Is it just more, or...

119 losses three years ago...beats a team that's won 26 titles. yes, it's a huge upset and one of the biggest in sports. the yankees were supposed to mop the floor with the tigers, but that pitching staff couldn't do shit.

 

I don't know how some people thought the Yanks were supposed to "mop the floor" with the Tigers, but they were certainly expected to win. Aside from Wang, Rivera and maybe Mussina, there's not a fairly reliable pitcher on that staff. Was that lineup supposed to demolish the Tigers staff? Yeah, probably, but aside from Rogers pitching the second-best game of his career, none of the Tigers' performances should be THAT surprising. You could make a decent amount of comparisons between this staff and Anaheim's 2002 staff, and that's a key to beating the Yanks in the playoffs: strike-throwing power arms.

 

Short list of greatest baseball upsets ever (postseason):

1914 Braves
1924 Senators
1954 Giants
1955 Dodgers
1960 Pirates
1969 Mets
1973 Mets (LCS)
1988 Dodgers (LCS and WS)
1990 Reds
1993 Phillies (LCS)
1998 Padres (LCS)
2001 D'backs
2003 Marlins

I wouldn't put this Tigers team up with those yet. These Yankees were mighty flawed, despite the payroll and name recognition.

(EDIT: And if I did have to rank them in order of "greatest" upset -- 1) 1960 Pirates; 2) 1914 Braves; 3) 1988 Dodgers.)

 

Thank you.

 

1988 Dodgers had the best pitcher in baseball.

This is definitely in the top 10.

 

The Dodgers got a Gibby 1968 + Koufax 1965 + Pedro 1999 season out of Hershiser that year.

But check out the Dodgers' lineup. Mike Marshall was their only decent hitter, other than Kirk Gibson. Their starting SS hit .199. Their top pinch hitter hit .196. Their starting 3B hit .236. Their starting 1B hit .223.

Gibson just *CARRIED* that team to a title offensively.

 

Just wondering, but if Detroit partied like this for the ALDS, does anyone want to imagine what would happen if they won the World Series at home?

 

Is this what TO is wearing to Philly on Sunday?

 

Using this logic that the qualifies as an upset because of the Tigers' sorry 12-year history, then they should be giant underdogs against Florida, which won not one but TWO World Series in that timeframe.

George Mason beating Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn to make the Final Four is a giant upset. This is a moderate surprise, and anyone who wants to make it out to be this massive win for the little guy is either focusing too much on history or doesn't realize that Detroit probably was the best team in the majors for at least half the season.

 

You might want to go back to the MLB playoffs thread and count the number of people who picked the Yankees to win in three. Then check SI.com, ESPN and everyone else who pretty much seemed to think the Yankees in three. Then go to Joe Morgan, who compared this Yankee lineup with the 1927 team and said this one is the best one that the postseason has ever seen. And on and on.

 

I'm speechless. Oz, you win the grand prize: tickets to Game 1 of the World Series in the Bronx.