Tigers err in dugout, too

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By Mike Lopresti | Friday, October 27, 2006 1:04 AM CDT | () comments

ST. LOUIS — No, Jim Leyland. No, no, no, no. You’re a grand manager. You’ve forgotten more baseball than any media wretch knows.

But even the most accomplished generals blunder. Lee did at Gettysburg. And you’re about to, in Game 5 of the World Series.

Fate is hitting your team with a 2-by-4. Destiny seems to be wearing a Cardinals cap. It’s do-or-surrender now. You need your absolute best. You said Justin Verlander will be the starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers Friday night. Kenny Rogers should be. Must be. Has to be. But apparently won’t.

Punch this data into any computer and see what comes out.

It stopped raining long enough on Thursday night for the formerly underdog Cardinals to back the formerly favored Tigers to the wall; a 5-4 victory that gives St. Louis a 3-1 lead.

It was the type of loss for the Tigers — a 3-0 blown lead, a horrendous stab of bad luck in center field, yet another killing error, a winning RBI double by David Eckstein in the eighth to bring the house down — that can crush a team’s heart.

The Cardinals can clinch at home Friday night. The shell-shocked Tigers have no margin for error and nowhere to hide. It is Verlander’s turn in the rotation, but because of the weather-delayed schedule, Rogers — the biggest sensation to hit October since seedless pumpkins — is now available on his full, four days’ rest.

What to do?

Rogers should start. Must start. Has to start. But isn’t.

“I won’t pitch him in this atmosphere,” Leyland said.

Maybe it works out. Maybe Verlander’s fastball leaves a vapor trail Friday night, and Detroit stays alive, and then goes home with Rogers starting Game 6. That is not impossible to imagine. Verlander won 17 games this season, though the Cardinals beat him in Game 1.

But what if the Tigers lose? They will expire as a fully rested pitcher idles on the bench with a 23-inning postseason scoreless streak. Kenny Rogers will be no more useful to Detroit than the stadium ushers. A howitzer left in the holster.

He wouldn’t be saved for Game 6, he’d be saved for Opening Day 2007.

Leyland must have his reasons. Hunch. Instinct. Confidence in Verlander. Plus, all 23 of Rogers’ scoreless innings have come in Comerica Park comfort. There is some past evidence that Rogers does not cope well in hostile environments.

And you think the St. Louis fans would have a word or two to say about pine tar and dirty hands?

But Rogers went 10-5 during the season on the road. And Busch Stadium is not Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium. Cardinal fans are not noted for their venom.

It is absolutely stunning, how nearly every factor in this World Series has turned on the Tigers. Between their American League sweep and the weather, Thursday was only their fourth game in 12 days. They had become part-time players.

The bats woke up Thursday night. Ivan Rodriguez — silent, it seemed, since Prohibition — had three hits. But an early 3-0 lead melted to 3-2 by the seventh inning, which became a Detroit nightmare. First was Curtis Granderson’s slip and fall in center, which turned Eckstein’s fly ball into a double. Then Fernando Rodney’s throwing error that scored a run.

In the eighth, Eckstein’s game-winner was just off Craig Monroe’s glove.

The Tigers have scored only three more runs in this World Series than they’ve made errors (9-6). Four of the errors have been by the pitchers.

How to reverse all this Cardinal Karma? Kenny Rogers.

Managers are paid to take risks, and Leyland has never been afraid to accept the responsibility.

But this one comes before the brightest lights, with his team in a most dire predicament. Heaven help him if he’s wrong.