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Detroit Tigers Beat Oakland A’s in 2006 American League Championship Series!

It worked so well for the division series between the Tigers and the Yankees that we used a single post to chronicle the ALCS between the Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland A’s. Check below for all the details!


ALCS Game 4–Tigers v A’s
View Lori Haskell’s Photo Set!

Game 4: The Magglio Ordonez Show!

The story of Game 4 of the ALCS has to be Magglio Jose Ordonez who tied the game a 3-3 with a solo shot and then punched the Tigers’ World Series tickets with a three-run walk off homer. The Tigers 6-3 victory came on the same date that the 1984 Detroit Tigers. The Freep already has a Game 4 photo gallery online (I think this internet thing is here to stay people).
A couple other stories that caught our eye: The Freep has a great slideshow of pics from the ALCS (I mean GREAT!). Also see It All Began with Pudge, The Biggest Hit in 22 Years (great photo), Sports Illustrated’s John Donovon, The Clinch: American League Champions at Detroit Tiger Weblog, and Two Celebrations Down, One to Go from ESPN:

“You can’t go anywhere in this city without Tigers fans talking about their pride in the organization and the team. As players, maybe we don’t understand it completely, but we surely appreciate it. This is something we’ll take with us for a long, long time.”
-Tiger Pitcher Kenny Rogers

Tiger Pitcher Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers by Spike

Game 3: Kenny Rogers Untouchable Again

It felt like someone hit the rewind button as Rogers turned in a performance that was every bit as dominant as Game 4 vs the Yankees. Michael Rosenberg writes that Kenny Rogers has morphed from a postseason did to stud. Rogers arrived in Detroit with the worst postseason earned-run average (8.85) of any pitcher – ever. Everything has changed for him and, as Tiger closer Todd Jones notes, Bonderman too. “You see it in their eyes. They are in a whole other place. And as an athlete, if you can ever get there and stay there, you’re going to be OK. But it’s tough get there.”

Mack Avenue Tigers noted that businesses closed early for game 3 and pointed to ALCS diaries from Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen at Tigers.com. See Game 3 Aftermath at Detroit Tiger Weblog for links (and analysis) of media coverage. Even after Game 3, the Tigers were already earning a grudging hat tip from Athletics Nation. 3 down, 1 to go!


Detroit Smile by GRD
View the whole set!

Game 2: All the Right Moves

It seems as if Tiger skipper Jim Leyland has the Midas touch. His decision to play seldom-used Alexis Gomez paid off handsomely as Gomez drove in 4 runs en route to an 8-5 victory in Game 2 of the ALCS. The Tigers will need him to keep it up because Sean Casey is done for the series (and potentially the season). If you haven’t been going there, the Tigers Official MLB site has video and recaps of every game (the Four-run fourth inning video is great!) The best place for a round-up of Tiger news remains Detroit Tigers Weblog.
Bless You Boys has a nice recap of the game, discussing Gomez, Verlander’s difficulties hitting his spots and the great performace of the Tiger bullpen. You’ll want to check out Mack Ave. Tigers recap too.


Damn you Inge! by Omar G

Game 1: Tigers Get Off on the Right Foot

Well, the Tigers wasted little time in jumping out to a 1-0 ALCS lead. Michael Roseberg writes in the Freep that they did it in the usual unusual way: “turned four double plays, as many as any team in league championship series history. They got two big hits from the last guy in the batting order. Their least ballyhooed starter outpitched the most renowned pitcher in this series.” Detroit Tigers Weblog again has a great roundup of articles on Tigers/A’s Game 1 and a good wrap-up of the game with tons of comments.

Mack Avenue Tigers worries that the injury to Sean Casey could be a problem. Across the country, Athletics Nation has some good analysis and says that the A’s are facing a great pitcher each and every night now in the playoffs, so it could continue to be tough sledding.


On the Scoreboard by Lori Haskell
She also has a slew of pics from ALDS Game 4!

Because I hope that a Tiger fan has the last word on this series, let’s let A’s fan Nico have the first:

Pack Your Bags, We’re Going To Motown! After the Tigers come to Oakland, of course. Who would have thought, when the Tigers choked away the division title, that it would work out well for both the A’s and the Tigers?

The A’s will now have home-field advantage in the ALCS, hosting games 1, 2, 6, and 7 while taking on a team that set the standard in baseball for 2/3 of the season before limping to a 19-31 finish…before rising up to knock the Yankees out of the post-season.

Be very afraid of Placido Polanco, who hits everyone well and turns it up several notches against the A’s. Be wary of Carlos Guillen, who is the most underrated offensive SS in baseball. Don’t throw too many strikes to the dangerous but free-swinging Pudge Rodriguez. And speed up your bats if you want to hit Verlander, Bonderman, and Zumaya.

It should be a lot of fun!

Amen!

ALCS Schedule

Tue, Oct 10 – at Oakland, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX) Win!
Wed, Oct 11 – at Oakland, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX) Win!
Fri, Oct 13 – at Detroit, 4:30 pm EDT (FOX) Win!
Sat, Oct 14 – at Detroit, 7:35 pm EDT (FOX) Win!
Sun, Oct 15 – at Detroit, 4:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Tue, Oct 17 – at Oakland, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Wed, Oct 18 – at Oakland, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)

Detroit Tiger Links!

There’s no way we’ll get them all – please add any more you like in the comments!

What did we miss? Let us know in the comments!

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