What if they had played The Rainout?

They would have gotten in close to a full game because that storm never came in until about 11 that night. Maybe nothing would have been different and it's just baseball But it makes you wonder. It was rescheduled for the next afternoon. The world changed in a hurry after that, the Yankees stopped hitting, the Tigers did everything right.

That's the first thing I thought about the morning after the Tigers shocked the Yankees. I am always going to wonder about The Rainout.

Leaving Motown now...adios.

It's interesting to think what all of us were saying at the end of Game 1, when all of the noise was about Derek Jeter's 5-for-5 game and the "Murderers Row and Cano" lineup. Today, there was that feeling of just a little sadness as you watched Jeter at the plate toward the end -- just because as a fan you like to see the great ones perform -- knowing that probably was going to be his last at-bat of the year. It is that same feeling of sadness for some that makes all of this so special, because of how it feels when you break through the way the Tigers have. And they didn't just break through, but they practically pulled those two big trucks off the General Motors Fountain beyond center field here and went four-wheeling all over their opponents in this series.

Sure thought it would be a closer series. If anyone had told me it would be a wipeout, I would have been pretty sure it would have been in the Yankees' favor. Next stop LCS. Thanks to everyone who has read this blog and viewed the pics and videos. Be sure to make yourself a regular in the MLBlogosphere, the only place where you can get your own marks and logos and blog alongside players like Nate Robertson, David Wright, Barry Zito and MLB personalities like Brooks Robinson, Tommy Lasorda and so many of your fellow fans. See me while you're there. Thanks.

Perfect day for Game 4 as you can see above in 2 p.m. ET shot outside Comerica Park. The major news here is that A-Rod is hitting eighth. And Melky is in, Giambi is out. That tells you all you need to know about the shocking turn of developments in this American League Division Series.

Expect to see a lot of orange today...

Waiting to welcome a tremendous throng (which is now making the stadium shake again as I am typing this at the start of the game)...

You have to love the Mini-Donuts stand right behind home plate. Enjoyed my brunch...

It's a baseball town again. You also can find these goodies here if you don't want to stand in line.

Jim Leyland before the game: "We're not going to do anything different. We're going to see how the game develops, and obviously we're going to do the same thing the Yankees are going to do. They are going to do everything they can to win it, and we're going to do everything we can to win it."

Joe Torre before the game: "We obviously don't feel good about ourselves and we know what we're capable of doing and we have to go out there and do it. Yeah, you hope the experience helps you, you really do. Again, I don't care how much you've played this game, and how successful you've been, that taste of losing is never a nice taste. So you really have to reverse it, and we have to do something about that today against a very good team."

Pregame video, about an hour and a half before first pitch as the Yankees were taking BP:

OK, Game 4 is on. There was a really nice moment of silence before the game for Buck O'Neil. We're going to miss him.

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We're here now and pregame interview sessions are under way. Jim Leyland is mixing it up against the lefty (Randy Johnson). Tonight's Tiger lineup he just announced here in the media interview room:

1. Placido Polanco
2. Craig Monroe
3. Marcus Thames
4. Magglio Ordonez
5. Carlos Guillen
6. Pudge Rodriguez
7. Sean Casey
8. Brandon Inge
9. Curtis Granderson

Leyland also said, when asked what it meant to Tiger fans that the series came back here 1-1 instead of 2-0 down: "If we'd come here 0-2, I think they would have had a good time, but probably wouldn't think we can win the series in their heart." Then he added that now they obviously do.

Jeremy Bonderman will start Game 4 for the Tigers. He paid Yankee fans a compliment when asked what it has been like to take everything in during this series. "When we were in New York, the crowd there was phenomenal," he said. "They're on their feet 90 percent of the game."

Here is video I shot with the Canon Powershot A540 during the pregame interview session with Jaret Wright, the Yankees' scheduled Game 4 starter. People want to know what he thinks of A-Rod. Obviously many people do back in NYC. Don't mind the shaking, remember that 99 out of 100 reporters here aren't also holding a camera, trying something new.

Thanks to Wednesday's rainout, it was travel scramble mode so I slept exactly three hours last night and then caught an early flight this morning for Cleveland. Then I rented a car for the three-hour drive up to Detroit, and that was OK because it was a chance to play Cleveland rock as loudly as possible while driving. Once I got to Toledo, Ohio, I saw these overpass signs and I couldn't resist aiming the Canon Powershot A540 up while I was surrounded by big rigs on both sides.

It just seemed kind of fitting. If you had asked me last offseason where I might be at this time of year, I would have bet Eric Byrnes would comb his hair before the Tigers would be playing right now instead of the Indians. At least as the Wild Card behind Chicago, maybe AL Central champs. So here we are now, driving from Cleveland to Detroit, only because of flight availability to get to Motown. Sorry, Tribe fans. Maybe the "CLOSED" stripe will be removed in 2007.

There's another shot from I-75 heading north into Detroit. But first back up some miles. This really happened: Exactly as I crossed over the state line into Michigan, the FM station that said "we play EVERYTHING" (have you noticed that trend around American FM dials in today's myspace world?)  decided to play "Stranglehold" by the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent.

You bes' get out of the way.

The playoffs are coming to Detroit in a matter of hours. The storied New York Yankees are here. Jeter's back in the state where he grew up. It's 1-1, gametime at 8ish ET. Rogers vs. Unit. AL All-Star starter vs. MRow2. If you want to see what kind of excitement the Tigers have stirred in this city at an unfamiliar time of year, then consider this pic I took driving through downtown:

That also tells you everything you need to know about the weather. That was about 12:45 p.m. The temp is just going to go south by the time a night game arrives. October baseball is really here now. No more of that first-day-of-postseason subtropical action.

For nostalgia buffs, here is another highway pic taken of the place that last saw a Tigers postseason home game:

Memo to driver's ed students: Do not attempt to take pictures like this these while driving on the highway with three hours' sleep. . . . unless Nugent is playing loudly. Of course, you probably never have heard of Nugent, hence the Wikipedia link.

More from Comerica soon.

And here is my daily YouTube upload for you from Yankee Stadium. Thought that a little caliope music from out front of the Press Gate/Players Entrance would set the mood.

Forecast for today's 1:09 pm ET game: PERFECT. That storm that finally arrived brought with it cool temps from the north, so we're in the 60s.

Ron Guidry was just asked about a Yankees Game 4 starter and he replied, "I haven't gotten that far yet."

Jim Leyland was asked if Justin Verlander got some sleep, and he said, "I don't know, I don't bunk with him."

Fans are rolling back in, carrying the same tickets they brought with them here last night. A car took me home from the park at midnight, and we were sloshing through puddles all over streets and passing emergency rescue vehicles en masse. You can see why MLB and the clubs made the decision they did -- it was an onimous blob on the radar screen. Even though, yes, we could have played close to a whole game last night with some annoying spritz. Better safe than sorry was the decision. Now we're back and gametime is creeping up.

Final look back at what last night felt like for more than 50,000 people here:

Joe Torre just said in his pregame press conference: "We've got a couple different forecasts. One that says it's gonna rain at 8:15 and one that says it's gonna rain at 9:30. I'd take the first one, but it's unpredictable." As you can see from this 4 pm photo, it was nothing but beautiful earlier, and 80 degrees. But Mother Nature could be a factor.

Torre also just said that Randy Johnson is likely in the air right now on his way to Detroit after throwing "30 to 35 pitches" today and "everything seemed fine." So all systems go for Big Unit in Game 3. Meanwhile, the Yanks had one eye on the local Mets while taking BP:

Power players: From left, A-Rod, Torre, Cashman, Mattingly, Reggie.

Make sure you check out Big Nate Chew's MLBlog that he posted after last night's Game 1 start for the Tigers, and if you're a Detroit fan, punch your pin on his Guestmap. More to follow.

What can you say? Someday this New Yorker will be upstate at a gathering in Cooperstown and giving an induction speech, and moments like Tuesday night will race through the minds of those who witnessed his career. Just your average 5-for-5 night in the MROW2 lineup, stellar in the field, and then talking to us about how this probably isn't going to make everyone back in his former hometown of Kalamazoo, Mich., love him a lot more. Would be interested to see others' comments here about your favorite Jeter moments and where 2006 ALDS Game 1 ranks.

A little blurry but these happy campers below had just had a Giambino longball smashed into their midst, and I took this from my vantage point during this series in the right field press auxiliary seating. Surprisingly The Baseball Collector was not in this picture.

The Bleacher Creatures were making my camera shake with their "MVP! MVP!" chants.

Speaking of the BC's, here is a photo I took four hours before the game of the latest fare in BC attire. But the MLB.com Shop is still the best place to get dressed up.

You can get your high-end action photography at worldseries.com. I just wanted to grab a Big Nate Chew shot for posterity since he's a fellow MLBlogger. Make sure you check out his blog that was posted after the game -- great attitude if you're a Tiger fan.

That's one in the books. Same place Wednesday, same bat time, rookie stud pitcher Jason Verlander on the bump against The Lineup.