Many had written off the AL playoffs to the New York Yankees. They are just too complete when compared to the other teams. Game one of their series against the Detroit Tigers went pretty much as expected—Yankees won easily. It looked to be going that way again today in game 2. However, the Tigers kept hacking away and runs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings helped give them a 4-3 victory over the Yankees.

The game was in New York and now the series is tied 1-1 going back to Detroit. Should Yankees fans be worried? The Tigers closed out the season by looking more like fragile kitty cats. One key to the game was the pitching of Verlander for the Tigers. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed 3 runs. Despite giving up 7 hits, 4 walks and a homerun, he managed to keep things under control.

It looks like Yankees Manager Joe Torre kept Mike Mussina in one inning too long. After 6 innings of play, the game was tied and many could sense that it was time to use the bullpen. However, Mussina was left in and the triple by Granderson snapped the tie and eventually proved to be the game winner for the Tigers.

So how was the $25 million dollar man—A-Rod? He’s once again proving his total lack of worth in the playoffs. A-Rod was not only 0-4 today, but he struck out 3 times. After two playoff games, A-Rod is 1 for 8 with 4 strikeouts. He’s also stranded 6 men on base.