Texas Rangers Drub Tigers, 15-5, To Win AL Pennant

Tigers vs. Rangers: Delmon Young Powers Detroit To Stave Off Elimination

The Tigers won Game 5 with the help of two home runs from Delmon Young and strong pitching from Justin Verlander.

ALCS Game 4: Nelson Cruz Stars Again, Rangers Win 7-3 In 11 Innings

Thanks largely to Nelson Cruz's arm and his bat, the Rangers beat the Tigers 7-3 in Game 4 of the ALCS, taking a commanding series lead.

Victor Martinez Plays Through The Pain

Victor Martinez is used to playing through injuries and putting himself at risk, something we were reminded of last night.

Doug Fister, Miguel Cabrera Lead The Way As Tigers Beat Rangers In ALCS Game 3

Doug Fister was superb for 7⅓ innings and Miguel Cabrera doubled and homered as the Tigers reduced the Rangers' series lead to 2-1.

What Alex Avila Has Meant To The Tigers

Alex Avila isn't hitting so far in the playoffs, but don't forget how unlikely it is that he's here in the first place.

Colby Lewis, The Rangers' Unlikely Postseason Star

Al Alburquerque: You Can't Spell Him, Jim Leyland Won't Use Him

In Game 2 of the ALCS, a relief pitcher with a 5.35 ERA during the regular season gave up a grand slam in the 11th inning, while rookie phenom Al Alburquerque never left the bullpen. Why?

Nelson Cruz's Walkoff Grand Slam Wins ALCS Game 2 For Rangers

ALCS Preview: Derek Holland vs. Max Scherzer

I Don't Know About This Whole Delmon Young Oblique Injury Thing

The Detroit Tigers are playing Delmon Young in the ALCS, even though he suffered an oblique injury in the final game of the ALDS and was initially left off the ALCS roster. This is a risk, and I'm not sure that it's worth it.

ALCS: Delmon Young Back On Roster To Replace Magglio Ordonez

After being left off the roster because of an oblique tweak, Delmon Young is back on the roster for the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. From the Associated Press:

Delmon Young has been added to Detroit’s roster for the rest of the AL championship series to replace another injured starting outfielder, Magglio Ordonez.

The move isn't that surprising because the Tigers had an acute need in the outfield, and even Delmon Young at 75% or so was more palatable than the alternatives. But the move is still somewhat unexpected because oblique strains are pernicious things that don't seem to go away easily.

With Ordonez and Brennan Boesch out, though, the Tigers would have had to dig through the bowels of their 40-man roster to get another outfielder. Most of the options were players who have had just a handful of at-bats in the majors over the past couple of seasons. Young it is, then, even if he's just a bat off the bench.

Don Kelly, Generic Baseball Player

Who's Going To Play Right Field For The Tigers?

With first Delmon Young and now Magglio Ordoñez out of action with injuries, Jim Leyland is faced with some tough lineup choices.

ALCS: Magglio Ordonez Out For Championship Series, Postseason

That headline would have been a big deal in 2006. Now? Not so much, though it should be noted that with Delmon Young out, the Tigers are running low on outfielders. Magglio Ordonez suffered an ankle injury, and according to Danny Knobler:

Tigers lose Magglio for rest of postseason. Ankle.

Ordonez hasn't had a great year, but with Brennan Boesch and Young both out, there aren't a lot of outfield options now, especially against left-handed pitchers. The injury leaves Andy Dirks, Ryan Rayburn, and Don Kelly as the active outfielders on the roster other than Austin Jackson. Picking two corner outfielders from that group is painful.

The other outfielder on the 40-man roster is Clete Thomas, who stuck on the roster somehow, even though he hasn't been in the majors since 2009, and he's had sub-par performances in AAA over the last two seasons. It seems really, really unlikely that he'll be the player to replace Ordonez on the roster. There's also a possibility that Delmon Young could improve enough to come back, though those oblique tweaks are usually pretty insidious.

ALCS Game 1: Rangers Outlast Tigers, Rain To Win 3-2

ALCS Preview: Texas Rangers vs. Detroit Tigers

The Rangers and Tigers have five distinct differences between them: ran and ti. Other than that, they're talented teams that are pretty evenly matched.

Rangers vs. Tigers: Delmon Young Might Still Play In The ALCS, Just Not In Game 1

On Friday afternoon, Jim Leyland sounded positive about Delmon Young’s status for the ALCS. On Saturday, the Tigers announced that Young was left off the ALCS roster in favor of infielder Danny Worth. What gives?

It’s simple, really, and it likely has as much to do with MLB’s rules regarding playoff rosters as Young’s actual recovery from the strained oblique he suffered in Thursday’s Game 5 clincher against the Yankees.

Jason Beck explains on MLB.com:

Injury uncertainties on a postseason roster carry a much bigger risk than they would in the regular season. Though a team can replace an injured player in the middle of a series, that player then has to miss the next round. So if Young had started the series and then had to be removed, he wouldn’t have been eligible for the World Series.

The way oblique injuries linger, there’s no way to know if Young will be ready for the World Series, either. But this way, the Tigers at least keep their options open.

The Tigers apparently decided Young needed at least one game off, but there’s nothing stopping him from adding him back onto the roster later in the series if he’s deemed ready.

If they do so, it’d likely come at the expense of Worth. Sure, it’d make Worth ineligible to play in the World Series, but we’re talking about a guy who barely had as many at-bats (39) as he did games played (30) for the Tigers this year. No huge loss — he was never expected to be needed in the first place. So until the Tigers actually announce that Young’s status took a turn for the worse and he’s unlikely to play, don’t read too much into his current status on the roster.

Delmon Young Injury Will Keep Him Off Tigers' ALCS Roster; Danny Worth Named Replacement

Delmon Young's injury in the waning innings of Thursday night's ALDS clincher for the Detroit Tigers didn't seem like a serious issue at the time, as Baseball Nation's Grant Brisbee noted in the live blog, unless it caused the outfielder to miss any part of the ALCS. Unfortunately that's exactly what has happened to the slugger.

Young has been left off the ALCS playoff roster, as brought to our attention by Bless You Boys, after blasting three homers on six hits while helping the Tigers advance past the New York Yankees. Taking Young's spot on the roster will be Danny Worth.

Worth, a 26-year-old infield utility man, appeared in 30 games this season for Detroit as he posted a .270 batting average in 37 plate appearances. He'd been keeping active in Lakeland, Fla., since being left off of the original postseason roster.

The Tigers open up their series with the Texas Rangers on Saturday night on FOX.

How The Tigers And Rangers Stack Up

2011 ALCS Schedule: Game Times, Broadcast Information For The Entire Series

The 2011 ALCS gets underway on Saturday as the Detroit Tigers, fresh off a Game 5 win over the New York Yankees, head to Texas to meet the Rangers. Texas was the only team to not stretch its division series to five games, taking care of the Tampa Bay Rays in four games and earning an extra bit of rest in the process.

Fox has the broadcast rights to the ALCS and will have Saturday night's broadcast, with first pitch set for 8:05 p.m. EDT.

Here's the full ALCS schedule. Texas has home-field advantage, and will host the first two games of the series before Monday's off day.

Detroit Tigers Set ALCS Pitching Rotation

Tigers manager Jim Leyland has announced his ALCS rotation, for the first four games anyway, and we can fill in the blanks for the other games:

1. Justin Verlander
2. Rick Porcello
3. Doug Fister
4. Max Scherzer
5. Verlander
6. Porcello
7. Fister

Verlander's in his accustomed spot, but Fister and Scherzer were pushed back a spot because both pitched in Game 5 against the Yankees. This isn't a big problem, but all things being equal you'd probably rather have Scherzer starting twice instead of Porcello. The latter is a ground-ball pitcher, which theoretically will play well in Texas, while Scherzer's Game 4 start will come in spacious Comerica Park.

Also, Scherzer should be available out of the bullpen in Game 6 or 7.

With all four Tigers starters being right-handed, we'll probably see a lot of Rangers outfielder David Murphy and first baseman Mitch Moreland, both of whom struggle against lefty pitchers but fare well enough against righties.

Update: Okay, forget some of that. Leyland's changed his mind, is flip-flopping Porcello and Scherzer. This probably makes sense, overall-talent-wise. But Scherzer might be challenged to keep the ball in the ballpark.

2011 ALCS Schedule: Tigers, Rangers Game 1 Set For 8:05 ET Saturday

The ALCS between the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers begins Saturday at 8:05 p.m. ET on FOX. Game 2 has been set for 7:45 p.m. ET on Sunday.