The Road to No. 28: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers ALDS Preview
October baseball is upon us. The playoffs are finally here!
The New York Yankees won the American League East crown for 2011 with a 97-65 record and also have the best record in the American League.
They had to wait until the final day to find out who their opponent would be in the American League Division Series.
The Yankees opponents will be the American League Central Champions, the Detroit Tigers, who finished at 95-67.
Most fans will remember the 2006 ALDS matchup between these two that saw the Yankees get bounced out by a young and hungry Tigers team in four games, as they were the 2006 American League Champions, an elimination for the Yankees many called a major upset.
Five years later, the Yankees now have a chance to get revenge with a rematch with Jim Leyland's squad.
Only this time, it's not Joe Torre managing, but Joe Girardi instead.
Last year, the Yankees were the American League Wild Card team and made it to the ALCS but were eliminated by the Texas Rangers.
A year later, the Yankees are looking to rebound from their disappointing finish and end the 2011 year with better results.
How will their matchup go with the Tigers starting on Friday? Lets break down the series.
Yankees Starting Lineup
1 of 8The projected lineup for the Yankees will look something like this:
SS- Derek Jeter; .297, 6 HR, 61 RBI
CF- Curtis Granderson; .262, 41 HR, 119 RBI
1B- Mark Teixeira; .248, 39 HR, 111 RBI
3B- Alex Rodriguez; .276, 16 HR, 62 RBI
2B- Robinson Cano; .302, 28 HR, 118 RBI
RF- Nick Swisher; .260, 23 HR, 85 RBI
C- Russell Martin; .237, 18 HR, 65 RBI
DH- Jorge Posada; .235, 14 HR, 44 RBI
LF- Brett Gardner; .259, 7 HR, 36 RBI
September call-ups Jesus Montero (.328, 4 HR, 12 RBI) and Austin Romine (.158, 0 HR, 0 RBI) likely will be on the roster with Montero being on the bench as another DH and Romine as a backup catcher to Martin.
Eric Chavez (263, 2 HR, 26 RBI), Andruw Jones (.247, 13 HR, 33 RBI) and Eduardo Nunez (.265, 5 HR, 30 RBI) will also be on Girardi's bench as well.
Tigers Starting Lineup
2 of 8The projected lineup for the Tigers will look something like this:
CF- Austin Jackson; .245, 10 HR, 45 RBI
RF- Magglio Ordonez; .255, 5 HR, 32 RBI
LF- Delmon Young; .268, 12 HR, 64 RBI
1B- Miguel Cabrera; .344, 30 HR, 105 RBI
DH- Victor Martinez; .330, 12 HR, 103 RBI
C- Alex Avila; .295, 19 HR, 82 RBI
SS- Jhonny Peralta; .299, 21 HR, 86 RBI
2B- Ryan Raburn; .256, 14 HR, 49 RBI
3B- Brandon Inge; .197, 3 HR, 23 RBI
Brennan Bosch is out as he had to have surgery on his thumb, which lead to Detroit getting Young from their division rivals, the Minnesota Twins.
They traded for former Yankees utility infielder Wilson Betemit, who could also start at third if Inge struggles.
Yankees Starting Rotation
3 of 8The Yankees starting rotation will look something like this:
LHP- CC Sabathia; 19-8, 3.00 ERA
RHP- Ivan Nova; 16-4, 3.70 ERA
RHP- Freddy Garcia; 12-8, 3.62 ERA
Nova, Garcia and Bartolo Colon all battled for the final two spots of the rotation, and all of them ended up being key parts of the rotation for the entire season.
However, it looks like with Garcia getting the nod to be the third starter, Colon will likely not be in the rotation and maybe not even on the roster for the ALDS.
Joe Girardi decided to put Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett in the bullpen for the series against the Tigers and both could pitch as long relievers if any of the starters falter, especially with Garcia and Colon given their age and question of durability.
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Tigers Starting Rotation
4 of 8The Tigers starting rotation will look something like this:
RHP- Justin Verlander; 24-5, 2.40 ERA
RHP- Rick Porcello; 14-9, 4.75 ERA
RHP- Max Scherzer; 15-9, 4.43 ERA
RHP- Doug Fister; 11-13, 2.83 ERA
Verlander will likely win the American League Cy Young for the 2011 season because he was without question the best and most dominating pitcher of the year.
Aside from Verlander though, the starters are without experience in the postseason, as he was with the Tigers during his rookie year when Detroit was in the World Series against the Cardinals back in 2006.
Brad Penny was the Tigers fifth starter and he'll likely be coming out of the bullpen for Detroit.
Yankees Bullpen
5 of 8The Yankees bullpen will look something like this:
LRP- A.J. Burnett; 11-11, 5.15 ERA
LRP- Phil Hughes; 5-5, 5.79 ERA
RP- Boone Logan; 5-3, 3.46 ERA
RP- Cory Wade; 6-1, 2.04 ERA
RP- Luis Ayala; 2-2, 2.09 ERA
RP- Hector Noesi; 2-2, 4.47 ERA
RP- Rafael Soriano; 2-3, 4.12 ERA
SU- David Robertson; 4-0, 1.08 ERA
CP- Mariano Rivera; 1-2, 1.91 ERA, 44 saves
The bullpen has been a strength of the Yankees this year. They lost Pedro Feliciano, Damaso Marte and Joba Chamberlain for the season because of injuries, which is why guys like Ayala, Wade and Noesi got bigger roles through the year.
The emergence of Robertson will be an even bigger key, as he has dominated hitters as the Yankees setup man with a microscopic ERA.
Tigers Bullpen
6 of 8The Tigers bullpen will look something like this:
LRP- Brad Penny; 11-11, 5.30 ERA
RP- Daniel Schlereth; 2-2, 3.49 ERA
RP- Al Alburquerque; 6-1, 1.87 ERA
RP- Phil Coke; 3-9, 4.47 ERA
RP- David Pauley; 5-6, 3.16 ERA
RP- Ryan Perry; 2-0, 5.35 ERA
SU- Joaquin Beniot, 4-3, 2.95 ERA
CP- Jose Valverde, 2-4, 2.24 ERA, 49 saves
Valverde had a perfect 2011 season, converting 49-of-49 saves, but can his success of the regular season translate into the playoffs?
The Tigers bullpen is full of younger guys who can throw hard. But they haven't experienced the pressure of October baseball yet, which could either be a good thing or a really bad thing given their mindsets.
Yankees vs Tigers: 2011 Regular Season
7 of 8The Yankees and Tigers played two series against each other in 2011 and both of them were very early in the season.
In the series at Yankee Stadium from March 31 through April 3:
March 31: Yankees 6, Tigers 3
April 2: Yankees 10, Tigers 6
April 3: Tigers 10, Yankees 7
Sabathia and Verlander were the Opening Day starters for each team and were both non-factors in the decision as the Yankees bullpen prevailed over the Tigers bullpen.
In the second and third games, there were two slug-fests, with the Yankees and Tigers splitting the games.
In the series at Comercia Park from May 2 through May 5:
May 2: Yankees 5, Tigers 3
May 3: Tigers 4. Yankees 2
May 4: Tigers 4, Yankees 0
May 5: Tigers 6, Yankees 3
The Yankees won only the first game of the series and Verlander was again a non-factor in the decision pitching against Bartolo Colon. The Yankees got to the Tigers bullpen again.
In the other three games, the Tigers pitched very well with Brad Penny, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello and hit well enough to beat the Yankees starters.
Going head-to-head, the Tigers won four games while the Yankees won three in 2011.
Series Prediction
8 of 8A lot of people are scared of the Tigers in a five game series because of Verlander.
Yes, he has been that good.
But, he also had two no-decisions against the Yankees and in the games Verlander pitched, the Yankees won both of them, as they got to the bullpen late in the games.
If the Yankees want any success against Detroit, they will have to do the same if Verlander pitches in Game 1 and a Game 5, if there is one.
But the big question will be how the Yankees offense will perform against Scherzer, Porcello and Fister?
The last time these two met, the Yankees got up-ended five years ago because their offense did nothing in the second, third and fourth games.
The Yankees struggled playing in Comerica Park in 2011, as did they back in 2006, when they lost Games 3 and 4, which is where the series was decided.
I think the Yankees players who were there back in 2006, like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez; all remember that low feeling, watching Detroit celebrate an 8-3 win at Comerica Park and advancing to the American League Championship Series to play the Oakland A's.
Now in 2011, I think the Yankees will scrap and fight to get revenge and knock off the Tigers.
In the series, I pick the Yankees to win over the Tigers in five games.
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