I gotta hear that clip! Get that thing posted.

I know the optimism from me is out of character, but I really was kinda heartened by that game last night. We can take this next one from them.

I love Pudge but this team is going as far as he, Guillen and Maggilo can take it. 0 for 4 was just pathetic.

It has been a great year, and I’m trying to enjoy this for what it is worth and not get my hopes up. I hope Verlander enjoyed his rest and mows down the Yanks tonight.

I just reread that post and I can’t believe that I thought someone else might be rolling with that kind of optimism.

LOL, Joey, I’m just glad to hear that kind of optimism from you. Weren’t you doubting their right to be in the playoffs a few days ago?

This was certainly a winnable game. I’m not saying they “should have” or “deserved to”, but they were in this game. Ho Chi Min (Yes, I know that’s not his name. No, I’m not racist, I’m just venting against NYY) had our number all year and we put some runs up on the board against him. I look forward to bigger and better things in the coming days.

BTW, a WWJ staffer interviewed me after the game. Be sure to tune in for my intoxicated and mostly useless comment in the morning.

I’m a little drunk and it’s 3:00 AM.

That’s a disclaimer. In other words, don’t hit the bookie with any bets based on that prediction.

Dudes, I have to say that I agree with Billfer. This game felt winable all the way through. We even got someone on base versus Mariano, and I really thought someone might connect against him.

Here’s my prediction–and sorry if someone already made it:

Justin comes in tomorrow all kinds of juiced up. He brings the 98 MPH stuff he featured early in the season, hits corners and commands all three pitches. He holds the Yanks to less than three, the bullpen gives up on and the Tigers bats knock in five.

We come home tied a game a piece.

Go Tigers!

And yes that pitch to Jeter was definitely a strike and for some reason the ump thought that he needed help.

Dirtbag McClellan.

Gave me goosebumps.

Have to say that the two jerks, Buck and McCarver, gave it to us lightly with the critiques. But, of course, what are they going to say? “Turn your channel, America. This is a blowout.”

Anyway, we got this far. We can’t give up on the boys until the last out.

Go Tigers!!!!!

That ground ball that got by Polanco in the 7th, anyone think that if that was Neifi at second, he would have got it?

I’m not as encouraged by this game as a lot of others. Like another poster mentioned, we had 12 hits and 7 for extra bases… what’re the odds we’re going to do that again this series? I think it’s less a case of us getting the bats going and more a case of us squandering an opportunity here. We had a winnable game but we didn’t get the pitching tonight out of Robertson and that’s what we hang our hat on.

Granderson looked good from the first pitch tonight, also very nearly threw out that runner at third in the late innings – usually when he goes, the team goes. Maggs and Inge were both lively tonight too. But Pudge was the limiting factor, not sure why he struggled so much when everyone else was seeing Wang well. He swings and misses at more pitches than just about anyone in baseball I think.

I was wondering if anyone thought Casey should have made more of a play on Abreu’s 2-run single in the 6th. It looked like he was a lot closer to the ball than Polanco, but he went straight for the bag. That was the ballgame right there.

Let’s hope we get a huge game out of JV and the bullpen tomorrow night. We need it.

Apart from Pudge, the hitters did a good job adjusting to pitches from Wang. I am a bit supprised that Guillen especially wasnt more agressive on the bases for how much he was on and given Posada’s arm. I agree that Robertson got frazzled after that Damon bouncer that got by him. On the whole, not a terrible outing for him, but NY certainly took advantage of his weak moments.

The thing that scared me the most was Polanco’s dive near the end. I cringed watching him go down on that left shoulder. Worse watching him next half of the inning warm up on deck and gingerly swing with that left arm grimacing the whole way. Lets hope he’s still healthy enough to play.

Now it’s Verlander’s turn to really step up and shut things down. I like his chances on long rest and playoff energy. Mussina is beatable, and Tigs have a statistical advantage on him being primarily right handed batters. We need to take this game.

It was nice to see our bats make some noise. If we don’t screw the pooch in the 3rd this was a totally different ballgame.

I’m actually really excited now about the Tigers’ chances – before the game it seemed like there was no way we’d get any offence against Wang – the 19 game winner. Of course, it’s not hard to win 19 games when your team likes to light up things to the tune of 15 runs a game. Here’s some other thing – The Royals scored 9 runs in 2 of their games to beat us, while we kept the Yankees to just 8. Best team/worst team? Weird.

Verlander takes the hill tomorrow, and he’s one of the pitchers we haven’t seen take a dive in the last week or so. I think we win this one. And on Thursday, I’m optimistic about taking on Johnson who has A HERNIATED DISK!!! Yeah. The next two games should be easier than tonight’s was.

This is a tough loss, but I really don’t think it’s a lopsided victory for the Yanks, despite the score. We caught a very bad break in the 3rd inning. If we catch Jeter looking (as he definately was out–and I’m not just saying that as a Tiger fan), we are talking maybe a 4-3 Tiger victory here. That whole infamous at bat sparked the 5 run rally for the Yanks. I would really LOVE to see that bat with a strike zone cropped on the screen. Two of those pitches were right down Broadway, so to speak. I truly think replays with a strike zone would humiliate the ump, or at the very least, demonstrate he is perhaps really just vying for the “Jeter for MVP” campaign.

The Tigers had some tough breaks. The double-steal in the second inning was a gaffe. And yes, in a couple of key at-bats, Nate Robertson had a couple of strikeouts that were not called.

The Yankees also caught a couple of big breaks. I don’t know if people remember this, but Jeter’s double in that inning would have been a double play if Guillen hadn’t shaded toward the middle to cover the bag. If that one play goes differently, we’re looking at a very different ballgame.

What’s even more encouraging is that everybody contributed today. Granderson hit well; Polanco had a couple of good swings (including a great hit the opposite way), despite apparently being in some degree of pain; Casey had a pair of solid hits; Ordonez hit well; Monroe tagged one, of course; and Inge was as scrappy as ever.

Of course, they didn’t put it all together in a big inning. But they did all of this against a good pitcher. (Wang wasn’t at his best, but he wasn’t bad, either.) What’s more, I think we have the heart of our rotation coming up. I’ll take Kenny Rogers or Jeremy Bonderman over Corey Lidle and Jaret Wright anytime.