Burning questions as the Tigers try to polish off Oakland and head to a World Series absolutely everyone in Detroit knew was coming when Jim Leyland's club broke spring camp in Florida. Or, on second thought, maybe they didn't
Q. Is the rest of the baseball country impressed by the Tigers, or down on Oakland, now that Detroit has rolled up a 3-0 lead on the Athletics in the American League Championship Series?
A. A lot of folks probably wish this had been a Yankees-White Sox clash, or Boston and the White Sox. Too many people across the land had too little identity with the Tigers and with Oakland coming into the ALCS.
At the same time, Detroit has made some fans with its sudden and impressive dismissal of the Yankees. The Tigers have played entertaining baseball. Oakland simply hasn?
t been into its game after the blitz against Minnesota.
Q. How much will be made of Jeremy Bonderman going today for Detroit against his old team?
A. Plenty. Unfortunately for drama fans, the blood isn?
t quite as bad as some would have it. Billy Beane, the Oakland general manager, was the first person to call Bonderman after he won his first big league game (against Oakland). Bonderman seems to have gotten over whatever confusion he felt four years ago when the phone rang in Modesto, Calif.
, and he was informed he was being traded but that nothing could be announced for a couple of months (players cannot be traded until one year after they have signed).
Q. Will Bonderman siphon off some of that passion and energy Kenny Rogers spewed Friday against the Athletics, as he did a week ago following Rogers?
virtuoso against the Yankees?
A. It?
s hard to say how much effect Rogers had a week ago. Remember, Bonderman was on a mission to make amends for his horrific failure to handle a 6-0 lead on the last day of the regular season and deliver a Central Division title to Detroit. More likely, Bonderman will be doing some deep meditation on Pudge Rodriguez?
s catcher?s mitt. He?
ll be concentrating on throwing strikes and avoiding bad pitches. Bad pitches and bad decisions on pitches are the only way he gets into trouble.
Q.
Are the Athletics going to wake up?
A. We?
ve been waiting for it to happen for three games. Detroit has pitched deftly, absolutely, but Oakland could have and should have won at least one of the games in Oakland. It would have been a far different series today had the Athletics gotten the split they needed ?
and had a shot at pulling off ? at McAfee Coliseum.
Q.
Did Rogers pitch as well Friday as he did the previous Friday against the Yankees?
A. No one could have matched Rogers in shutting down the Yankees in Game 4 of the division series.
He came close Friday. He gave up fewer hits to Oakland, but he was better against the Yankees.
His game against New York was Cooperstown-grade stuff.
Q. When is the Tigers bullpen going to have a meltdown?
A.
I got out of the forecasting business after the Yankees series. What?s stunning, of course, is the Tigers have been shutting down the Athletics in the latter innings without Joel Zumaya.
He was supposedly that critical link between the Tigers? starters and the deeper-innings guys, like Fernando Rodney (he has been awesome) and Todd Jones. The Tigers?
pitching is simply behaving in an even more extraordinary fashion in October than was the case during that 40-games-above-.500 stuff the team was doing into August.
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