Congratulations to the Detroit Tigers, who clinched their 11th American League pennant with today's 8-1 win over the Yankees in Game Four of the ALCS. It was just the fifth "annihilation" sweep in a seven-game series in baseball history, as the Tigers not only won all four games, but never trailed at any point. The Detroit victory could also be a good omen for the Cardinals in the NLCS — nine of the Tigers' 10 previous World Series opponents (the Cubs four times, the Cardinals thrice and the Pirates and Reds once each) have been NL Central teams.
Here's the latest from the Motor City as the Tigers look for their first Series win since 1984…
- GM Dave Drombrowski told reporters (including Chris Iott of MLive.com) that Jim Leyland is welcome back to manage the Tigers in 2013. "He knows that. He's in a situation where we want him back, and I'm sure that he wants to come back," Dombrowski said. "But there's a time and a place for that. It's not right now." Leyland isn't under contract for 2013 but said last week that he wants to manage next season.
- The contributions of Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Max Scherzer have made the Tigers the winner of their blockbuster 2009 trade with the Yankees and Diamondbacks, writes Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press. The D'Backs received Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson while the Yankees received Curtis Granderson, who struggled horribly in the ALCS and wasn't started in Game Four.
- Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that he hasn't been contacted by the Red Sox about the manager's job. Lamont was Boston's second choice behind Bobby Valentine last winter, and Lamont says that he wishes he'd been hired. “I don’t know what the record would’ve been,” Lamont said, “but I’m positive it wouldn’t have been as chaotic.”
