As you’ve no doubt noticed, particularly since the Tigers’ season ended in Arlington, the offerings at The Daily Fungo have been sparse – and that’s been by design. Since I launched this blog in March 2006, I’ve never wanted to post something for the sake of keeping up a schedule. In fact, I think the “daily” component of this blog’s name was fraudulent on day two. But over the course of six seasons you still visited the site, left insightful comments and motivated me to keep cranking out the material. Thank you for that.

My goal was to never waste your time – though I’m sure I missed the mark on dozens of occasions; thanks for bearing with me – and to offer a perspective on the Tigers that you might not find elsewhere. I hope I did once in a while.

Thanks, too, to The Daily Fungo contributors: Ian Casselberry, Jim Craddock, Wade Fink, Len Gutman, Doug Hill, John Milton and Nick Shlain. I’m glad you were part of the team.

Finally, I send thanks to Craig Monroe for providing the inspiration for so much of the content in the early days.

Be good, everyone. It’s been a blast.

P.S. I’ll still be writing about the Tigers on Twitter. Follow me @DailyFungo.

After a month of self-imposed baseball exile, I’ve returned to the keyboard while watching the Red Wings game and chowing on green-bean casserole leftovers.

Verlander’s Hardware Store. The Cy Young Award was no surprise, of course, but the Tigers’ ace winning the A.L. Most Valuable Player Award took me by surprise. I always assume there are enough writers in the BBWAA that loath the idea of a pitcher – and a starting pitcher at that – winning the MVP. Lo and behold, the stars aligned and Verlander won both.

Driving to work the other day I listened to Jeff Joyce and Jim Duquette on XM railing about Verlander winning the award (Duquette said that Verlander should’ve been in the top five, but not the winner.) Of course, they both raved about Verlander’s season but decided that it was not a “historically significant” season when compared to other pitchers who won both their league’s Cy Young Award and MVP. To their credit, they called out writer Jim Ingraham’s leaving Verlander off his ballot and his rationale being that J.V. didn’t appear in 79 percent of the Tigers’ games. Whatever. I didn’t expect him to win the MVP, but he did – and he deserved it, just as much as Miguel Cabrera would’ve had he gotten any support. And really, who cares about these awards a week later?

G-Moneyback. In a matter of two seasons, Gerald Laird and Alex Avila have traded places as the Tigers’ starting and backup catchers. While I would’ve preferred they’d gone after Kelly Shoppach, I can live with Laird in a backup role for one season. And with Laird on board, we no longer have to wonder if we’ll see Victor Martinez behind the plate for the remainder of his contract.

Andy Oliver got screwed by the NCAA. Last month a 15,000-word article titled “The Shame of College Sports” appeared in The Atlantic and thanks to a long flight, I was able to read it all. I didn’t expect to come across a Tigers connection but there it was, under the subhead “Restitution”:

In 2008, Andrew Oliver, a sophomore pitcher for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, had been listed as the 12th-best professional prospect among sophomore players nationally. He decided to dismiss the two attorneys who had represented him out of high school, Robert and Tim Baratta, and retain Boras instead. Infuriated, the Barattas sent a spiteful letter to the NCAA. Oliver didn’t learn about this until the night before he was scheduled to pitch in the regional final for a place in the College World Series, when an NCAA investigator showed up to question him in the presence of lawyers for Oklahoma State.

(snip)

Just hours before the game was to start the next day, Oklahoma State officials summoned Oliver to tell him he would not be pitching. Only later did he learn that the university feared that by letting him play while the NCAA adjudicated his case, the university would open not only the baseball team but all other Oklahoma State teams to broad punishment under the NCAA’s “restitution rule” (Bylaw 19.7), under which the NCAA threatens schools with sanctions if they obey any temporary court order benefiting a college athlete, should that order eventually be modified or removed. The baseball coach did not even let his ace tell his teammates the sad news in person. “He said, ‘It’s probably not a good idea for you to be at the game,’” Oliver recalls.

If you get a chance, I recommend reading the entire article. Particularly if you think college athletes should not get paid. This piece might just change your mind.

Martin Prado. If the price is Delmon Young, go get him.

The Last Boy. I’m reading Jane Leavy’s biography of Mickey Mantle and about every three pages I’m tempted to put the book aside for good. Not that it’s poorly crafted, quite the opposite. In that regard it’s exceptional. But Mantle’s was one messed up biscuit of a personal life – thanks in large part to his horrifically bad decision making and his friendship with Billy Martin. Leavy portrays a guy who kinda knows he needs to grow up but when he’s maybe tempted to do so Martin drops by to drag him out to the clubs where fights ensue and the usual stuff you’ve probably learned about Mantle years ago. If you ever thought Martin was a low-life, read this book and your suspicions will be confirmed – and then some.

Finally, this Thanksgiving weekend take a moment to learn about the appropriately named hall of famer Norman “Turkey” Stearnes.

A quiet Southerner who spent his summers blasting long balls for the Detroit Stars and his winters laboring in the Motor City’s auto plants to make ends meet, Turkey Stearnes was one of the most prolific home-run hitters in the Negro leagues.

P.S. Happy 64th Birthday to John Larroquette.

Come to think of it, I’m fairly certain I haven’t completely bounced back.

After watching the Rangers bludgeon the Tigers in a terrifically played series, I just don’t have it in me to watch Nelson Cruz or Mike Napoli again, let alone that Rangers bullpen, until 2012.

That doesn’t, of course, mean I’m not pulling for the Rangers in the World Series. I’d root for any team – even the White Sox – against a Tony LaRussa team.

But since Brandon Inge meekly popped out to end Game 5, I have not watched a single pitch of any game. Chances are, I won’t.

Unless there’s a Game 7 and then, well, what’s a guy to do?

It’s not good form to blame a nine-run inning on umpiring – Max Scherzer did most of the damage to himself – but a couple calls undoubtedly went against the Tigers that helped extend the inning.

In many ways, it seemed like the Tigers had no business playing in the ALCS when you looked at the Rangers lineup. But Detroit could’ve made quick work of Texas had they gotten a timely hit or two – check that, one would’ve done in many cases – in the first two games of the series.

Some other random thoughts:

Poor Brandon Inge has made the final out in the Tigers’ last two postseason appearances.

Was it ever more evident than in this series that the Tigers needed Brennan Boesch?

Watching the Rangers bullpen carve up the Tigers made me miss Joel Zumaya … a lot.

I thought the Rangers’ base stealing with a seven-run lead was about as bush league as it gets.

How tough is Alex Avila? We’ll probably find out shortly.

Did Ian Kinsler really think Al Alburquerque was throwing at him? Get a clue.

The worst part of any season coming to an end, especially one that fell tantalizingly close to a World Series appearance, is the long wait for the next season to get under way.

Because winter stands between the last out of a season and the first pitch of Spring Training, the wait in baseball seems all the more cruel.

But maybe not as cruel as a couple of these ALCS losses, Game 6 included.

Justin Verlander or no, I didn’t expect the Tigers to win Game 5. After Wednesday night’s deflating extra-inning loss, my typically optimistic self thought the Tigers had run out of gas and that the Rangers were just too hot to lose.

Texas was making the most of their opportunities — lord knows they (and the Tigers with much less success) have had plenty this series — and how long could Detroit’s worn out pitching staff keep Michael Young and Adrian Beltre, the only Rangers not scorching the ball these days, in check? Not long, at least in the case of the former.

When Young doubled in the first inning, that queasy feeling of doom washed over me. Then I got angry: No way Verlander wilts in this situation. He didn’t.

Despite what some wrote, Verlander was terrific. Untouchable? No. But he had enough stuff, grit and determination to get the outs he needed at just the right time.

These same observers are saying the Tigers were lucky to win this game. Well, yeah — and it’s about time a bounce went Detroit’s way. And an ice-cold hitter hit a home run. And a starter went deep into the game. And someone other than Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde got the final outs. And a packed Comerica Park trembled one more time.

If the Tigers go on to win this series, imagine how we’ll remember a beaten down Alex Avila at last delivering a key hit with an opposite field home run, or how iconic Miguel Cabrera‘s sixth-inning double off the third-base bag will become in Detroit sports lore. Or Victor Martinez‘s triple when the man can hardly walk. Or Delmon Young‘s two rockets to left-center that put him in elite company in the Tigers’ postseason record book.

With Max Scherzer going in Game 6 — the first time the Tigers have been in a postseason Game 6 since 1968 — you have to feel good, don’t you? My guess is that he feels he has some unfinished business after Game 2 and will be on a mission Saturday night.

For now though, I’m going to savor this win and the crow I was forced to eat after not so much doubting the Tigers’ grit, but recognizing the offensive buzz saw that’s the Texas Rangers right now.

And you know what? Jim Leyland seems to be having the time of his life in this series. Perhaps it’s time I stop fretting every pitch and just enjoy the ride too.

Who’s with me?

When David Murphy, who’s become as irritating as David DeJesus, lined a single to left to leadoff the sixth … I had a bad feeling. No way Porcello can lose steam that fast, I thought. Ahem. All of a sudden the Tigers are losing and, well, you know.

But then Brandon Inge hit a game-tying homer in the seventh and maybe there’s more magic to be seen.

Once the game went into extra innings, my optimism all but evaporated. Hopeful, yes. Optimistic? No. Much like in Game 2, it doesn’t much matter what the final score was on Wednesday night. The chance to extend the season rests in the hands of Justin Verlander. Even if he does, how confident are you that the Tigers bats will be able to deliver one win much less three?

Me? Not so much. At least not at the moment.

From early on it was clear that Fister brought his A-game, but it wasn’t clear the offense showed up at all — evident by the ridiculous pitches Miguel Cabrera and poor Alex Avila and just about everyone else in the lineup were flailing at in their first at bats.

But then Austin Jackson started getting on base, beginning with a single in the first — and then two more hits on the night to finish 3 for 5 with an RBI. And before you knew it, Victor Martinez went yard to tie it at one. And Cabrera untied it, Jhonny Peralta extended the lead … and in the meantime Fister continued to keep the Rangers in check.

The key story lines leading into Game 4 will be:

• Can Rick Porcello deliver and give Justin Verlander a series tied at two apiece?
• What’s the deal with Martinez and will he be healthy enough to play?
• With a lefty starting for the Rangers, will we see Delmon Young or is his season kaput?

Something else to wonder: Is Jackson thawing out or was Game 3 a fluke? On second thought, let’s worry about that later.

For now, the Tigers have made this series more interesting, even if it’s just for one night.

Here’s thing about the last couple of games (and a few in the ALDS): the Tigers’ abysmal hitting is turning what under normal circumstances would be solid, if not stellar, pitching performances by the starters.

Justin Verlander wasn’t anything close to brilliant in Game 1, but the man only yielded three runs. Same for Max Scherzer who was dominant in chunks of Game 2.

I want to be upbeat about the possibility of three straight home games and maybe by the morning I will be. It’s just that Doug Fister can deliver a superb outing in Game 3 and the Tigers could still lose, 2-1.

They need hits from more than Ramon Santiago and Don Kelly, and more than harmless flairs to the outfield by Victor Martinez, and more than just Delmon Young’s name in the lineup if they have any intention of making this a series.

But you already knew that.

With Max Scherzer on the mound today and a more-than-capable lineup facing Derek Holland — a batting order that now, stunningly, includes Delmon Young — the Tigers can easily even this series heading home.

If you’re going to be at Comerica Park tomorrow for Game 3 you have this to look forward to: Joel Zumaya delivering the ball to mound and Darrell Evans throwing out the first pitch. Aretha Franklin will sing the national anthem.

The Rangers bullpen on Saturday night certainly lived up to its press clippings, but how about the job Ryan Perry did? If he can duplicate that effort in this series and pave the way for Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde, methinks the Tigers bullpen will get some notoriety — on the positive side of the ledger — before it’s all over.

How adept are baseball scribes at predicting postseason teams? Dreadful. A reader sent this item from The New York Times’ Bats blog:

An examination of the preseason predictions from 101 baseball writers at a dozen publications and sites — ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, The Sporting News, The New York Times, Athlon, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, USA Today and MLB.com — reveals that no one predicted any of these teams to win the World Series this year.

Nice profile of Don Kelly today by Jerry Crasnick.

Back to Delmon for a moment. My initial reaction is that this is a miracle recovery and with each swing we all will be wincing along with Young. My hope is that he’s back for good and powers this offense ahead of Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. My fear is that one check-swing and his season will be over.

In case you were wondering, Scherzer has started two games during his career at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. He’s 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA (12 IP/8 ER). This year he was 1-0, 4.76 ERA with 12 strikeouts in three starts. Lifetime, he’s 3-0 with a 3.41 ERA in six starts against the Rangers.

Happy 36th Birthday to someone who would look nice in the Tigers lineup this year, Placido Polanco.

More on Max: He’s allowed 2.6 walks per nine innings during the 2011 season, the lowest such ratio of his major league career.

On this date in Tigers postseason history:

• In 1945: The Tigers scored five runs in the first inning of Game 7 of the World Series, and routed the Cubs, 9-3, behind Hal Newhouser, who struck out 10 to win the World Series.
• In 1968: Mickey Lolich wins the World Series for the Tigers by defeating Bob Gibson and the Cardinals, 4-1 in Game 7. It’s Lolich’s third win and comes after the Tigers had lost three of the first four games.

How have the Tigers fared against the Rangers’ Holland? Wilson Betemit .167; Cabrera .000; Brandon Inge .000; Austin Jackson.000; Martinez .333; Peralta .000; Raburn .000; Santiago .000, Young .500 (It’s worth noting that most of these guys only faced him once or twice.)

Finally, Happy 57th Birthday to David Lee Roth.

*How unreal is it that he took batting practice and batted three times on Saturday with a broken ankle?

On Saturday the Tigers took Delmon Young off the ALCS roster. Today, right around the time they postponed Game 2, the club announced that Magglio Ordonez had a broken ankle and is done for the year.

Now the Tigers have to play four games in a row – today’s game will be played on Monday in Arlington at 4:20 ET – and, in the meantime, try to find a hitter to replace Magglio on the roster.

Neither is a simple task.

On the bright side, Game 2 starter Max Scherzer gets an additional day of rest, as does a dinged and dented Alex Avila, an offensively befuddled Austin Jackson.

The prevailing wisdom is that the Tigers could withstand the (perhaps temporary) loss of Young. I suppose. But can they absorb the impact of today’s news on Magglio?

If Ryan Raburn can make the mental leap from role player to starting leftfielder in the league championship series, the Tigers might be okay. And if Avila, who had a few decent swings in Game 1, can emerge from his October snooze that would certainly help.

But back to Magglio. Who replaces him on the roster? From what I’ve read on Twitter from those in Arlington you can count out Brennan Boesch, Carlos Guillen (imagine him up there last night against Neftali Feliz) and Clete Thomas (!). Andy Dirks might get more playing time now, but not against the Rangers’ lefties.

Not a pretty picture. But it’s the picture we have to watch.

One thing’s for sure, the pressure on Tigers pitchers just soared. And, for that matter, it did soared for the hitters too.

Other thoughts:

Justin Verlander certainly pitched well enough to win that game. Homeplate umpire Tim Welke had a wildly inconsistent strike zone in the early innings.

How about Ryan Perry? In what could’ve been a disastrous move, Perry was flawless in his inning and two-thirds.

I think we might have witnessed Wilson Betemit’s last at bat as a Tiger. If you’re going to make an out anyway, why not just bunt Ramon Santiago over?

Speaking of Santiago, what a sweet drag bunt to leadoff the ninth.

Is anyone else concerned about Miguel Cabrera’s .250 October batting average?

Now that Young will miss the ALCS due to a strained oblique, the Tigers can’t go out and get a bat to replace him on the roster. Nor can they simply slide the eternally convalescing Carlos Guillen into the lineup.

They can – and did – move someone into Young’s spot and who better than Miguel Cabrera? Another option would’ve been Magglio Ordonez but he’s now in the five spot, behind newly placed cleanup man, Victor Martinez.

Not having Young in the starting nine stings, but given the way Magglio’s been hitting and the better-than-average chance Ryan Raburn will heat up in Texas, the Tigers should be in decent, not necessarily great, shape.

What do you think?

In other news …

• Fox is going to clutter their ALCS broadcasts with some new statistical bling:
  

  Want to know how the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton fares against a 95-mph-plus fastball? The swing-and-miss percentage of hitters against Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander with two strikes? The chances of the Rangers’ Ian Kinsler getting on base on an 2-1 count against Tigers righty Max Scherzer with the score tied in the sixth inning?

  FOX will be ready with graphics for all that and more.

  You’ve been warned.

• Let’s hope we never have to worry about Cabrera playing for the Yankees, but here’s what he told Buster Olney about what it might look like:
  

  The Tigers’ players loved hitting in Yankee Stadium, loved taking batting practice there because of the short porch in right field. For left-handed hitters, the nearby seats in right are an alluring target, and the right-handed hitters loved trying to flip the ball into the stands. In the midst of batting practice before Game 5, Miguel Cabrera — who has steadily hit 30-35 homers a year while playing his whole career in pitchers’ parks in Florida and Detroit — was asked how many home runs he would hit in Yankee Stadium if he were with the Yankees.

  “Thirty-five,” he said.

  The same number as usual? Why?

  Cabrera lifted his hand up to his chest. “They would pitch me in here,” he said. “They would pitch me totally different if I played here. Inside, all the time.”

  Some teammates totally disagreed with his assessment, saying that Cabrera would hit another 10-15 homers a year if he played for the Yankees, because his natural swing is to take the ball to right-center field and right field. But once Game 5 started, every Yankees pitcher working to Cabrera tried to throw fastballs inside to him, as he said.

• Happy 61st Birthday to Enos Cabell.

• On this date in Tigers Postseason History:
  • In 1940 with only one day off, Bobo Newsom came back for the Tigers and nearly had enough to win Game Seven of the World Series. The Reds Paul Derringer gave up seven hits in the first six innings but set the Tigers down in order in the final three for a 2-1 win, giving the Reds the Series.
  • And in 1945, Stan Hack’s double made a tricky bounce over left fielder Hank Greenberg’s
    shoulder with two outs in the 12th inning to score runner Bill Schuster and gave the Cubs an 8-7 win in Game Six to even the World Series with the Tigers.

Finally, Happy 68th Birthday to Chevy Chase.

Was Game 5 the best Tigers game I’ve ever seen? I keep asking myself and I couldn’t decide, mainly because the competition features games with different circumstances and consequences:

1984 ALCS Game 3

• Scenario: Tigers ahead of Royals 2-0 in best-of-five
• At Stake: Trip to World Series
• Result: 1-0 win

1987 Final Weekend

• Scenario: Tigers enter weekend one game behind the Blue Jays
• Tigers take two of three, force one-game playoff
• Blue Jays take two of three, they win A.L. East
• Tigers sweep gives them division title
• At Stake: A.L. East Title
• Result: Tigers sweep

2006 ALCS Game 4

• Scenario: Tigers ahead of A’s 3-0 in best of seven
• At Stake: Trip to World Series
• Result: 6-3 win

But then it was an easy choice. In all these other games the Tigers had room for error. Not Thursday night – or any game in the series. So, yep. This ALDS was the most grueling – and gratifying – set of games I’ve ever experienced in my Tigers-following life.

Other leftovers …

• Remember when the Tigers acquired Doug Fister and led us to believe he’d be the fifth starter? If Fister’s the fifth man in the rotation, where does that put Brad Penny? Eighth? Truth is, Dave Dombrowski probably never thought of Fister anything less than what he’s proven himself to be: a number-two starter with ace-ish ability – and he proved it with gusto on Thursday night.

• Here’s something about this five-game series that I’ve never experienced before: the difficulty I had enjoying the game as it was being played. Every pitch seemed to have so much hanging on it I resigned myself to studying the box score to get a reality check on a player’s performance. This was the case with Fister. As I watched Game 5, it sure seemed like he was throwing a gem — and lo and behold, he was: five innings pitched, five hits, one earned run, four strikeouts and just two walks.

• And how about Magglio Ordonez? He hit .455 in the ALDS after going two for three in Game 5. Jim Leyland sure seems to be in perfect sync with Magglio, when to play him, when to give him a day off. With a couple of lefties on the horizon in the ALCS, I’m thinking we’ll see more Magglio rather than less.

• If you can stand to watch (and I don’t recommend it), Around the Horn looks at Game 5 through the prism of “Praise the Tigers or Blame the Yankees?”

• The Los Angeles Times’ Bill Plaschke uses the Tigers’ champagne celebration to make the point that revelry after winning a first-round series is more than a little over the top.

On the field, the Detroit Tigers did what tough baseball teams do, defeating the New York Yankees, 3-2, in a deciding Game 5 to win the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.

Off the field, the Detroit Tigers then did what all silly baseball teams do, celebrating the series victory with a raucous, over-the-top champagne party that was far greater than the entirety of their achievement.

Three wins. They were throwing a New Year’s Eve party for three wins. Think about that.

They were spraying each other over wins that could have occurred over the course of a long summer weekend. They were pouring it on each other for wins that totaled less than 12 hours.

The Detroit Tigers just played three good games, yet felt it necessary to celebrate with countless cases of liquor and cigars, and it just makes no sense.

It isn’t just the Tigers who do this, of course, it’s every baseball team after every postseason series win, the constantly popping corks adding to baseball’s reputation as a big fraternity house while diminishing the parties that really matter.

• What do you think? I agree that in general watching four champagne celebrations is a bit much … when it’s not your team doing it. Here’s hoping we see another one in the next week or so.

And with that, adios, New York. Hello, Arlington.

The Gist: Jim Leyland’s bet on Don Kelly paid immediate dividends as Kelly gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead two batters into the game. Three batters in, Delmon Young gave Doug Fister a 2-0 cushion before he threw a pitch. Fister was terrific, as was Max Scherzer who gave the Tigers 1-1/3 innings of relief. Victor Martinez gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead when he drove in Austin Jackson in the sixth. Joaquin Benoit got five huge outs, walked in a run and withstood some head games played by Joe Girardi. Jose Valverde threw a Mariano Rivera-type ninth inning, setting down Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriquez in order for his 51st save of the year.

The Quote: “He’s the 25th guy on the team, I guess, but I wouldn’t rather have another 25th guy.” – Leyland on Kelly

The Stat: 3 – Delmon Young‘s home run total for the series, the most ever by a Tigers player in a single postseason series.

The Stat II: 13 – The number of strikeouts by Tigers hitters in Game 5

Up Next: American League Championship Series

Saturday: Tigers @ Rangers in Arlington | Start Time TBD | On the air: Fox/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Justin Verlander vs. C.J. Wilson

Follow The Daily Fungo on Twitter: @DailyFungo

Jim Leyland this afternoon explained why we’ll see Max Scherzer and not Justin Verlander should the Tigers need a long-man:

“I don’t think it’s a wise decision. Like I said, those innings he pitched the other night, all the innings he’s piled up this year, all the strikeouts, all the adrenaline, and the fact that he’s throwing 100 miles an hour in the eighth inning [on Monday night], if he comes in this game tonight, there’s no telling what he would be throwing with the way this crowd is going to be and everything. I just don’t think it makes sense.”

Tonight’s game marks the seventh time in the Tigers post-season history they’ve had a series go the maximum number of games. Detroit has compiled a 2-4 record in the previous six series.

• Wins: Game 7 of the 1945 and 1968 World Series
• Losses: Game 7 of the 1909, 1934 and 1940 World Series; Game 5 of the 1972 ALCS

Jerry Crasnick focuses on Doug Fister and Delmon Young in this ESPN.com story. Here’s one scout’s view on Fister:

“The gun doesn’t tell the story on him,” the scout said. “He’s a movement guy with good location, and velocity doesn’t matter that much. He’s so tall [6-foot-8] and he’s straight over the top, so he gets great ‘down’ plane. When he’s down in the zone, it’s like hitting a bowling ball.”

By the by, Fister surrendered five home runs over his final 19 outings of the season dating back to June 14, a stretch of 129 innings pitched. He allowed 0.46 home runs per nine innings this season, lowest in the American League.

On this date in 1945, a goat and its owner make an appearance at Wrigley Field for Game 4 of the World Series between the Tigers and Cubs. The pair is told to leave before the game ends, angering the owner (and presumably the goat). The Cubs lost to the Tigers, 4-1. The Tigers go on to win the Series in seven and the Cubs won’t win another National League championship for the rest of the 20th century. And thus was born the Curse of the Billy Goat.

Young’s two home runs during this ALDS matches a Tigers record. Both Curtis Granderson and Craig Monroe hit two home runs for Detroit during the ALDS in 2006.

That’s all I’ve got. Except for this: Tigers 5 Yankees 2.

Enjoy the game.