MLB Playoffs 2011: 4 Keys for Jim Leyland's Tigers Against Texas

Postseason baseball forces teams to shift gears and change focus rather quickly.

The Detroit Tigers are riding an emotional high after overcoming a hostile New York environment to beat the Yankees in the first round.

Now, Jim Leyland and the Tigers must quickly tun their attention to an imposing Texas Rangers' club.

In this American League Championship Series, there is no clear cut favorite.

These teams are evenly matched. Both have exceptional pitching and hit the ball well. These are qualities expected of teams in the ALCS.

The managerial battle will be one to watch as this series progresses.

Let's look at 4 keys for Jim Leyland and the Tigers to focus on as they prepare to meet the Rangers.

Ignore What Happened in the Regular Season

Yes, the Tigers won six out of nine games against the Rangers in the regular season, but that will have no effect on the outcome of this postseason series.

In April, the bullpen of Texas blew two of the first three meetings between the clubs and Rangers' star Josh Hamilton suffered an injury.

Adrian Beltre missed the series in August with a strained hamstring, as Texas lost two out of those three games.

These are not excuses for Texas, but Beltre and Hamilton are both healthy now and the Rangers' bullpen is pitching much better.

What all this means is that those series were not proper indicators of how these teams will match-up this time around.

Trust the Bullpen

The Tigers' bullpen is a perfect 74-0 when leading after seven innings.

Much of this success can be attributed to Jose Valverde refusing to blow a save the entire season.

However, Joaquin Benoit also proved his worth by becoming a formidable set-up man throughout the year, and particularly in the ALDS.

Al Alburquerque was great for much of the season but has become unreliable since his concussion in August.

Still, Leyland should have confidence in the capabilities of his bullpen once he takes the ball from the starters.

Continue to Utilize the Bench

Detroit's bench players are consistently rotated into the starting line-up. It is a testament to the baseball intelligence of Jim Leyland that these guys always seem to play at just the right time.

The prime example of this came in Game 5 of the ALDS, when Don Kelly led things off with a home run against Ivan Nova.

Leyland has shown his willingness to play his reserves, even under the pressures of postseason baseball. That needs to continue in the ALCS for the Tigers to withstand the pitching assault of the Rangers.

The loss of Brennan Bosch for the season and Carlos Guillen being out with a calf injury certainly hurts the depth of the Tigers, but their bench is still one that can be highly productive in the right situations.

Dont Force Three Starts out of Verlander

Everyone knows how great Cy Young candidate and presumable favorite Justin Verlander has been this season. His 24-5 record, 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts devastated opponents all year.

That being said, Jim Leyland should and likely will know not to try and force Verlander to pitch in three games if this series does go to a deciding game seven.

Leyland trusts his rotation. When the Yankees made C.C. Sabathia available to pitch in Game 5 of the ALDS Leyland refused to do the same with his ace.

Verlander is not a pitcher who plays on three days rest and he has never entered a game out of the bullpen.

Detroit obviously wants to give themselves the best chance to win, but Leyland believes that comes from trusting the rest of his rotation and the bullpen.