MLB Playoffs 2011: 5 Things the Yankees Must Do for Come-from-Behind Win

The New York Yankees must currently feel like Sonny Liston in the ring against Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay. Beaten on the playing field and battered by the press, the Yankees are clearly on the ropes, desperately fighting for a way to climb back into the series.

The Detroit Tigers seem destined to repeat their success of 2006, when the Yankees took the first game of the series at Yankee Stadium before the Tigers roared back and took the next three.

The Yankees are all about history, and if they don’t want to see history repeat themselves, there are clearly some changes that need to be made.

Here are five things that the Yankees must do to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the 2011 ALDS.

1. Either Move Alex Rodriguez in the Batting Order or Sit Him Down

It seems pretty clear to just about everyone watching that New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is nowhere near healthy.

Rodriguez, now 0-for-2011 ALDS, has collected two runs batted in, but both were on groundouts, and he has simply looked horrible with his swing.

The Yankees need to seriously consider moving A-Rod down to eighth or ninth in the batting order at this point, or replace him in the lineup with Eric Chavez. With his obvious health issues, A-Rod continuing to hit cleanup will continue to spell disaster.

2. Move Mark Teixeira Down in the Batting Order as Well

When your No. 4-No. 5 hitters are batting a collective .048 and you’re on the brink of elimination, it’s time to make some changes and damn the big egos.

That’s exactly what Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are combining to hit right now, and with the Yankees facing a must-win situation on Tuesday night in Detroit, manager Joe Girardi should be considering serious changes to his batting order, despite what it will do to the fragile psyches of the players involved.

A-Rod and Tex are both clearly struggling, and the last thing any teams need in the middle of a battle to move on are batters in the meat of the order who can’t currently be relied upon to get the job done.

Do you really want someone with a current .091/.167/.182 slash line hitting fifth?

Teixeira should be moved down in the order as well.

3. Do NOT Use Rafael Soriano Longer Than One Inning

The New York Yankees have an outstanding bullpen, with several arms that are hot right now. In the sixth inning of Monday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers, reliever Rafael Soriano did the job he was asked to do: bail the Yankees and CC Sabathia out of a jam.

Soriano did that and limited the damage to one run. However, why on earth did Girardi go back to Soriano to start the seventh?

With arms like Cory Wade and David Robertson ready and available, calling on Soriano to throw another inning really made no sense whatsoever.

4. Keep Game 4 Starter A.J. Burnett on a VERY Short Leash

When New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced that starting pitcher A.J. Burnett would be getting the nod for Game 4, he did not exactly give him a ringing endorsement.

"A.J.'s month of September was not bad...It was a complete turnaround from August," Girardi said.

Not bad? Yeah, that’s the guy I want starting a do-or-die game.

On the road this season, Burnett was 4-5 with a 6.28 ERA and 38 walks in 76 innings.

Girardi will need a very short leash with Burnett, and he will need to react swiftly in order to keep his Yanks from getting into a hole that they can't escape from.

5. Move Brett Gardner to Top of Batting Order

Thus far in the ALDS between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner has been the second biggest producer for the Bronx Bombers, and he’s doing it from the ninth spot in the batting order.

Seems to me that when you have a batter with that type of production, and you have others producing nothing but heartache up above, you might want to consider a change.

With Gardner’s speed and current ability to get on base more than others, manager Joe Girardi should absolutely consider moving Gardner to the top of the lineup.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.