ALCS Game 1 Recap (and a few links)

Detroit Tiigers beat the Oakland Athletics: 5-1
(Tiggers lead best of 7 series: 1-0)

Last night's Game 1 should be called the deja vu game for White Sox fans for a few reasons . As I watched it I got the feeling I'd seen it all before -- the suddenly dominating Tiggers pitching who only 10 days ago were swept out of an AL Central division title by the lowly KC Royals, the A's inabilitiy to get the clutch hit with runners on base or more specifically the abundance of GIDPs by Oakland. A closer look inside the numbers shows the A's had 24 men LOB and 4 DP's. That's alot of A's shitting their pants when it counts.

The flipside has Detroit pulling out of its ass a 2005 White Sox-like pitching performance minus the complete game from Nate Robertson the Tiggers' Game 1 starter. He pitched a gutty and gritty 5.0 innings of 6 hit, 3BB, no run baseball and induced 3 of the 4 Oakland DPs. The relief core of Fernando Rodney, Joel Zumaya and Todd Jones pitched lights out for 4 innings giving up just one run. And a little guy led theTiggers at the plate. Hitting 9th in the lineup, Brandon Inge was 3 for 3 with 2 Rs and 2 RBIs and started the scoring with his first post-season HR off A's starter Barry Zito.

Speaking of Zito, Mr. "I-want-$50-million-dollars-to-be-your-man" will probably have to chop a few million dollars off his salary demands after his ugly, 3.1 inning, 5 run, 7 hit, 3 BB, 0 K, 2 HR, dare I say, Mark Buehrle-like performance. Personally, I've never liked Zito despite his dominance over the White Sox. (He is 8-2 in 12 career starts against the Palehose with a 3.22 ERA.) Even with his devastating overhand curveball, he gets hit a little too much, always gives up around 25 HRs a season and walks about 90 hitters a season. He throws strikeouts a little more frequently, but Zito reminds me of that most bile-tastic of pitchers, Mark Buehrle, and anyone who has read my Buehrle Bile File over at ChiSoxBlog.com knows how I feel about Mark.

At least the bile didn't affect the broadcast booth as much as it did the field. Assuming he was wearing pants, Steve "Psycho" Lyons provided pretty decent commentary even tweaking his partner and color-guy Lou Pinella, the man who sounds like your drunken uncle in the early stages of Alzheimers disease. Everytime I hear him, Pinella reminds me more and more of an aging Harry Caray in the booth, and I can't understand how someone would offer this guy a managerial position. And in that reguard, please, Cubs, sign him. When I picture him ranting from the podium at Wrigley, I see high comedy -- a Bill Parcells of baseball. And I'd really love to see a guy's head actually explode at a baseball game. The Cubs play would certainly provide that kind of an opportunity.

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A Few Links...

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday. Like a couple of my fellow bloggers including Fornelli (Foul Balls) and Criminal Appeal (Ron Karkovice Fan Club), the flu/cold/viral infection has affected the environs of Fleece & Flog. Unlike my blogging brethren I went the baby route and moaned for someone to take care of me all day. The post above was a trial in perseverence for me as I should be lying down, and until they invent an apparatus that allows you to type while lying on your back, I'll just have to be vertical and type in a state of delirium.

Because of the Chicago flu season, I'm sending you readers to a few of Fleece & Flog's friends for some comprehensive ALCS & NLCS previews.

Check out Jeeves' previews at ChiSoxBlog.com of the Mets and Cards and the Tiggers and Athletics.
Check out Fornelli's previews at FoulBalls.com of the Mets and Cards and the Tiggers and Athletics.