Alex Rodriguez’s previous playoff experience facing the Tigers might have ranked as one of his toughest stretches with the Yankees.
In the 2006 ALDS against Detroit, A-Rod went 1-for-14. And in case you forgot, in the deciding Game 4 Joe Torre batted him eighth.
“That’s a long time ago,” Rodriguez said yesterday. “I know that they played very well against us and we went home, I think, after four games. It’s a long time ago.”
Rodriguez will now face the Tigers again. Despite a sprained left thumb and right knee soreness — he had surgery in July — that kept him out of Wednesday’s regular-season finale against the Rays, Rodriguez said his knee was fine and Joe Girardi said he had “no doubt that [A-Rod’s] healthy enough to play every day.”
“[The knee’s] ready to go,” Rodriguez said.
Asked whether he was near 100 percent, he shrugged.
“I’m getting there. No one really cares about that,” Rodriguez said. “Everybody on the field [tonight] is going to have some bumps and bruises.
“Bottom line is, we’re all good enough to play here and you’ve just got to play. There’s no excuses. . . . Nobody cares about that.”
Rodriguez enters the postseason in an interesting position. Injuries limited him all season and he homered just three times in his final 41 regular-season games. A-Rod also has not homered in his last 43 postseason at-bats, going back to Game 3 of the 2009 World Series against the Phillies.
Rodriguez’s 2009 postseason was magnificent. He hit .365 with six homers and 18 RBIs in the Yankees’ 15-game championship run. He has said that, despite his underwhelming regular season in 2011 — 16 homers, 62 RBIs in 99 games — he believes the playoffs are a chance to atone.
“It’s a new season,” he said. “That’s one of the great things about playing in New York. It’s all about what happens late and especially in October.
“It’s the case for me and my teammates and coaches and managers. We play here for one reason and that’s to win a championship.”
mark.hale@nypost.com