If you want to see a real, live Detroit Tiger in the flesh, you’d better come to the Stadium tonight.
This breed is on the extremely endangered-species list.
Yes, the understandably timid Tigers are on the verge of extinction. They’ve been declining in numbers since the All-Star break, and now the big, bad, Yankees’ game hunters are going for the kill. If any team needed to win Game 1 of its ALDS, it was the timid Tigers.
They coughed up the AL Central title like a giant fur ball by losing to the Royals in extra innings on the last day of the regular season. It was their fifth straight loss and 31st in the last 50.
Instead of lapping up champagne, they packed their bags and headed for the meanest jungle these young Tigers have ever seen – the jungle known as Yankee Stadium. So before the game Detroit manager Jim Leyland issued an urgent defense of his cats.
“I think a lot of people for whatever reason, they have this as, you know, the Yankees varsity versus the scrimmage and the freshman team,” said an intense Leyland. “I don’t feel that way.
“One thing, I always let my feelings be known, so I’m going to tell all of you,” said Leyland, his voice rising. “Those that said we lucked out and snuck in, I totally disagree with that. We won more games than only three other teams in baseball. That’s pretty good.”
And then the Tigers went out and looked really bad in an 8-4 loss. Starter Nate Robertson got mauled for seven earned runs in 52/3 innings. When he slipped and fell trying to field a Johnny Damon roller in the third, it opened up a five-run Yankees inning.
“I thought I was a better athlete than that,” said Robertson.
The Tigers botched a hit-and-run in the second when the game was scoreless and Magglio Ordonez was thrown out trying to steal third. And now rookie Justin Verlander, who was held out of his last start to rest his young right paw, goes against, as Leyland dubbed the Yankees before the game, “Murderers’ Row and [Robinson] Cano.”
“People can’t see the fight in us,” said reliever Jason Grilli. “We’ve been the underdogs all season. We won 95 games, but people still think we have no chance. I’m telling you this team has a lot of fight left.”
Game 2 of this ALDS is tonight, and if the Yankees take a 2-0 lead, the only Tigers left around here come the weekend will be at the Bronx Zoo. Where’s the World Wildlife Fund when you need ’em?
“I don’t look at it as we need it more than any other team,” said Curtis Granderson. “Game 1 is the most important game of the series for everybody, whether it’s Oakland or New York or us.”
The Tigers finished with a 95-67 record that would have won any division except the AL East (Yankees), NL East (Mets) and AL Central (Twins). They came so close from going from worst to first.
Just two seasons ago they almost broke the Mets’ record for futility. But they came roaring out of the gate and held a 10-game lead in August. Now they are two losses away from extinction.
Meow.