pitching advantage. Robertson did his part. It was now Leyland’s turn to make his move. Instead, he chose a non-move. He left Joaquin Benoit in to face Jorge Posada who was a lifetime .400 hitter against the Tigers’ right hander. Benoit got Posada on a check swing grounder. He struck out Russell Martin before giving up a single to Brett Gardner. Derek Jeter would hit a flyball to the warning track to end the inning. “What a tremendous, gutty performance. He’s been like that all year. A great signing by Dave Dombrowski,” stated Leyland. Leyland got his team to the ninth inning with a lead and to his closer who hasn’t blown a save all season.

Mariano Rivera would need just five pitches to get through the top of the ninth inning. Valverde didn’t need much more. For a game that was tension filled for the first eight innings, the ninth inning as as anti-climatic as it could get. Valverde kept his perfect save streak with a perfect ninth inning, punctuated by an Alex Rodriguez strikeout to end the game.

Some may look at this as an upset, but that would be ignoring just how evenly matched the two teams were. The Tigers will now travel to Texas to face a hot Rangers team. Like the ALDS, the Tigers will have the best player on the field in Miguel Cabrera and the best pitcher in the series in Justin Verlander. Suddenly, Jim Leyland’s insistence that Verlander not be used in game five looms large as he will be fresh for game one or two, depending on how Leyland wants to line him up.

But, that’s tomorrow’s story. The Tigers won a series that featured four close games. The American League division series really did feature the League’s four best teams. The Rangers were able to get through the Rays quickly. The Yankees and Tigers played compelling baseball. There wasn’t too much in the way of controversy and it featured well played baseball. It was a perfect series. “Bottom line is we lost two, one run games to them. We played our hearts out,” said Girardi. For Girardi, it will go down as a loss and a disappointment. A World Series winning Manager will never be happy with a playoff loss. But, he managed this single game better than any other game in his career. He culled 7 innings of relief out of his bullpen to give his team a chance. His team just couldn’t hit tonight.

Jim Leyland has been around the game for quite some time. He’s been on the losing end of heart breaking losses and has experienced the euphoria of being a World Series champion. But, this series may be his signature moment. He made some excellent choices, didn’t overly depend on Verlander, and navigated his way through game five by using Max Scherzer and his two best relievers. “The Yankees are so good that I’d be lying if it didn’t give me a little extra pride to get it done here. And, I mean that respectfully. This will be a game I remember for the rest of my life,” said Leyland.

There were a lot of people who didn’t think Texas would get back to the championship after losing Cliff Lee to free agency. But C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, and Derek Holland all remained steady, and Alexi Ogando gave the team a big boost in the first half with his promotion to the starting rotation.  Texas is now just four victories away from returning to the World Series, which they lost in five games to the San Francisco Giants last season.

The Rangers eliminated the red hot Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the first round division series, despite a poor performance in Game one from their #1  starter (Wilson). But Lewis limited the Rays to hit one over six innings, and Holland and Harrison threw five solid innings each. Though manager Ron Washington didn’t get a lot of innings out of his starters, he got effective innings, and the Rangers bullpen did a nice job of bridging the gap to closer Neftali Feliz.

The Wall St. Journal’s Matthew Futterman wonders “Is Nolan Ryan the Perfect Owner?“

The staff did the job in the ALCS when they defeated the Yankees in the ’10 post-season. Lewis, who has been bothered by a sore hip this season, beat the Yankees twice and Wilson threw a solid seven before the bullpen blew the lead and the first game of the series. Holland came out of the pen to earn a pivotal win in Game 4 and will likely follow up Wilson with a Game 2 start in this year’s ALCS. Ogando was a key to the Rangers’ pen last season and could bolster the pen again this year, especially with Mike Adams struggling in his first post-season appearance.

Texas will still be looking for some offensive outbursts, not just solo home runs -though no one has complained about Adrian Beltre’s trio – like they hit in the final game of the ALDS. Even Beltre was a no-show in the first three games, going 1-11. Cruz (1-15), Andrus (2-14), Young (2-15), and Mitch Moreland (1-10) didn’t exactly have series to write home about either. The Rangers offense will need to produce more in case the starting staff and/or pen falters.

Yahoo Sports’ John Bowman looks at the expanding role for Rangers sub Craig Gentry.

Pitching and defense wins championships, but being able to outscore your opponent doesn’t either.

Notes

Mike Napoli, who took a big hit in a home plate collision with the Rays’ Sean Rodriguez in Game 4, said that he’s fine and is ready to go for the ALCS. He did swallow his chewing tobacco though, not a pleasant experience.

Ron Washington is not expected to make any changes to his roster.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Burnett has always been the most scrutinized Yankee since he signed the 5 year $82.5 million deal. All of that scrutiny has to do with his salary as Burnett has always been that high-potential, low-consistency pitcher. If not for the overvalued contract, Burnett would likely be accepted as an average pitcher who can pitch well for periods of time. But, that salary has led to Burnett being the unwanted Yankee pitcher; the one pitcher who fans don’t want to see on the mound. Because of the game one rainout, Burnett was forced into making a start.

There as an impending sense of doom as Burnett walked to the mound to start the bottom of the first inning. The Yankee season hung in the balance with their most inconsistent, and for a time during the season, their worst starting pitcher. Although Burnett had pitched well during his last start of the regular season, many did not expect Burnett to be capable of pitching in the moment. Whenever there has been a scintilla of expectations placed on Burnett, he seemed to pitch poorly. In August, during the real pennant race, Burnett posted an ERA over 11. In truth, the dominant A.J. Burnett never really showed up this season. There were good stretches, but they were far from the dominance he has shown in the past. There seemed to be absolutely no hope that Burnett would be able to keep the Yankees in the game.

But, this is A.J. Burnett we are talking about. Expectations and Burnett don’t usually meet.

This time, Burnett gave the Yankees exactly what they needed. He didn’t give up a hit until the fourth. He limited the damage in a potentially disastrous fourth inning, a type of disastrous inning that has plagued Burnett all season. It started to look that way after Burnett walked Austin Jackson, Miguel Cabrera, and Victory Martinez. He wiggled out of that jam and would allow just one baserunner in the second and third innings, another walk. He would give up a solo homerun to Victor Martinez in the top of the fourth and a double later in the inning, but Burnett once again got out of trouble, cutting off the potential disaster inning. It is a trademark that he has been missing throughout this regular season.

In all, Burnett gave the Yankees 5.2 innings and allowed 4 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, and struck out  3 batters. It doesn’t look all that dominant, but considering his tough first inning and the fact that he induced 10 groundball outs, Burnett really limited the Tigers in the Yankees’ most important game. ”I told you that his stuff is so good that he could shut you down. We smoked the ball early when he wasn’t sharp early, but he threw well,” said Jim Leyland.  Yankees Manager Joe Girardi has been the guy who had to take the ball from Burnett when things weren’t going well this season. There have been some heated exchanges by the dejected Burnett. This time there was no exchange. Burnett did his job. “I was proud of what he did. In the biggest game of the year, he had his best outing of the season,” said Girardi.

For Burnett, it obviously was a big start. Typically humble, Burnett credited his teammates. ”It’s big. Like I said, we don’t win tonight without defense. Curtis, the way Al (Alex Rodriguez) played third,” stated Burnett. But, it was more than just his teammates. Burnett was able to shake off a shaky first inning and pitch like the number two pitcher the Yankees had envisioned. ”Maybe it took me just 25 to 30 (pitches) to get loose. I was able to find a rhythm after the first. It was pretty nerve-wracking at first. I hadn’t been out there in a while.” Once he settled in, he gave the Yankees more than they had expected.

But, Burnett has been in these spots before. It’s easy to forget his 2009 World Series performance. ”A.J. has pitched some big games for us in the past. He came in confident and relaxed. He deserves a lot of credit. He’s the reason why we get to play again,” said Derek Jeter.

Another aspect of Baseball’s beauty is that it allows for redemption. With so many games, players often get their second chances. Burnett has been much maligned all season. Game four allowed him to completely erase the negative from his 2011 season. He won the game that saved the Yankees season and allow them to play another game.

While the story is Burnett, the Yankees’ were saved by their MVP candidate Curtis Granderson. Burnett was shaky in the first inning. Don Kelly ripped a line drive to centerfield. Granderson made one of the more spectacular catches to save the inning. Had that bases loaded hit fallen, Burnett is likely out of the game and the Yankees are behind 3-0 before the end of the first inning. ”It’s funny, sometimes you pick a key out in a game. I thought it was in the first inning when Donnie Kelly smoked the ball and Granderson makes that play,” said Leyland. Girardi at first thought that Kelly’s hit would be caught. Then, he got worried. ”I thought that it was going to be an out and then it kept carrying and carrying. Curtis made two great plays tonight. If he doesn’t make that play (in the first inning), it could’ve been a different game,” said Girardi.

Granderson’s defensive heroics were backed by the awakening of the Yankees’ offense. Rick Porcello matched Burnett with zeroes in the first two innings, but Derek Jeter doubled over Austin Jackson’s head to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead by scoring Jorge Posada and Russell Martin. Those two runs seemed to relax the Yankees. Porcello held them in check in the fourth, but the Yankees finally began to hit in the fifth inning. Martin and Gardner both singled to start the inning. After a force out on a Jeter bunt attempt, Granderson doubled in Gardner. Alex Rodriguez would follow a Robinson Cano walk with a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. Porcello would give the Tigers six solid innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. Phil Coke would come on to pitch a scoreless seventh, but would be left in to start the 8th.

The Yankees bats woke up in the 8th inning. Alex Rodriguez got his first hit of the series to leadoff the inning. 11 more batters would follow as the Yankees would batter the Tigers’ bullpen for 6 runs on 7 hits in the 8th inning. Rodriguez would add another hit in the inning to finish the night 2 for 4 with an RBI. Rookie catcher Jesus Montero would pinch hit for Posada during the inning and get his first career post season hit. He would add another hit in the 9th. Boone Logan would close out the 10-1 Yankees victory to force a final game five at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night. It will be a rematch of game one relievers Doug Fister and Ivan Nova.

Heading into the series, both teams looked even. Even Jim Leyland isn’t surprised to be returning to the Bronx. ”It doesn’t surprise me that this series is going five games. It’s not surprise,” said Leyland.

Many will try, but projecting a single baseball game is nearly impossible. Many take Ivan Nova as a given for the Yankees because of his stellar season and equally stellar performance in game one. But, he is a rookie and will be pitching in the most pressure filled game of his career. Doug Fister had an ugly final line in game one–4.2 innings, 7 hits, 6 runs, 6 strikeouts–but, he has been the Tigers’ second best pitcher since coming to Detroit. Both bullpens are rested. Both can throw any one of their starters in relief. With these two teams, a win or go home game will provide dramatics and great performances. There are far too many stars on the field from Miguel Cabrera to Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Victor Martinez, and Curtis Granderson. Justin Verlander and C.C. Sabathia could play a role. It is a star studded game. It looks to be the best that Baseball has to offer.

As for Burnett, he walks out of Comerica Park the winning pitcher in the 2011 Yankees’ most important game to date. For that, there is a bit of redemption. Even the Yankees captain sees this. ”Trust me, I am sure New York fans will remember this game more than any other game,” stated Jeter.

A redemption story followed by a decisive game 5, two of the millions of reasons to love Baseball.

Playoff Baseball is a completely different set of circumstances. Pitching takes priority and in most cases, 6 innings and 4 runs will not be enough to win. The Yankees were hoping to repeat their 2009 plan of using just three starters and allowing their ace C.C. Sabathia to make two starts in a 5 game series. But, Mother Nature had different plans with the game one rainout. Sabathia would only get to pitch one game, a game three match up with Justin Verlander. Now, the Yankees would have to reach beyond their third starter. They reached to the one pitcher they’ve been trying to avoid all year.

For all of the records, the future Hall of Famers, and for all of the 97 wins, the single most important game of the Yankees season comes down to Allan James Burnett.

A.J. Burnett has been a source of frustration for both the Yankees and their fans with his inconsistent performance since he came to New York in 2009. At times, Burnett looks like one of the most dominant starters in the game. At other times, he looks like he barely belongs in a Major League rotation. It has been that way for most of Burnett’s career as his potential had never really caught up to his results. The word potential is thrown around quite a bit in Baseball circles. It is usually reserved for young, unproven talent with a lot of tools. But, that word has followed Burnett into his 30′s. His tools always leave us wanting more.

The source of frustration stems from the trademark Burnett inconsistency. Has has never, in any of his 13 seasons, put it all together for a complete season. The Marlins stuck with him through injuries because the young right hander could reach into the upper 90′s. Once he learned some control and how to be consistent, the Marlins would have an ace. He never really fulfilled his promise in Florida, but Toronto decided they could harness that potential and gave him $55 million over 4 seasons. He showed glimpses and seemed to have, at the very least,  learned how to stay healthy from Roy Halladay. The Yankees decided that his half season of dominance in 2008 was enough to give him a five year, $82.5 million deal. Potential can make you do some crazy things, not to mention spend an insane amount of money.

For the past two seasons, Burnett hasn’t been all that inconsistent. He’s had streaks of quality performances, but his poor performance streak has gone on for longer stretches. That has resulted in a two year record of 21-26 with a 5.20 ERA in 65 starts. The lone positive is that Burnett has been able to make all of his starts and give the Yankees close to 200 innings each season. But, with declining stuff, Burnett’s good performances have been less dominant. He began the season with a 4-1 record with a 3.86 ERA in his first 6 starts. He gave close to league average results over his next 16 starts, but fell into a funk in late July and for the entire month of August. In 5 August starts, Burnett would allow 44 hits in 22.2 innings. His 11.91 ERA would ordinarily be grounds for dismissal. But, the Yankees continue to stick with their enigmatic right hander.

The potential, however, is always there. Even now. As poor as Burnett has pitched this season, his final start of the season is one that left everyone wondering if he was about to go on his trademark hot streak. Against a desperate Red Sox team, Burnett hurled 7.2 innings while allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 6  strikeouts. It is that type of performance that keeps getting Burnett the ball. He is capable of shutting down an offense. Even with the diminished stuff, Burnett can still be an average pitcher. At 34 years old, he still has the potential to do that.

The Yankees are pinning their hopes on the latter version of AJ Burnett; they have no choice That version throws strikes, has a ton of movement, and misses bats. The other version gives up 7 runs in 4.1 innings on 13 hits. The latter Burnett tries, but his inconsistency forces him to put more pitches close to the strike zone. The Yankee season essentially comes down to a flip of the coin. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi is outwardly optimistic. He has to be. ”I feel good about what A.J. is going to do for us,” said Girardi.

The Yankees are here for a variety of reasons. The Tigers have outplayed them in most facets of the game. Rain did alter their plans and also impact the preparation for their ace. Sabathia looked to be laboring after starting on 3 days rest, even if Girardi didn’t see it that way. ”It was a small strike zone tonight,” said Girardi. Sabathia fought through some wildness and his lack of put away stuff to keep the game close. Sabathia pitched into the 6th inning, but allowed 7 hits and 6 walks along with 4 runs. It could have been worse considering all of the baserunners. Sabathia was able to get out of most trouble.

The Yankees do credit for getting 4 runs off of Justin Verlander. He started slow with many of his first inning pitches up in the strike zone. The Yankees grabbed two quick runs in the first, but Verlander gradually began to settle in. Consistently hitting 100 MPH and up on the radar gun, Verlander was overpowering. He pitched 8 innings, allowed 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and struck out 11 batters. ”Obviously, when you throw 100, the changeup will be effective,” said Girardi of Verlander. “He was terrific. There was a couple of times he got over-amped and probably tried to go for a strikeout, but he got through it. He was terrific,” said Tigers Manager Jim Leyland.

The Yankees evened the game in the 7th, but Delmon Young hit a solo homerun off of an otherwise dominant Rafael Soriano. That would prove to be enough for the Tigers to take control of the series. “This team has a never say die attititude. We come from behind. Top to bottom, we can hurt you,” said Justin Verlander.

Now, it all leads to A.J. Burnett. The Yankees most enigmatic starter now has the big say on the result of the 2011 Yankees’ season and this series. Burnett has the potential to dominate the Tigers’ lineup. He also has the potential to be the pitcher that he was in August. An elimination game is always stressful. It just makes it more fun that one team won’t know what they are getting from their starting pitcher. Joe Girardi will have a quick hook with Burnett. The win or go home atmosphere won’t allow him to be patient and wait for some of Burnett’s potential.

Burnett enters this start with minimal expectations. In fact, few believe he will pitch well in this moment. That is how far Burnett has fallen. With those kinds of expectations, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Burnett throw well because that’s what he does. He confounds us every time he takes the mound and has a way of surprising. A positive start would be unexpected. It would be so like A.J. Burnett to do that.

Though Cabrera and Fielder, who both had home runs to help their teams to victories, were heroes for their teams, it was Tampa Bay’s Shoppach who overshadowed them all, blasting two over the fence in a 3-hit, 5-RBI performance in Tampa’s game one victory. His Rays teammate Damon also slugged a home run and drove in three runs in the win. Other Franklin stars making significant early contributions include Berkman (game one, 3-run homer) and Theriot (critical game two double, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI) of St. Louis, Ordonez (game two, three hits) and Cabrera (game 2, two-run home run) of Detroit and Moreland (game two, huge eight-inning home run) of Texas.

American Leaguers playing in the first round include: Cabrera (.344 avg., 30 home runs, 105 RBI), Brandon Inge (.197, 3, 23), Ordonez (.255, 5, 32), Jhonny Peralta (.299, 21. 86), Ryan Raburn (.256, 14, 49), Donny Kelly (.245, 7, 28), Omir Santos (.227, 0, 0) and Wilson Betemit (.285, 8, 46) of Detroit; Hamilton (.298, 25, 94), Moreland (.259, 16, 51), David Murphy (.275, 11, 46), Matt Treanor (.214, 3, 22), Esteban German (.455, 1, 4) and Endy Chavez (.301, 5, 27) of Texas; Damon (.261, 16, 73), B.J. Upton (.243, 23, 81), Shoppach (.176, 11, 22) and Elliott Johnson (.194, 4, 17) of Tampa Bay.

The Senior Circuit of Franklin players includes: Carlos Ruiz (.283, 6, 40), Chase Utley (.259, 11, 44) and Ross Gload (.257, 0, 8 ) of Philadelphia; Fielder (.299, 38, 120), Casey McGehee (.223, 13, 67), Josh Wilson (.227, 2, 4) and Rickie Weeks (.269, 20, 49) of Milwaukee; Aaron Hill (.246, 8, 61), Justin Upton (.289, 31, 88), Paul Goldschmidt (.250, 8, 26), Willie Bloomquist (.266, 4, 26), Geoff Blum (.224, 2, 10), Lyle Overbay (.234, 9, 37) and Ryan Roberts (.249, 19, 65) of Arizona; Berkman (.301, 31, 94), Skip Schumaker (.283, 2, 38), Daniel Descalso (.264, 1, 28), Theriot (.271, 1, 47), Tony Cruz (.262, 0, 6) and Yadier Molina (.305, 14, 65) of St. Louis.

Cabrera staked Scherzer to a 2-0 lead, a score that would remain the same until the sixth inning when he would again drive in a run against Garcia with a single up the middle. Garcia, who had allowed just 1 hit since Cabrera’s first inning homerun, would finally succumb to some fatigue with Cabrera’s single, followed by a Victor Martinez single. Garcia’s final line of 5.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 0 walks, and 6 strikeouts looks pedestrian, but from innings two through 5, he successfully kept  the Tigers’ lineup off balance and off the scoreboard.

Cabrera would finish the day with 3 hits in 4 at bats with the 1 homerun and 3 RBI. It is the type of dominant performance that the Tigers need as the rest of the lineup can be pitched to. Cabrera is the best hitter in the series and the Tigers need to exploit that advantage. For a hitter with such talent, it is odd that Cabrera is somewhat underrated. He won’t be mentioned as a serious MVP candidate, but that looks to be an injustice. He led the American League in hitting with a .344/.448/.586 slash line with a league leading 48 doubles, 30 homeruns, and 105 RBI.

Perhaps the glancing over of his Pujols-like seasons is due to the perception that he is somewhat of a lazy player and does not play the game “the right way”. The perception is exacerbated by his two incidents involving alcohol over the past few seasons. But, a player with a career .317/.395/.555 batting line is someone who has elite skills. His Manager also describes a player who may just be misunderstood.  ”He has a lot of energy. What comes out of Cabrera, if you watch him, is how much he loves to play the game. He’s like a big kid, or a little kid, however you want to look at it. He just loves to play the game. He’s the most instinctive player I have. He’s smart. When I mess up, he knows it. Not all of them do, but he does,” said Jim Leyland.

That doesn’t sound like a player who isn’t into the game. Perhaps his game two performance will have some sort of impact on how he perceived around Baseball. Cabrera has appeared in the post season once before as a 20 year old rookie for the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins. His first post season homerun was hit against Roger Clemens. He added his second career homerun at a time that the Tigers needed a jump in an important game two. For Cabrera, the chance to get back to the post season means so much. “A lot. We work for this. We work to get to the playoffs. We work to get a chance to win the World Series, if you get a chance. When you’re here, you have nothing to lose. You have to go out there and play hard and try and do your job,” said Cabrera.

While the offensive story was all about Cabrera, the Tigers most dominant player was right hander Max Scherzer. The day didn’t start that way as Scherzer threw 11 of 12 pitches out of the strike zone in the first inning. But, after walking two batters in the first inning, Scherzer would settle in. Even the hit he gave up, wasn’t hit hard. Robinson Cano would bloop a hit to left field to get the Yankees in the hit column. He’d give up a walk and hit in the seventh before giving way to Joaquin Benoit. Scherzer ended the night with six shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits, 4 walks, and striking out 5.

Max Scherzer is no stranger to expectations. He’s been a pitcher who has dominant stuff, but has failed to find any sort of consistency. The 26 year old averages 8.7 K/9, but has also allowed 69 homeruns over the past three seasons. This season has been his most inconsistent. He allowed 29 homeruns, 207 hits in 195 innings, and posted a career high 4.43 ERA. But, he posted the best walk rate of his career while maintaining his strikeout rate. Scherzer is expected to be the Tigers’ second starter, but obviously hasn’t put together a season that has lived up to his expectations. Game two showed the full potential of the young right hander who was acquired by the Tigers in that three-way trade that involved Curtis Granderson, Austin Jackson, and Ian Kennedy. When locked in, Scherzer can dominate a game.

Leyland was effusive with his praise of his pitcher. “Well, you never know what’s going to happen. Big stage, and he was terrific. There was no question about it, he was terrific today against a great lineup. He powered the ball pretty good, mixed his pitches well, got some outs with change ups. He pitched a terrific game,” stated Leyland.

Like Ivan Nova in game one, Scherzer showed remarkable poise for a big moment in a park that is conducive to homeruns. “ I think he’s a real thought out guy. I think he zeroed in today. He was locked in. He was determined,” said Leyland. For Scherzer, it was all about focusing and sticking with the game plan. “You really can’t focus on the ballpark per se. I was more focused on the quality of their hitters. And making sure I was executing pitches throughout the whole night. Even when I was behind in the count, never giving in in a situation where it could cost me. They’re a very good power hitting ballclub. For me it was making sure whether it was a fastball or off speed pitch that no matter the situation I had to execute it no matter what,” said Scherzer.

Aside from evening up the series heading to Detroit, Scherzer has helped put the Yankees in their nightmare scenario. Game three will be the long awaited duel between Justin Verlander and C.C. Sabathia. Every game is a must win, but the Yankees feel a bit extra pressure due to the inconsistency of their game four starter, A.J. Burnett. Burnett wasn’t supposed to start in this series, but the rainout has forced him into action. If Verlander does dominate the Yankees and lead the Tigers to a game three victory, the Yankees’ season will come down to A.J. Burnett, their much maligned and most inconsistent starter.

But, that is still a game away. For now, both teams will trust their aces in a series that has been marked by superstar play. Robinson Cano and Miguel Cabrera have each seized the spotlight thus far. Now, it is the pitchers’ turn. With the specter of A.J. Burnett on the horizon, the Yankees will be a desperate team in game three. Although Burnett is perfectly capable of dominating a start, the circus that his presence brings with the media questions and anxiety of every pitch will loom over game four, especially if the Yankees are down 2-1.

Quick Cuts

• Alex Rodriguez is 0-8 in the series. Rodriguez seemingly shook off the boo birds with his 2009 performance, but New Yorkers have shown their true colors by booing a player who is clearly playing hurt.
• Joe Girardi’s decision to pinch hit for Brett Gardner with Eric Chavez was curious. “Gardner is fine. Was hoping he (Chavez) would pop one,” said Girardi. But, that left Andruw Jones hitting against Jose Valverde in the ninth. Jones delivered a sacrifice fly, but Gardner would’ve been a better match up.
• Girardi drew some curious looks by having Jorge Posada in the lineup as the DH in game one. He did the same in game two. Girardi relies on experience and Posada is swinging well. If he continues to hit, he’ll play. Posada’s benching this season wasn’t about age; it was about performance.
• Miguel Cabrera has hit a homerun in three of his four post season series.
• Curtis Granderson’s homerun was the first run that Joaquin Benoit has given up since August 2nd.
• Yankees fell to 10-4 at the current Yankee Stadium in the playoffs.
• Jim Leyland admitted to at least thinking about intentionally walking Robinson Cano to get to Alex Rodriguez. He didn’t like the situation in game two, but that may happen if Rodriguez continues to flounder.
• Joe Girardi’s decision to use Luis Ayala in the ninth will be viewed as a mistake because Ayala gave up a run and the Yankees ended up losing by two. But, Ayala has been a key member of the bullpen all season and with three consecutive games coming, Girardi needed to conserve his bullpen as much as possible. It wouldn’t have been a mistake had he went with David Robertson, but it’s not as if he called upon Scott Proctor.
• Both Verlander and Sabathia are essentially pitching on short rest, even with the low pitch count. It will be interesting to see how sharp they are early in the game.