Yankees vs. Tigers: Yankees Not Built for Must-Win Situations

Does anyone know when the last time the Yankees won a must-win playoff game was?

Okay, that's just Game 5 of the 2010 ALCS, so that's not too far back. There's a second part to that question. When did the Yankees last win a must-win playoff game, and go on to win the series?

That would be the 2003 ALCS, when the Yankees won Game 7. That was one year before Alex Rodriguez first donned the pin stripes. Think about how much has changed with the Yankees since then.

That team was built to pitch, this one is built to hit.

Obviously, they have won series since then. Heck, they have won a World Series since then. But they do all that from the top. Sure, they may drop the first game of a series, but come back fine to win. Must-win situations just don't suit the Yankees well.

This is a team that's built to front-run. The lineup is vaunted. If they can get out to early leads, the pitchers can pitch much more comfortable games.

But in a must-win situation, you need to have pitchers. This is why the Red Sox failed down the stretch. Their lineup struggled, but they just didn't have the pitchers. The few reliable ones they had got tired and started to struggle.

Other than C.C. Sabathia, what Yankees pitcher do you have confidence in? Mariano Rivera would certainly qualify, but the Yankees need a lead for him to be effective.

With all due respect to A.J. Burnett and Ivan Nova, are they really go-to guys? Sabathia isn't an option, except possibly as a relief pitcher in Game 5.

The Tigers offense is good, but it doesn't quite match the Yankees'. Still, the Tigers' pitching more than makes up for that difference.

You never want to count the Yankees out. They are a team rich with experience and talented players. But there is a very good chance that Yankees Stadium won't host another game until 2012.

At this point, I would call that the most likely scenario.