In the third game of tonight's tripleheader, the Tigers and Yankees open up at Yankee Stadium. The Tigers were in control of the AL Central for a bulk of the season before allowing the Twins to take the division title on the last day of the season. Their downfall has been widely documented, but will it inspire them to perform in the postseason or is it a product of a lack of talent. Everyone is hopping on board the Yankees bandwagon with a lineup that boasts an All-Star at each position and this year's AL Batting Title second runner up as their ninth place hitter.
Why The Yankees Will Win... With all due respect to their cross-town rivals, the Yankees have the deepest lineup in the playoffs. They can hurt you from top to bottom, and still bring the all-time leader in postseason homeruns off the bench. On paper, this lineup looks unbeatable, but it certainly is. They are susceptible to pitchers who can pound them inside, and the Tigers have the arms to do so. Jason Giambi is battling a wrist injury that limited his production down the stretch, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui are recovering from significant injuries, and the tough times of Alex Rodriguez have been well chronicled. However, if this offense is hitting on even half of its cylinders, they'll score runs in bunches. The biggest question marks are with the pitching staff. Will Randy Johnson's back hold up for his game 3 start? How is Mariano Rivera's forearm? Will the overused arms of Scott Proctor and Ron Villone be able to get the important outs? Which Kyle Farnsworth will show up? The good news for Yankee fans is that the pitching staff does not need to throw shutout ball. The Sandman is the most reliable closer in postseason history and all signs indicate Wang and Mussina should keep other teams off the board.
Why The Tigers Will Win...Good young pitching. Justin Verlander has a good shot of being AL Rookie of The Year and has electric stuff. He struggled down the stretch, but if he's on the Yankees will have a tough time scoring runs. Kenny Rogers was virtually unhittable the last couple of months of the season and kept the Tigers from missing the postseason. The bullpen is stocked with live arms, especially flamethrowing Joel Zumaya. While certainly not as potent as the Yankees lineup, the Tigers have good versatility. They have good speed at the top with Curtis Granderson, some power in the middle with Ivan Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez, and depth at the bottom with Marcus Thames and Craig Monroe. The addition of Sean Casey before the deadline adds some stability to the top with a veteran who consistently gets on base. If the young starters can accept the challenge of pitching at Yankee Stadium in October, this could be a good series.
Prediction: While the Tigers were the feel good story of the first half of the season, their troubling inability to win games over the last fifty games is a red flag for Motown fans. They won a mere 19 of their last 50, the worst of any of this year's postseason teams. They squandered the division title they had virtually wrapped up in July which forced them to go on the road for the first two games of the division series. Meanwhile, the Yankees have issues of their own. The Randy Johnson back situation could play out a la David Wells in the '03 World Series, causing big problems for the back end of the rotation and bullpen. Manager Joe Torre has already stated that Mariano will not be used for more than an inning, but it'll be interesting to see if he sticks with that. Many of his biggest postseason performances have required more than an inning and Torre may not have the horses in the bullpen to keep Rivera on a one inning schedule. However, with home field advantage against an inexperienced and struggling team, this should be all Yankees. Expect the Yankees to win in four.
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