Hats Off To The Tigers

Congratulations to the Tigers on advancing to the ALCS, even if it was at the expense of the Yankees.

Some quick thoughts about what happened:

• I’m surprised that it was the offense that faltered in Game 5 and not the pitching. Coming into the season, and even the playoffs, many thought that the rotation was the big question mark and the hitters would have to slug their way to victory. In the final game, the pitchers did their thing (for the most part) while the hitters struggled. You can’t blame the pitchers when the offense has the bases loaded with one out twice and gets only one run out of it.
• You can’t pin the offensive woes on one player. As much as I’d love to make it all A-Rod’s fault, the middle of the order as a whole didn’t do its job. It was a collective effort which seems to be a recurring theme every October with Tex, A-Rod and Swish.
• Girardi made some questionable decisions. The biggest, I think, was leaving Jesus Montero on the bench. The guy was raking since his call up late in the season and he only had two at-bats in the series (both hits BTW). Why have him on the roster if he’s not going to play? I’ve heard some people make this analogy – Girardi : Montero ’11 ALDS :: Showalter : Mo ’95 ALDS. It’s interesting. If you don’t get it, look it up.
• Regardless of the loss, it was still a fun season and I’m always proud to be a Yankee fan. Go get ’em next year!

That’s all I got for now. There will be some more breakdowns/insights in the coming days. As I quoted last year at this point, “I’m tryin’ to find ways to cope, but I ain’t f**king ’round with the gauge or a rope.”

Only 181 more days until Opening Day!