Oct 13, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter Delmon Young (21) hits a solo home run against the New York Yankees in the 8th inning during game one of the 2012 ALCS at Yankee Stadium. Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Delmon Young, former left-fielder for the Minnesota Twins, hit an RBI double in the twelfth inning of Game 1 of the ALCS to put the Detroit Tigers in front of the New York Yankees 5-4.  The Tigers went on to win the game 6-4 over the Bronx Bombers, who had rallied from 4-0 in the ninth to send the game into extras.  The clutch hit had many Minnesota Twins fans shaking their heads and pondering another inexplicable moment of Young’s brilliance in what has sometimes been a career of mediocrity.

Young was traded to the Tigers in 2011, a trade which culminated in a funny incident where Young actually rode the Twins‘ bus to to Comerica Park.  Many Twins fans rejoiced that Young was gone, as he is generally considered by Twins fans to be a player known for laziness, taking plays off, and not living up to his potential.  When he performs well for his new team, all Minnesota Twins fans can do is shake their heads and assume Young will botch a play tomorrow.

Game 1 of the ALCS contained several dramatic moments, including a third and record-setting  postseason home run from Raul Ibanez to tie the game in the ninth, and a ninth-inning meltdown by Tigers’ closer José Valverde.  However, all other dramatic, game-changing plays were lost in the postgame conversation, which centered around Derek Jeter.  Following Young’s double, Jeter awkwardly fielded a grounder off the bat of Jhonny Peralta.  Jeter fell to the ground, unable to get up, and tossed the ball toward second base.  Unable to put weight on his left leg, Jeter was assisted off the field.  Joe Girardi’s postgame press conference revealed that Jeter suffered a season-ending fracture.

With Jeter out and the Yankees scrambling to adjust their lineup, it remains to be seen whether the Tigers can take advantage of the Yankee’s weakness and strike early.  While the Tigers hope that Young will provide clutch hits in the days to come, many Twins fans suggest that the Tigers don’t hold their breaths.

Do yourself a favor and turn off the television when Miguel Cabrera steps to the plate tonight. Photo bySteven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

The Matchup:

Wednesday, May 16, 6:05 p.m. CDT: RHP Nick Blackburn vs. RHP Rick Porcello

Thursday, May 17, 12:05 p.m. CDT: RHP P.J. Walters vs. RHP Doug Fister

Porcello can beat the Twins – he holds a 2.86 ERA in 12 career starts. But the Twins might have a little offensive success if they get the first two hitters on. Denard Span is hitting .364 in 22 at bats, and Jamey Carroll is hitting .400 in 10 at bats versus Porcello. Fister also owns a nice ERA against the Twins (3.24), but since he spent much of his career with the weak-hitting Mariners, his record versus Minnesota is just 1-4. Span can hit Fister as well, with a 1.071 OPS in 14 plate appearances.

Plenty of Tigers have good lines against Blackburn, so we won’t list them all here. But slugger Miguel Cabrera has had the most success, with a .448/.484/.793 slash line in 31 PAs. Walters has only faced the Tigers once in his career. Back on June 16, 2009, while he was with the Cardinals, Walters tossed two innings versus Detroit. The first batter he faced was Cabrera, who hit a home run. The rest of the outing was scoreless, and the Cards won 11-2.

The Weather:

Highs will hover near 70 both days, and rain is possible, but not likely.

The Head to Head:

Since 1901, the Detroit franchise has done well against the Washington/Minnesota franchise. Detroit holds a 1,055-971 head to head advantage. Since the Twins were born in 1961, things have been much brighter. Among Minnesota vs. Detroit matchups, the Twins have 383 wins to the Tigers’ 339, including some key victories with playoff implications. The Twins eliminated the Tigers in the 1987 ALCS, and they also beat them in Game 163 in 2009.

Last year, though, the Tigers severely pummeled the Twins, winning 14 of 18. Detroit currently rides a three game win streak against the Twins.

The Story:

Nearly a quarter of the way through the season, the Twins have not yet played a game against their division rival (excepting a Spring Training matchup which the Twins won 7-3). The Tigers, who have fallen slightly behind division leader Cleveland, are no doubt eager to face the AL Central’s weakest team.

If nothing else, at least one good thing will happen in this series: the Twins get Justin Morneau back. The oft-injured slugger missed the minimum 15 days after hitting the DL with a sore wrist. Chris Parmelee, who had been struggling, was sent to Rochester to make room for Morneau.

Aside from Morneau’s return, the picture looks quite bleak for the Twins. They lost a heartbreaker Monday night when closer Matt Capps surrendered a run after an impressive rally tied the score, and they failed to put a run across versus 38 year old wonder Derek Lowe Tuesday afternoon. In both games, the starting pitching was as unreliable as it has been all season long. No Twins pitcher with more than three starts this season has an ERA under 5.14. Four of them have put up ERAs over 6.50. Extreme numbers like those are not usually seen outside the very early stages of a season, but the Twins have proven the ability to maintain awful pitching over large sample sizes.

Meanwhile, Detroit is not hitting as well as one might expect. Despite the addition of super-slugger Prince Fielder, the team is just ninth in the AL in OPS (.704) heading into Tuesday. That mark is still 39 points above the Twins, but far from the performance one would expect from a contending team that relies on its bats. On the mound, the Tigers are just 10th in the AL in pitching with a 4.43 ERA. They are tied for the league lead in strikeouts per nine innings, though, with 8.3. The Twins will probably struggle to put balls in play the next two days.

This will be the first time all year the Twins face former teammate Delmon Young. They saw him last year, but that was before he was accused of a hate crime in a truly embarassing incident last month. Young would undoubtedly face some boos from the crowd if this game were held in Minnesota. As it is, the Tiger fans may make some unpleasant noises of their own when Young bats. In addition to his reprehensible off-field behavior, Young is hitting just .234/.297/.318.

The Bottom Line:

Don’t worry about how many games the Twins will win. Just be grateful they managed to avoid Justin Verlander this series. They made Lowe look like a Hall of Famer yesterday, so it’s scary to think what an actual ace could do to this lineup.

Fortunately for the  Twins, the Oakland Athletics have prevented Minnesota from making another questionable decision by stepping in and signing Inge. Combined that with the 7-3 win over the Royals to avert a homestand sweep, and the Twins have dodged two bullets today.

Brandon Ing is one of the few remaining Tigers not to join the Twins. Photo by Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Inge was once an excellent player, but at this point in his career with the Twins roster as it is, he would have added little if anything to the Minnesota lineup or bench. Several years ago, Inge was an intriguing player who could play a couple of the toughest positions on the diamond – third base and catcher – and hit with power. He socked 27 homers in 2006 and matched that feat again in 2009, nearly leading the Tigers to division titles in both seasons. But Inge is now less than a month shy of his 30th birthday, and he is not the player he used to be. In 102 games last season, Inge recorded an abysmal .265 on-base percentage, and he is just 2-20 at the plate this year.

Other than the fact that they’ve always admired Inge’s style of play, it is not exactly clear what the Twins were thinking they could accomplish by signing him. His recent poor hitting means that he was highly unlikely to spark a sudden Twins surge in the standings, and his age means he would never be a long term solution at third base. As a Twin he would have taken at bats away from Danny Valencia, at bats that the Twins should be using to determine whether Valencia is a viable MLB third baseman. As a backup third baseman, Inge would not have provided the team with anything that Sean Burroughs does not have, and his right-handed bat would not allow him to sub for Valencia against tough right-handed pitchers. Some pointed out that Inge could serve as a third string catcher, since Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit are often both in the lineup, but it is dubious at best that he could fill that role; Inge has not caught in the Major Leagues since 2008.

From here, it seems the only reason the Twins wanted Inge is because they like to go after former Tigers on general principle. Phil Dumatrait, Luke French, Casey Fien, Wilkin Ramirez, Mike Hollimon, and Brendan Wise have all recently signed minor league deals with the Twins after spending time in the Tiger system. The Twins added farmhands Lester Oliveros and Cole Nelson from the Tigers in last year’s Delmon Young trade. And earlier this month they claimed Clete Thomas off waivers from Detroit. Some of those players are quite talented, and the Young trade in particular is looking like a good move now, but the sheer number of ex-Tigers that the Twins have been stockpiling makes one wonder if they have an unhealthy obsession with last year’s division winner.

Stay tuned, because we might need a Tiger intervention soon.