New York, NY. Less than 14 hours ago, the Tigers barely escaped game one with a 6-4 win, but there were plenty of questions about how the team would perform today. Would their bats be tired, or would they come out and try to bury the New York Yankees? If the Tigers win the series, there should be co-MVP’s, Delmon Young, and from Sonora, California, number 40 and number one in your hearts, Phil Coke. Cokie reminded me of one year ago, after I talked to him in Minneapolis. In my meet and greet with Phil, I told him, “strike three,” and he promptly obliged this reporter by striking out the Twins. Sunday, I had been begging the starter, Anibal Sanchez, to go high heat on the Yankees. Leyland must have heard me, because he went with former Yankee Phil Coke, and Phil must have had a little bit of a memory of Minneapolis, because he was right on what I wanted the Tigers to do all day long. He had the Yankees off balance and trying to catch up with high heat, which is what you have to do to take a bite out of the Big Apple. You cannot be intimidated, you just have to go right at them. Now the Tigers are two wins away from being kings of the American League. This is an unbelievable run we are seeing. For those of you who are calling for Leyland’s resignation, I say knock it off. The Tigers are two wins away from destroying the evil empire, and Verlander could step on their throats on Tuesday. Why in heaven’s name would you want to get rid of a manager of the year in my opinion? We have total control of the series. It’s the Yankees who are fighting for their lives, Tigers fans. I don’t want to hear from you fans how much you dislike Jim Leyland. Focus on what your team is about to do.
Jeremiah and Phil Coke at Target Field August 26, 2011
