Tigers 2011 Playoff Preview

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Thursday, September 29, 2011

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Squad could provide more postseason memoriesthat, it’s this one.

The ‘68 title brought this area to-gether after the destruction of theriots the summer before. The ‘84championship came in the yearsafter a recession drove manypeople from Michigan to the SunBelt because of a meltdown in theauto industry.

We were in a one-state recessionin 2006, soon to be joined by the restof the country.

Yet, postseason baseball helped

Players running out of the dugoutwith bottles of Champagne andshowering fans in the seats downthe left field line with it.

n Oakland’s Huston Street pitch-ing, Magglio Ordonez swinging.The ball hanging in the air for whatseemed like ages against the back-drop of a Downtown Detroit skylineas it crossed the left field wall atComerica Park. The celebration ofan American League pennant in2006.

Postseason baseball is magical. Ifthere is any town that understands

jumping for unmitigated joy. The1984 world champs.

n The Tigers, with the wholeworld thinking it would be differ-ent, beating the Yankees in theAmerican League Division Series.

girth. Freehan carrying himaround as if he could lift the world.He probably could have at that mo-ment. The Tigers rallying from athree games to one deficit to beatthe Cardinals in the 1968 World Se-ries.

n Sparky Anderson miked in thedugout, yelling toward Kirk Gibsonin the batter’s box at Tiger Stadi-um. “He don’t want to walk you.”Gibby looking back at Sparky. Theblazing fastball from San Diego’sGoose Gossage. The drive deep intothe right field upper deck. Gibson

–– DETROITPostseason. The Tigers.This is what we see.n A faraway shot of the field at

Tiger Stadium. The Cardinals LouBrock, one of the greatest baserunners ever, rounding third..Wil-lie Horton picking up the ball in leftfield. Brock bolting home. BillFreehan applying the tag. The pho-tos showing Brock’s foot stoppinginches short of the plate.

n Freehan catching a popup.Mickey Lolich jumping into hisarms with every bit of his ample

Pat

Caputo

COLUMNIST

Back to the postseasonThis one is different.“A little bit different. We’re definitely not

the sleeper. I think everybody knew we had agood team. In ’06, we just came out of no-where. The Indians earlier this year remind-ed me a lot of that, catching everybody offguard. But this year, you look at the talent onthis team and people expected us to be, if notwhere we are now, right there,” ace JustinVerlander said. “I think we’re also a teamthat nobody really wants to face. We’ve gotkind of that good group of talent. We hit theball well, we play good enough defense andwe pitch well. ... It’s a team, like I said, I don’tthink anybody wants to play us.”

They had been telling us all along that theywere good, but how many believed them?Shoot, there were those who advocated ahousecleaning if this team came up short.

“I think the only difference is (in) 2006 Iwasn’t getting fired every day — a little bitdifferent this year,” joked Leyland, who did

come into the season as a lame duck, beforehe and GM Dave Dombrowski earned mid-season contract extensions.

“But no, I think we took care of, we wereable to take care of negative conversationsabout us. We were able to do that becauseof what we did. ...

“I think 2006 was a little different,you’re right, it had been down for quite awhile and I think for the most part, the

last few years, and I don’t mean this tosound wrong but I think it’s been pretty ex-

citing and I think people have been expectinga little bit more because they thought wewere pretty good.”

After years of being accused of crying wolf,this would be a perfect time for Leyland to

This year, regardless of how many timesmanager Jim Leyland hammered it homethat this was a good team, no matter howmany times guys like Brandon Inge call thisthe best team they’ve played on — on paper— fans were understandably reticent.

Too many old wounds.To be clear, though, this is not the Tigers of

2006. Or even of 2009.The 2011 Tig-

ers had no suchcollapse, noswoon, no let-down, maybefinally erasingall the badmemories ofthe past bymaking theplayoffs forjust the sec-ond time in24 years, win-ning theirfirst divisiontitle since

1987.

reinvent run-scoring, instead finished last.In 2009, when it looked like all the stars

might be aligning again, with the Tigersspending nearly six months in first place,they managed a collapse for the ages, blow-ing a seven-game lead in September.

That may be when the hope stopped, whenthe faithful began to doubt. It was going totake something special to bring them backwith all their hearts.

Even last year, before a string of injuriesquickly ruined what looked like it could be abounce-back season, fans were hesitant tobuy in.

With good reason.

It’s Tigers’ first playoffappearance since 2006

By Matthew B. MoweryJournal Register Newspapers

DETROIT — No one thought it would takethis long to get back to the postseason.

When the Detroit Tigers made it to theWorld Series as a Wild Card underdog in2006, it almost seemed too easy.

Despite backing into the playoffs with asecond-half swoon that would soon turn intostandard operating procedure for the fran-chise, the magical march through the post-season — punctuated by that unforgettable,series-clinching homer by Magglio Ordonez— pumped up expectations.

Never mind that it was out of nowhere, and— if you’re being fair — too early in the res-urrection of a franchise that had been mor-bid through the 1990s.

This was supposed to become a yearly oc-currence.

“When you go to the World Series you al-ways think you’re coming back the nextyear, and the next year, and the next year,”admitted Magglio Ordonez in spring train-ing this year.

That certainly didn’t happen.Five years went by with noth-

ing but disappointment, nomatter how much ownerMike Ilitch spent.

In 2007, they merelycouldn’t keep up withthe red-hot Indiansdown the stretch.

In 2008, a star-studdedlineup that was supposed to

See CAPUTO, Page 3

I think we’re also a team that nobody really wantsto face. We’ve got kind of that good group of talent.

— Justin VerlanderTigers starting pitcher

See PLAYOFFS, Page 3

Tigers under

Jim LeylandThe Tigers’ A.L. Cen-

tral finishes since JimLeyland took over asmanager in 2006:

2011: First2010: Third2009: Second2008: Fifth2007: Second2006: Second (A.L.

wild card)

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Thursday, September 29, 2011 DailyTribune.com MacombDaily.com Page 3DETROIT TIGERS

but he has captured a worldchampionship and two pen-nants. It doesn’t seem likelyhe will be outmaneuvered.

The Tigers aren’t a perfectteam by any stretch, but theywere better than anybodycould have reasonably ex-pected during the regularseason.

They are capable of pro-ducing more snaps shotswe’ll all remember in thepostseason, too.

Pat Caputo is a columnist forJournal Register Newspapers.Contact him at [email protected]” [email protected] and read hisblog at theoaklandpress.com.You can follow him on Twitterat patcaputo98

throws.During the regular season,

the Tigers were able to over-come their flaws by swingingthe bat exceptionally well -especially following the AllStar break. It more thanmade up for their lack ofrange defensively and speedon the base paths.

To win the postseason, it’simportant to have unexpect-ed heros. Lolich did not haveone his best seasons in ‘68. In1984, it was Rusty Kuntz whoknocked in the go-ahead runin the deciding game againstthe Padres. Remember Alex-is Gomez at Oakland in the2006 ALCS.?

Leyland has his detractors,

noit and Phil Coke, theirmiddle and long relieversaren’t nearly as solid.

Max Scherzer and RickPorcello, after Verlander andFister in the starting rota-tion, lack consistency.

The Tigers are suspect de-fensively. They have reallygood range in center fieldwith Austin Jackson. Avilais a marvelous catcher. Afterthat, their range is limited -especially in the corner out-field spots.

In the 2006 World Series, itwas the Tigers’ fieldingwhich did them in. They notonly have to get to battedballs, but catch them oncethere - and make good

ny Peralta has played as wellas any AL shortstop, AlexAvila as well as any catcher.Victor Martinez is amazingclutch hitter. Starting pitch-er Doug Fister and left fielderDelmon Young completedthe puzzle when acquired inJuly.

It’s not a fluke the Tigerswon the division. They are ahigh payroll team with allthe necessary parts to winthe pennant, maybe even theWorld Series, although thePhillies do seem to be clearlythe class of the field.

Concerns? Yeah. There area few. While the Tigers haveexcellent late-inning reliev-ers in Valverde, Joaquin Be-

season too often, but theyusually do pretty well oncethey get there.

This version, in the play-offs for the first time sincethe ‘06 pennant, is more thancapable of continue that tra-dition.

There isn’t a team in base-ball which can match combi-nation of Justin Verlanderleading the rotation and Mi-guel Cabrera hitting cleanupin the batting order. A strongcase can be made the Tigershave the two most valuableplayers in the AmericanLeague. Jose Valverde had aremarkable season. Therehas been a more consistentlyeffective closer in 2011. Jhon-

us. It warmed our collectivesoul and heart. It alsobrought intense drama.Thrilled us. Gave us some-thing to pull together for in acommon cause. Pitch-by-pitch.

This must be the only townwhere this can happen: Acrusty old manager, Jim Ley-land, starts welling up,knowing what it meant to bein the postseason to thepeople, because his fatherwas a blue collar worker notso far away, just over theMichigan-Ohio border.

One thing about the Tig-ers, they don’t get to the post-

CAPUTO: This year’s squad could provide some more great memoriesContinued from Page 2

AP photo

Detroit’s Austin Jackson is congratulated after hitting a solo home run against Oaklandearlier this season.

If the Tigers can add totheir own storied postseasonhistory with another Oc-tober run — a run they fullyfeel they’re capable of mak-ing — they’ll more than eraseany bad taste that’s still lin-gering from the last fouryears of frustration.

They believe they can.And it appears that a lot of

outsiders are starting to, aswell.

ally been to the postseasonthree of the six years, count-ing the 163rd game againstthe Twins. That was a playoffgame,” Leyland said. “That’snot too bad. We want to dobetter, we want to get greedy.I wish the Tigers had 27banners like the Yankees dobut that’s not the way it is.Probably not going tohappen, but the fact is it’sbeen pretty good.”

they could finally wash awaythe stain. Finally exorcisethe ghosts of collapses past.

And back in the postseasonfor the first time since 2006,maybe the view in the rear-view mirror doesn’t lookquite as bad.

“One thing I do look at, onethink I am proud of, and I’mnot talking about me, I’mtalking about the Tigers. Inthe last six years we’ve actu-

rious, 12-inning Game 163 —against the Twins.

That game is rarely men-tioned, but always remem-bered.

“I think it’s just understood.Obviously, it’s mentioned, inpassing here or there. Thatgame’s talked about. We’ll re-alize every once in a whilehow good of a game 163 was,but every time we talk about163, we talk about how wenever should’ve even beenthere. That’s probably themost important factor out ofall of them,” Inge said, notingthe difference between thisteam’s mindset and that one’s.

“We were playing the lastfew games ... more of watch-ing the standings, watchingthe teams, and hoping thatthe other team wouldn’t catchus, as opposed to just buryingevery team we played, andthat way, it would’ve takencare of that. It’s more of an ag-gressive outlook, as opposedto being passive, and waitingaround for another team tocatch you.”

With that memory firmlyentrenched in the mind ofthose players who were onboth teams, there was a con-scious effort not to let ithappen again.

By holding onto to thatmemory, there was a chance

elite eight.“And I’m happy the way

we did it. Obviously, nobodycan say we backed in.”

No, they didn’t.Thanks to that 12-game

win streak — longer thanany put together by the fa-bled ’68 or ’84 crews —and a13-1 start to September, therewas no swoon, no collapse.

“The whole year, I talkedabout it, too. I kept saying,hey, we haven’t played ourbest baseball. I think youlook around this clubhouseand you’d kind of see us gethot and cool off, hot and cooloff, and we never really justplayed ball to our capabil-ities over a month or so,”Verlander said. “I thinksince the All-Star break,we’ve played that kind ofconsistent baseball. Ob-viously, you mix in a 12-gamewin streak and that helps alot. But I think we’re hittingour stride at the right time.”

Certainly a different feel-ing than 2009, when the Tig-ers’ September stride was astumble.

When the entire finalmonth of the season wasspent on eggshells, with oneeye on the rear-view mirror,the constantly sinking feel-ing that was climaxed by theone-game playoff — the noto-

gloat, right? To say ‘I told youso’ to all his host of critics.

“I just think about win-ning. That’s what I thoughtabout. Ever since I’ve beenmanager, whether it be De-troit or Pittsburgh or any-place else I’ve managed. Myjob is to try to win games andwin as many as you can,” theskipper said. “I’m really notone of those ‘I told you so’guys. Believe me, I’m not. Iunderstand all that stuff. Ithink a lot of it’s fair, some ofit’s unfair. You learn to livewith that kind of stuff, oneway or the other. But youdon’t gloat about that.

“I’m gloating because wewon the Central Division.I’m not gloating becausesomebody in Muskegon,Mich., didn’t like my lineupon April 7. Believe me. I un-derstand all that. I’m gloat-ing because we won the Cen-tral and I think we did aDAMN good job. It’s only justbeginning. But I’m not gloat-ing about stuff like that. Icould care less about stufflike that. I understand that. Itgoes with the territory. I’mhappy because we won moregames than anybody else inthe Central Division andwe’re going to be one of the

PLAYOFFS: Tigers are back in postseason for first time since 2006Continued from Page 2

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Page 4 MacombDaily.com DailyTribune.com Thursday, September 29, 2011DETROIT TIGERS

Pennant-winning teamsThe Detroit Tigers’ American League championship

teams:2006: Lost to St. Louis in World Series1984: Defeated San Diego in World Series1968: Defeated St. Louis in World Series1945: Defeated Chicago Cubs in World Series1940: Lost to Cincinnati in World Series1935: Defeated Chicago Cubs in World Series1934: Lost to St. Louis Cardinals in World Series1909: Lost to Pittsburgh in World Series1908: Lost to Chicago Cubs in World Series1907: Lost to Chicago Cubs in World Series

All the right moves

like him. ... Truthfully,you’ve gotta credit your gen-eral manager, because I likea lot of guys, but you can’t al-ways trade for him. He pulledit off.”

That, too, brings up a validpoint.

The moves that Dombrows-ki DIDN’T make are almost asimpressive in hindsight.

Everyone wanted the Tig-ers to sign Adam Dunn forthe spot they gave to Marti-nez. To say Dunn has been acolossal disappointment inChicago is an insult to under-statements.

And Ubaldo Jimenez —who may have cost as muchas two members of the Tig-ers’ current rotation, as wellas prized prospect JacobTurner — hasn’t exactlypanned out too well for theCleveland Indians, who gaveup a boatload to get him.

The irony was that Fisterand Jimenez faced off inMonday night’s game. TheTigers were fighting forhome-field advantage, whilethe Indians were aiming for awinning record.

Dombrowski’s acquisitionof Delmon Young in a waivertrade in mid-August — with-in days of Brennan Boesch’ssuffering what was eventu-ally a season-ending thumbinjury — was tantamount tohighway robbery. It allowedLeyland to plug into the thirdspot in the order a guy who’dbeen in the MVP conversa-tion as recently as last year.

It’s hardly the first timeDombrowski has tried to boosthis team’s playoff chances inhis tenure in Detroit.

He traded for slugger Au-brey Huff and starter JarrodWashburn in 2009, and failedmiserably with both. Huff hit.189 with 13 RBI in 40 gamesdown the stretch, whileWashburn won just one ofeight starts before beingshelved by a knee injury thateventually ended his career.

“Sometimes things workout, sometimes they don’t,”Leyland admitted. “You al-ways try to make good deci-sions. Sometimes, it’s like(former Pirates manager)Chuck Tanner used to say: Itreally wasn’t a bad decision,it was just one that didn’twork out.”

This year, they’ve all work-ed, to some extent.

And that’s why the Tigersare packing for the postseasonfor the first time since 2006.

of the playing time at secondfrom youngsters WillRhymes (demoted) and ScottSizemore (traded), neither ofwhom had worked out,either.

Left-handed reliever DavidPurcey, acquired from the A’sin the trade for Sizemore,didn’t work out either, and wasdesignated for assignment.

The conversion of PhilCoke into a starter failed ontwo fronts, as it weakenedthe bullpen and providedvery little for the rotation.Midseason, he was movedback into his comfort zone.

And Inge — the longest-tenured player on the Tigers— had struggled so mightilywith the bat that the teamhad been forced to trade forWilson Betemit, and offerInge the ego-swallowing op-tion of accepting an assign-ment to Triple-A, or an out-right release.

Had Dombrowski beenstubborn, dug in his heelsand insisted his blueprinthad been right, the divisiontitle would have been farmore difficult to come by.

Instead, he addressed eachand every one of the flaws.

His coup-de-grace waswhen he sent four prospectsto Seattle for a starting pitch-er with a 3-12 record in DougFister, and a reliever inDavid Pauley who had just asmany wins at the time.

It was the sports equivalentof breaking a champagne bot-tle over the prow of a ship atlaunch, as the Tigers merelytook off from there.

“You know what? Every-body’s jumping on thatwagon now. We felt we did agood job with our scouts andour organization, coaches, ofpicking a guy that wethought would really help us.But to think that he’d be (thisgood), that’d be a lie. We hadno idea. I’d like to say welooked into a crystal ball, andknew it,” Leyland said ofFister, who went 8-1 in 10starts for the Tigers, with a1.79 ERA, dredging up mem-ories of the 1987 trade forDoyle Alexander (9-0, 1.53ERA).

The difference? Alexanderwas 36, and out of baseballtwo years later. Fister is 27and under team control until2015. And Charlie Furbushprobably isn’t John Smoltz.

“Up to this point, we’vecaught lightning in a bottle,”Leyland said. “But we really

clubhouse. He lightens themood in everybody in here.He’s been an integral part,not just on the field. Ob-viously, we’ve all seen whathe is on the field,” said aceJustin Verlander, who notedit didn’t take long for his in-fluence to be felt.

“Not long. He’s just got thatkind of personality, realopen, real jovial, light-heart-ed, infectious personality.”

n A few weeks earlier, theTigers had inked veteransBrandon Inge, and JhonnyPeralta to new deals, hopingthat they’d solidified the leftside of their infield for thenext two years. They’d add aone-year deal for Magglio Or-donez in December and atwo-year deal for Ryan Ra-burn in January.

In the cases of Peralta andOrdonez, the club declinedcontract options, enablingthem to re-sign both on morecost-effective deals.

Considering he was ac-quired from the Indians atlast year’s trade deadline fora marginal prospect, Peraltahas been a bargain-and-a-half for the Tigers, lockingdown a shortstop positionthat had been in flux eversince Carlos Guillen began toslow down, contributing 20home runs and 80 RBI.

The other three? Well,more on that later.

n In mid-January, the Tig-ers traded Armando Galarra-ga to the Diamondbacks,after signing veteran BradPenny — coming off a few in-jury-plagued years — to aone-year flier of a contract re-place him in the rotation.

As rocky as Penny’s sea-son has seemed, he’s beenevery bit worth the $3 mil-lion the Tigers paid him.

“We signed Brad to give usinnings, and hopefully win10 games. He gave us a littlemore than that. He gave us alot of innings (181 2/3). Wekept him healthy all year,and I’m proud of that, and hegot 11 wins. That’s prettygood for the guy that wesigned to be our fifthstarter,” Leyland said.

Like the skipper said ear-lier, that made the Tigers agood — but not great — team,one that was in contentionfor the division crown asearly as June, but one thatwouldn’t pull away from thecompetition until August.

You know, after the tradedeadline.

That’s when Dombrowskireally put his stamp on thisseason.

And he did it by admittingthere were some things thathadn’t worked out likeplanned.

Ordonez, coming off anklesurgery, wasn’t ready to behis old self early in the sea-son, spending some time onthe disabled list. Raburnwasn’t ready to be an every-day player, fitting more andmore into a utility role as theseason wore on, taking much

the Tigers are 75-0 when lead-ing after seven innings.

But the rookie Albur-querque has been the sur-prise glue to hold the middleinnings together, slidingright into the big leagues(pun intended) like he’d beenthere for years. He’s bestamong all AL relievers inbatting average allowed(.145), strikeouts per nine in-nings (14.03) and hits pernine innings (4.46).

If not for a rash of bad luckand injuries midseason, he’dprobably be getting someconsideration for Rookie ofthe Year.

“That credit goes to (assis-tant GM) Al Avila. I didn’teven know who Albur-querque was, to be honestwith you. He was a guy thatwe signed as a six-year freeagent, told me he had a greatarm, blah, blah, blah, but Ididn’t know him,” said Ley-land, who wasn’t even surein spring training how muchthe rookie would be able toharness his command.

Offering him a big-leaguecontract was the reason theTigers were able to lure himhere, too.

n Three days later, the Tig-ers signed Victor Martinez toa big-money contract, know-ing they were getting a pro-fessional hitter to plug in atdesignated hitter, and pro-tect cleanup hitter MiguelCabrera in the batting order.

And the four-year, $50 mil-lion deal may have been abargain, considering that theTigers got both a guy who’dknock in 100-plus runs, mak-ing opponents pay for avoid-ing Cabrera, but they also gotthe unquestioned leader oftheir clubhouse.

“(The effect is) not neces-sarily just on Miggy, no. Theeffect you see on Miggy’s theeffect you see on the whole

hard work on Dave’s part,the guys we picked up work-ed out. And we had a good nu-cleus to start with,” Leylandsaid.

“We’re a better team thanwe were. If we had the sameteam that we were in April,May, I don’t know that we’dbe 25 games over .500.

“I think we still could’vewon the Central division, butI don’t know that we’d be 25over. There’s no magic aboutit.”

As much as anyone, thecredit for building the firstdivision winner in 24 yearshas to be given to Dombrows-ki who came into the seasonas a lame duck, in the finalyear of his contract. At thispoint, you can’t argue that hehasn’t earned his midesea-son contract extension.

In fact, you could arguethat — along with ArizonaGM Kevin Towers andTampa GM Andrew Fried-man — he should be one ofthe leading candidates forExecutive of the Year.

Let’s look at a few of themoves he made that workedout:

n On the same day in late No-vember the Tigers inked set-upman Joaquin Benoit to a free-agent deal — one of the biggestcontracts ever for a relieverwho is not a closer — they alsosigned some guy with a car-toonish-sounding surname to aMajor League contract: Alber-to Alburquerque.

No one expected Benoit toput up the video-gamenumbers he had with theRays last year — and hehasn’t — but he workedthrough a rough patch earlyto become the “unsung hero”of the bullpen, according toLeyland, setting the table forJose Valverde, who’s beenMLB’s best closer this season.

Those two are the reason

–– DETROIT

No matter how good theteam is, no Major LeagueBaseball squad finishes theseason with the exact samemakeup it started out with.

It’s natural selection, ap-plied tothesportsworld:Evolveor die.

So it’sno sur-prisethat theTigerswillhave amuch

different lineup on the fieldfor the first game of the play-offs this weekend than theone that took the field at Yan-kee Stadium to start the 2011campaign 26 weeks earlier.

The Tigers have evolvedin-season, and come outbetter for it.

In almost magical fashion,over the course of slightlymore than a year, the Tigershave taken the majority oftheir weaknesses — the No. 5starter, the middle of thebullpen, shortstop, No. 5hitter, catcher — and trans-formed them into strengths.

To manager Jim Leyland,he discounts any notion of amagical transformation, lay-ing the credit right at the feetof his general manager forgetting him the proper piecesto finish the puzzle.

“All along, we’ve had agood team. We’ve had a lot ofnice pieces. I think if youwant to talk about somethingworking out, really you’vegotta send some bouquets toDave Dombrowski. Youknow, a couple of years ago,we wanted some guys, itdidn’t work out. This year, itwasn’t magic, it was good,

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Thursday, September 29, 2011 DailyTribune.com MacombDaily.com Page 5DETROIT TIGERS

AP photo

Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila, left, talks to pitcher DougFister during the sixth inning of a game against the KansasCity Royals earlier this year.

Tigers for longevity, or inany statistical category, butthey were part of two of themore wonderful summers ofbaseball around here.

Welcome to the club, Mr.Fister.

from 1972-74, compiling anoverall record of 22-25.

Alexander was a Tiger from1987-89 and lost as many games(29) as he won for Detroit.

Neither Fryman nor Alex-ander ranks with all-time

the East Division title.Fryman was 70 when he

died on Feb. 4, 2011, continu-ing what has been a roughstretch of recent years for Tig-ers fans, who have coped withthe passing of heroes such asSparky Anderson, Ernie Har-well and Mark Fidrych.

But memories of the con-tributions of Fryman and Al-exander are still vivid, stillimportant to those who careabout Detroit baseball.

Fister is only 27 years old.He might enjoy several

more productive seasonspitching for Detroit.

Fryman and Alexanderwere in the twilight of theircareers when they becameTigers.

Fryman pitched in Detroit

onto for the A.L. East Divi-sion championship, theteam’s last division crownuntil this year.

Fryman had a similar im-pact on the 1972 Tigers.

Four years removed fromwinning the 1968 World Se-ries, with an aging nucleus,the ’72 Tigers found them-selves in a stretch-drive bat-tle with the Boston Red Soxfor the East Division title.

Picked up off waivers onAug. 2, when he was 32, theleft-handed Fryman went 10-3 with a 1.79 ERA.

He beat the Red Sox, theteam that slipped past De-troit in the epic 1967 Ameri-can League pennant race, inthe final series of the regularseason to help the Tigers win

competition in the AmericanLeague Central Division.

The Fister story is one Tig-ers fans have read before.

Alexander was acquiredon Aug. 12, 1987, in a tradewith Atlanta for a young, un-tested right-hander namedJohn Smoltz.

The Braves rode contribu-tions from Smoltz’s strongarm to multiple post-seasonappearances, and Atlanta wonthe 1995 World Series cham-pionship with Smoltz’s help.

But the Tigers of 1987didn’t complain about howthe deal worked out.

The right-handed Alex-ander, who was 36 when hebecame a Tiger, made 11starts and went 9-0 as Detroitwon a classic race with Tor-

When we connect the dotsto link the Tigers’ 2011 divi-sion-championship team tothe franchise’s past, three

names willbe drawn to-gether:Woodie Fry-man, DoyleAlexanderand DougFister.

Acquiredfrom the Se-attle Mari-ners in anon-waivertrade-dead-line deal,

Fister, a right-handed pitch-er, has posted an 8-1 recordwith a 1.79 ERA to help theTigers run away from the

Fister part of eliteclub of Tiger heroes

George

Pohly

COLUMNIST

Top 10 Moments of the 2011 SeasonSEPT. 7, at CLEVELAND (8-6 win) —

Considering the fact that it should be un-lawful for a guy named Shelley Duncan torain on your ace’s Cy Young parade with apair of home runs, Victor Martinez tookcare of the dilemma with one swing of thebat, bashing a first-pitch grand slam totake Verlander off the hook for the poten-tial loss, instead putting him in line for winNo. 22. “What a great win,” Verlandersaid after the game. “When he hit it, Isaid, ‘It’s that kind of year.’ ” It’s certainlylooking like it. (Tigers’ record since: 2-0)

Honorable mention datesApril 12 and 13, vs. Texas — The Tig-

ers took two out of three from the defend-ing American League champions, winning5-4 and 3-2, both in walk-off fashion.

April 12 and 13, vs. Texas — The Tig-ers took two out of three from the defend-ing American League champions, winning5-4 and 3-2, both in walk-off fashion.

July 30 trade for Doug Fister and DavidPauley — Fister is 4-1 in seven starts withthe Tigers, not only solidifying the rota-tion, but almost assuredly earning himselfa spot in the postseason rotation. (Tigersrecord since: 27-12)

Aug. 8 contract extensions — The Tig-ers lost their first two after owner Mike Il-itch gave GM Dave Dombrowski and Ley-land contract extension, but 22-7 afterthat. So much for taking away the urgencythis season.

Aug. 15 trade for Delmon Young — TheTigers have gone 19-6 since acquiring theleft fielder, who’s been in the lineup everygame but one, hitting .297.

–– Matthew B. Mowery

The Tigers would go on to take three offour from the team that everyone insistedwould be leading the AL Central, if roleswere reversed. When they left Florida,there was a lot more doubt about whichwas the better team. (Tigers’ recordsince: 13-4)

AUG. 30, vs. KANSAS CITY (2-1 win in10 innings) — Yes, the Tigers brought inthe Mariners’ hard-luck starter, DougFister, to solidify the rotation, insisting hewas better than his record indicated, andhe was a top-end starter, rather than justa fill-in for the No. 5 starter’s spot. No oneexpected this. No one. Fister took a per-fect game into the seventh inning, thenwas helped out when another unlikelyhero, Ramon Santiago with his “sneakypower,” saved the day in extra innings,with a walk-off home run. This might bethe point at which the “good” seasonstarted to look “magical.” (Tigers’ recordsince: 9-1)

SEPT. 3, vs. CHICAGO WHITE SOX (9-8win)— Did I say magical? I believe I did.Down seven runs? Not a problem. The Tig-ers pasted together an 8-0 scoring run,highlighted by Ryan Raburn’s game-tyingtwo-run homer in the ninth, followed by Mi-guel Cabrera’s walk-off home run twobatters later. “Besides two years ago, inGame 163, that was probably the mostfun I’ve had in a long time, just the way itended, and the way it played out,” Raburnsaid after the game. “I was telling some ofthe guys, if you don’t get pumped up afterthat, there’s something wrong with you.Because that was just an unbelievablegame right there.” (Tigers’ record since:6-0)

day afternoon, but you could argue thatWeaver went a long way toward losing itwith his hotheaded implosion. (Tigers’record since: 24-11)

AUG. 21, vs. CLEVELAND (8-7 win) —The fear coming into the series was thatLeyland had decided to push Verlanderback a day, and pitch him on the road inTampa. It didn’t help fans’ panic that theIndians had cut the Tigers’ divisional leadto 1.5 games coming into the series,either. With the Indians’ big trade acquisi-tion, Ubaldo Jimenez, on the mound forthe Sunday matinee, it looked like Cleve-land could still steal the series finale,after losing the first two. Even after theTigers blasted Jimenez for seven earlyruns, the ninth inning didn’t look good,when the Indians loaded the bases tothreaten hanging the first blown save ofthe season on Valverde. Then Austin Jack-son nailed Kosuke Fukudome at the platetrying to score the game-tying run on ashallow fly ball — perhaps the single big-gest play of the season so far — and therest is history. The Tigers have not lost toeither of the two teams — Chicago andCleveland — chasing them in the AL Cen-tral since. “That’s a play that ended thegame, in a dramatic fashion, with thecrowd and all the atmosphere and every-thing, so that’ll go down as a highlight playfor the season,” Leyland said after thegame. Play of the year, at this point. (Tig-ers’ record since: 15-4)

AUG. 23, vs. TAMPA (2-1 win) — Noone expected Verlander to lose the firstgame of the road trip, even against thered-hot Jeff Niemann, but no one expectedBrad Penny to outpitch David Price inGame 2 of the four-game series, either.

set up by the rainout the day before. Itlooked like no one was going to see theblacked-out rematch between Verlanderand Boston ace Josh Beckett in the night-cap, either. When Fox Sports Detroit didget clearance to pick the game up, fanstuned in to a shutout win by the Tigers,capped by Valverde getting his revengevs. Ortiz in the ninth. A huge confidenceboost, should the two teams match up inthe postseason. (Tigers’ record since:57-36)

JUNE 11, vs. SEATTLE (8-1 win) — Sothe Tigers beat an eventual last-placeteam, one that can’t score? So what?Well, the Tigers had been swept by theMariners in Comerica a month earlier,starting their longest losing streak of theseason. Not only did they get redemptionfor that, but the Tigers managed to pullinto a first-place tie with the suddenly flag-ging Indians, occasioning a visit to thelocker room by a the team’s jubilantowner, Mike Ilitch. Max Scherzer got hiseighth win on the season but has gone 6-6 since then. (Tigers’ record since: 48-33)

JULY 31, vs. LOS ANGELES (3-2 win)—Verlander got another Cy Young show-down with the Angels’ Jered Weaver, andtook a no-hitter as deep as the eighth in-ning for the third time on the season. Ofcourse, the game would be rememberedmost for the home-run showmanship byCarlos Guillen that got under Weaver’sskin, but it was also the moment at whichit became abundantly clear that — unlikeWeaver — Verlander was going to let noth-ing distract him from the task at hand. JVmay not have won the Cy Young this Sun-

APRIL 6, at BALTIMORE (7-3 win) —Tigers manager Jim Leyland noticed howtight his young catcher, Alex Avila, was atthe start of the season. So he told him torelax, and play like he had in college at Al-abama — you know, have fun. Boy, didAvila ever, going 4-for-5 with a home run, adouble and five RBI in the Tigers win. Itmay not be the sole impetus for his All-Star season, but it certainly didn’t hurt.He’s become the most complete catcherin the American League, hitting .303 with18 homers and 72 RBI entering Satur-day’s game, despite having caught in 32of the team’s previous 33 games. (Tig-ers’ record since: 81-59.)

MAY 7, at TORONTO (9-0 win) —Doesthis one really need explaining? Ace JustinVerlander threw his second career no-hitter, and announced to the world thelaunch of his Cy Young campaign. At thispoint in the season — and for the next twomonths afterward — you could argue thatJV was not only the team MVP (the Tigersseemed to get their confidence from everytrip he made to the mound) but possiblythe league’s, as well. His 15-3 recordafter Tigers losses made him the ultimatestopper, and this was the second of thoseskid-stopping wins. (Tigers’ record since:67-44; Verlander’s record since: 19-2)

MAY 29, vs. BOSTON (4-3 loss, 3-0win)— Despite a couple of heartbreakinglosses at Fenway two weeks earlier, itseemed like the season series with the ALEast powerhouse was pretty lopsided,with the BoSox coming into the day havingwon all four. David Ortiz made it fivestraight with a ninth-inning, pinch-hit homerun off Tigers closer Jose Valverde in thefirst game of the day’s doubleheader —

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Thursday, September 29, 2011 MacombDaily.com Page 9Thursday, September 29, 2011 DailyTribune.com MacombDaily.com Page 9

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Tigers 2011 Playoff Preview