The Tigers could have stayed home. Or they could have come to New York, which as it turned out, is exactly what they did. And though they were prepared for either eventuality, like everyone else on the planet, they didn’t know where they were headed until the Yankees finished off the Orioles Friday night.
Manager Jim Leyland didn’t care. Just point him somewhere.
“I don’t worry about the small stuff. That’s small stuff to me,” Leyland, who arrived with the Tigers at their New York hotel at about 12:40 a.m. yesterday, said of the hectic arrangements. “At this time of the year if you are playing and you are complaining, there is something wrong with you. We are still playing and we are in the final four.”
Leyland is no stranger to the postseason. And no stranger to the Yankees. In 2006 and again last year, his Tigers knocked off the Yankees in the ALDS, needing four games in ’06 and five last season. Add in his time with the Pirates and Marlins — which includes the 1997 World Series championship — and Leyland has a 35-30 postseason record. He became the seventh manager to win pennants in both leagues and is a three-time manager of the year.
So he has seen a lot. But he admitted he hasn’t seen much to match the early going of this post season where all four LCS went to the maximum five games.
And he never saw anything as “flawless” as the game Justin Verlander pitched in Oakland to advance the Tigers against the Yankees.
“Normally, the atmosphere for all playoff games is pretty good,” Leyland said. “The difference in Game 5 or 7 is, you know, there is no tomorrow for one of the teams. If you saw Oakland the other night, it was as loud and energetic as you would ever want to see. I mean, they were really into it, and to their credit. I give their fans a lot of credit, it was a miracle season for those guys.
“I am talking about me as a manager, I never had anybody pitch a Game 5 or 7 more flawlessly than Verlander the other night,” Leyland said. “He was totally dominant. I think it has to do with maturity. You handle things and make adjustments, and two years ago he was a little more fidgety I think. The atmosphere is tremendous. You are not playing anymore if you don’t win that game.”