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October 14, 2012

Playoff Prospectus

ALCS Game One Recap: Tigers 6, Yankees 4

by Ben Lindbergh

A few innings after Raul Ibanez solidified his True Yankee™ status with yet another ninth-inning, game-tying home run, seemingly setting the stage for an inevitable extra-innings win, the Yankees lost Game One. They also lost a leader and a pretty good player, leaving them looking much more vulnerable than they did a day ago. Here are three things to think about before Game Two gets underway.     

Detroit’s Defense
As Sam Miller pointed out in his series preview on Saturday, the Yankees have the edge over Detroit on defense—not because the Yankees’ fielders are especially good, but because the Tigers’ are particularly terrible. But even the Tigers aren’t hopeless all over the field, and in any given game, they can look like the better defensive team. The Tigers brought their gloves to Game One, and as a result, they kept the Bronx Bombers off the board for the first eight innings.

The Yankees loaded the bases in the first, second, and sixth innings with nothing to show for it. In the sixth, Doug Fister escaped his own jam, striking out Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Russell Martin. But in the first and second, Fister had help.

After issuing walks to Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Raul Ibanez, Fister faced A-Rod with two outs and the bases full in the first. A-Rod hit a hard grounder in the hole between second and third, and Jhonny Peralta turned it into an out.

Ibanez complained about the call at second, but the replay confirmed that it was correct.