Tigers Sweep: Completely Dominate Yankees

Detroit Tigers 8 New York Yankees 1

The Detroit Tigers left no doubt. The NY Yankees never had a lead in any of the four games in the ALCS. This series was never going to go back to New York. The Tigers are going to the World Series. How bad was this for the Yankees? I began writing this article in the 4th inning. The Tigers scored early and often. Detroit got one run in the first inning and one more in the third to take a 2-0 lead. The flood gates opened in the 4th inning with two run homers by Triple Crown winner Cabrera and then Peralta. By the end of the fourth inning the Tigers had chased CC Sabathia with 6 runs on 11 hits. The Yankees still had not put a hit on the board through 4 innings. Ok, make that through 5 innings now as Max Scherzer is pitching a gem so far. The off season should be very interesting in the Bronx. The sweep will set up the Tigers very nicely for the World Series. The NLCS looks to be a long one with the Cards leading the Giants 2-1. The extra rest will set up the pitching staff perfectly for Detroit with Justin Verlander able to pitch games one, four and seven if necessary. There's the first NY hit with Nunez hitting a leadoff triple in the sixth. Scherzer strikes out Ichiro and that's his tenth strikeout. The Detroit starters have been very impressive in this post-season. Swisher finally hits and doubles home Nunez. It would appear to be a case of way too little and far too late. Cano is 3 for 38. Yanks ended up with two on in the sixth and they brought in A-Rod who promptly flied out to end the threat. Heading to the seventh inning and the Tigers have stranded ten runners. Normally that might pose a problem but not tonight...not against these Yankees who, simply put, cannot hit. Tigers lead 6-1 going to the seventh inning. Going into the bottom of the seventh inning. There she goes...another Tiger goes deep. Austin Jackson's solo shot makes it 7-1. Just for good measyre, Peralta cranked out another one. It's 8-1 Detroit! Oh, by the way A-Rod came up again in the ninth inning, He grounded out.

What happened to the Yankees? A-Rod was once again benched...0-18 vs. right handed pitching tells a story. Yankee management is obviously tired of paying the big bucks to a player who is not producing and who is not a team player. He is the complete polar opposite of Yankee captain Derek Jeter. The sweep goes deeper than A-Rod though. Robinson Cano couldn't hit anything. Nick Swisher looked lost at the plate and argued with fans in New York. A team that makes it to the ALCS obviously does not need to be gutted...but they do need to make some adjustments. This team lacks character and is aging. Their two most reliable hitters are Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki. The captain and face of the franchise is Derek Jeter who is 38 years old. he is facing a long recovery from a fractured ankle. Ichiro turns 39 in four days and he may not even be a Yankee next year. It should be a radically different looking Yankee team in 2013.

Congrats to the Detroit Tigers and their fans...you're heading to the World Series!!