The Tigers have three great players in Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, but they are far from being a great team.
They are vulnerable in many areas. Their biggest weaknesses are the bullpen and lack of hitting once you clear Fielder in the cleanup spot. The defense is shaky, too. For the Yankees to beat the Tigers in the American League Championship Series, they must take advantage of those weaknesses, beginning tonight at Yankee Stadium.
Verlander won Games 1 and 5 in the AL Division Series, striking out 22 Athletics in the two games combined. He will pitch Game 3 and Game 7, if necessary. CC Sabathia copied him last night in leading the Yankees past the Orioles, 3-1.
This series will pit Sabathia against one of his closest friends in the game, Fielder, his former Brewers teammate.
“CC is such a good friend, it will definitely be fun playing against him,’’ Fielder told The Post. “[Detroit] is a great place to play. The first day, [Cabrera] came up to me and said he was happy to see me here. He made me feel comfortable right away as did Justin. Once the cool kids in school like you, it’s easy to get along with everybody.’’
The Tigers starting pitching is a strength with Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez. In the ALDS, those four posted a combined ERA of 1.30 with Verlander putting up a Sandy Koufax-like 0.56 ERA over two starts, including a shutout in Game 5.
“It’s unbelievable,’’ said center fielder Austin Jackson. “[Verlander] has been put to the test so many times and he’s come out on top. We’re definitely confident in our pitching. They’ve been doing well for us all year. They keep us in the game.’’
There are no really great teams. Anything can happen. The Tigers knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs last year.
“Things just haven’t been really easy for this club,’’ said Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski, one of the best in the business. “But the one thing is we do show resiliency, we play hard all the time, we never give up and we feel we always have a chance. Sometimes we don’t score as many runs as you need to do, but we throw good starting pitching out there and they are really throwing the ball well right now.’’
The Tigers pitchers attack. They struck out 50 A’s in the five games. Producing runs is a lost art because so many clubs follow the Bible of on-base percentage and do not recognize run producers.
The Tigers’ weakest link is their bullpen. Closer Jose Valverde had a 16.20 ERA in the ALDS. The “Kissing Reliever,” Al Alburquerque, did not allow a run over two appearances while Joaquin Benoit was spotty, but has better stuff right now than Valverde.
Cabrera’s great strength is that he can hit to all fields. Yankees scouts have been on the Tigers for the last month and one told me that in many ways Cabrera has an approach at the plate similar to Derek Jeter’s: He looks to hit the ball the other way but, of course, with much more power than the Yankees captain.
Fielder hit only .190 against the A’s, but was robbed of a home run and a double in Game 4. He is a threat every time he comes to the plate. The Tigers are at their best when they get production from Jackson, the former Yankees farmhand who was part of the trade that brought Curtis Granderson to The Bronx. Jackson came up with two hits and two RBIs in the 6-0 win Thursday.
The first four games of the ALDS, the Tigers had only six RBIs. If Jackson gets on base, the Tigers usually roar.
“It’s fun hitting in front of [Cabrera and Fielder],’’ Jackson said. “It’s one of the best jobs you can have, hitting in front of two of the best hitters in the game.’’
To advance to the World Series, all the Tigers’ stars must shine.