On to the World Series

The Tigers made short work of the Oakland As last week, winning the American League pennant in four straight games. As usual, the main reason was pitching, but there was also some timely hitting. I watched every pitch of game 1, and almost all of game 2 (I did some flipping back and forth while Lost was on). On Friday night, I arrived home from the symposium (see below) in about the fourth inning, just in time to see Craig Monroe's home run which made it 3-0. That was more than enough, as Kenny Rogers and the bullpen shut the As out.

On Saturday, I hurried across campus to my car to put the radio on and discovered the Tigers were losing, 3-0. I was down but not out, but really didn't relish having to extend the series, especially since the Tigers would face the As best pitcher, Barry Zito, in the next game. But on the drive home the Tigers picked up two runs, and once in the comfort of my home, Magglio Ordonez tied things up with a solo shot.

The rest of the game featured chances on both sides, with both teams squandering bases loaded opportunities. Detroit was missing Joel Zumaya with a minor injury, and poor Jason Grilli, who ordinarily wouldn't pitch, walked the bases loaded on 12 straight pitches before Wil Ledezma came in to get a pop-out to end the inning.

But in the ninth, with two outs, Monroe and Placido Polanco both singled, and Ordonez swatted his second home run of the game and it was all over. The resulting celebration didn't match the intensity of the Yankee victory, which was appropriate. That was a much bigger deal, emotionally speaking, and there is still work to be done. I think the Tigers match up well with either the Mets or the Cardinals, especially with pitching, and Zumaya and Sean Casey should be back after having a week to heal their injuries.

The dream season continues...