DETROIT -- Mike Ilitch has spent millions of dollars trying to create the exact situation the Tigers faced on Tuesday night.
Game 3 of the ALCS, with his ace pitching a masterpiece and his two
best hitters coming up to the plate in the biggest situation of the
day. Down 1-0 in the eighth inning, but with runners on the corners and
only one out.
That's why the Tigers were willing to spend so much in cash and
prospects to get Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder -- just for that
moment.
He didn't get his money's worth.
Torii Hunter singled to move Austin Jackson to third base, and he
admitted that he thought his team was in perfect shape to steal the game
and the lead in the series.
"I was pumped up, because I got the big hit and Austin got over to
third, and we had the best hitter in the world coming to the plate," he
said.
This, though, wasn't the Cabrera who looked so good in Boston. All
night, he had struggled to make contact with fastballs that he would
normally drive to distant parts of Comerica Park, and things didn't get
any better. Junichi Tazawa threw Cabrera four
mid-90s fastballs, keeping them just off the outside part of the plate,
and Cabrera flailed helplessly at three of them.
"I got myself out," Cabrera said. "When you swing at balls, you aren't going to have much success. I need to do a better job."
Cabrera has one of the best eyes in baseball, and he rarely misses
when he swings at a fastball. Against John Lackey and Tazawa, he swung
at 11 and missed eight. He fouled off another, and the two he put into
fair territory resulted in a soft fly ball
and a weak pop-up.
"I was swinging at a lot of high pitches out of the zone, and I was
making easy outs," he said. "I've got to come out tomorrow and swing at
better pitches. We didn't do our job today -- we didn't get J.V. any
run support."
Fielder, though, still had a chance to give Detroit control of the
game. He faced Red Sox closer Koji Uehara, and failed just as badly as
Cabrera. He fouled off a fastball, swung and missed at another one and
then was nowhere near Uehara's splitter on
strike three.
"I couldn't barrel one up," Fielder said. "He's tough. That's why
he's out there in that situation. We'll come back and try again
tomorrow. That's baseball."
Jim Leyland wasn't about to blame his two biggest hitters on a
night when the whole offense wasted another one-run performance from
Justin Verlander.
"That's part of the game," he said, talking specifically about the
eighth-inning showdown, but with words that could apply to the whole
night. "You don't get the hit every time. Their pitchers get the credit,
because they won the battles."
He is going to make another lineup change to face Jake Peavy
tomorrow -- Jose Iglesias will be back at shortstop -- but it isn't
clear how much that will help. Iglesias struck out as a pinch hitter in
Game 3, and has struggled badly with the bat since
mid-September.
Leyland said he has considered benching Jackson, who is
hitting .091 in the postseason with 18 strikeouts in eight games, but
he's not sure if he will do it.
"I could possibly play Donnie (Kelly) in centerfield. but I'm not
really sure that's the answer," he said. "I'm going to sleep on that one
tonight. There's only a couple options that you really have.
"I'm not
sure -- when you see guys from other teams struggling,
they don't necessarily change the lineup. I think you've just got to
live with it unless you really come up with something that makes sense."
That's exactly the problem -- finding a move that makes sense.
Leyland doesn't have anyone who can come off the bench to replace
Cabrera (.226 in the postseason), Hunter (.182) or Omar Infante (.179).
Victor Martinez could catch, with Alex Avila hitting
just .200, but Avila is a big part of Detroit's 2.57 postseason ERA.
Leyland always protects his players, so he's not going to say the
one thing underlying all of his comments -- he can't do anything but
write names on the lineup card. If the Tigers want another shot at the
World Series, it is the players who are going
to have to step up and get them there.
