ALEX DROPS TO SIXTH IN OPENING NIGHT ORDEROctober 3, 2006 -- If Joe Torre dropping Alex Rodriguez into the sixth spot of the supposed "Greatest Lineup Ever" didn't get the Yankees' attention, the manager grabbed it with a direct message to his players.
Standing in the middle of the Yankees' clubhouse yesterday, Torre reminded his players not to look past the reeling wild-card Tigers, who stagger into tonight's Game 1 of the ALDS on a five-game bender, having dropped three straight to the morbid Royals to flush the AL Central title. They lost 31 of the final 50 games.
Torre knows his club is better than the Tigers. His players know they are superior. Las Vegas installed the AL East champs as a prohibitive favorite. Many are convinced the three wins in the best-of-five ALDS will leave the Yankees eight victories shy of their 27th World Series title.
Still, Torre is concerned enough by the Tigers to offer a reminder.
"Don't look past this series," Torre implored his troops before an afternoon workout at Yankee Stadium.
Until Torre announced A-Rod would hit sixth for the first time since June 22, 1995, when with Seattle, the hot topic was could the Yankees take the Tigers seriously.
Then the buzz turned to A-Rod, who batted .290 with 37 homers and a team-leading 121 RBIs.
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