Former teammates finish series as hero and goat

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DETROIT -- Two indelible images from Saturday night in the Motor City: one of Magglio Ordonez floating across the bases, his ridiculous mop of curls hanging out of his black helmet, his right arm raised triumphantly in the frigid evening air; the other of Frank Thomas, the old slugger sitting stone-faced in his team's sullen, darkened dugout. Foes this October, Ordonez and Thomas were teammates once, a pair of big boppers in the same lineup, close friends off the field. But on Saturday, when the end came, mercifully, for the Oakland A's, and the Tigers clinched their first World Series birth in 22 years, one was a hero and the other, a goat.

As the Tigers partied on the Comerica Park field, Thomas rose from his seat and stood along the dugout railing. "I looked out there and tried to make eye contact [with Ordonez]," Thomas said in front of his locker after the game, his horrid series (0-for-13) in the books. "I'm so happy for him. I put in a lot of hours of work with that kid. He's like a little brother to me." The future Hall of Famer added, "We've both gone through some injuries recently and faced a lot of doubts from people. But we both came back with great years."

Teammates for eight years on the White Sox, Thomas and Ordonez both began this season with much to prove after sitting out Chicago's first World Series championship in 88 years. In 2005, Thomas played in just 34 games because of a foot injury; Ordonez appeared in just 82 with a sports hernia. A year later, the two met in the ALCS, both coming off remarkable comeback seasons. "He had an incredible year," a champagne (G.H. Mumm) drenched Ordonez said in the Tigers locker room. "It was weird to face him."

No one could have scripted a more perfect night for Ordonez, the Tigers rightfielder who homered twice and drove in four runs in Detroit's 6-3 win. Before the game, he promised his son, Magglio, Jr. that he'd homer as a gift to him on his 11th birthday. "Today being his son's birthday, it wasn't a good omen for us," Thomas said. "His son is his favorite person in the world."

Thomas sheepishly smiled as he looked back on his miserable ALCS performance. "It's a game of inches," he said. "I'm not worried about what happened. You're always one at-bat from something big happening. I laid it out on the line. People said I was done, but I had a great year." Thomas, who was signed by the A's to a one-year, $500,000 contract, hopes to return to Oakland. "This is my favorite team I've ever played on. My goal is to be [back on the A's in 2007], but we'll see how it works out. I'm definitely not done."

Clubhouse Confidential

The Big Hurt may be back in 2007, but any chance Barry Zito returns? "No, no," Eric Chavez said after Game Four. "I don't think there's a chance." When asked if his preference is to return to Oakland, Zito said, "My preference would be to be happy." Zito sounded like a man that didn't expect to return in 2007. "I don't know how I feel right now," he said. "There are so many questions up in the air. I've been with these guys for so long, I'm just concerned about staying in touch with all of them. You always say you're going to keep in touch with people, but even in the off-season it's tough." ... Chavez called the Tigers the better team. "They were just locked in," he said. "They got all their hits in the ninth inning with two outs. You just shake your head. They're just getting the job done right now." ... After the game, Tigers manager Jim Leyland credited a team he might face in the World Series for his success in Detroit. "I think one of the [things] most responsible for my coming back [is] the St. Louis Cardinals. I worked for them for five years. I was around that ball club in spring training. I was around Tony La Russa, I helped his players, bought into the program. I never had a finer boss. They kind of inspired me to get back in and I kept getting closer to it and closer to it. I think probably the reason I got back in is because of the Cardinals."

From The Bench

This October's Midas of managers still could do no wrong on Saturday. Jim Leyland stuck with Jason Grilli to face lefty Nick Swisher in the eighth even though the wild righthander had thrown eight straight balls and lefty Wilfredo Ledezma was ready in the bullpen. Swisher walked on four pitches, then Leyland opted for Wildredo Ledezma, a lefty, to face righthander Marco Scutaro, who fouled out with the bases loaded. ... Justin Duchscherer's injury killed the A's on Saturday. Without the lights-out righthander unavailable with neck spasms, Macha had to turn to Huston Street in the seventh inning, with the bases loaded and one out in a tie game. It was the right move -- too often managers save their closers for the ninth inning -- but in this situation, Macha knew his season was on the line. Street worked 2 1/3 innings and didn't give up a run until Ordonez's game-winning homer in the ninth. ... Before Game Four, Macha attributed Oakland's offensive futility to the failures of the club's big guns. "Frank, they've really limited him," Macha said. "And of course Swish hasn't hit any home runs either. The sudden impact that we have in our lineup, they've limited that dramatically. Frank basically was our catalyst the last six weeks of the season, and certainly was in the Minnesota series. You take that production out of your lineup, and it makes it tough."

The Bottom Line

Oakland's third baseman put it best: "We ran into the better team," Chavez said. Detroit has a week to rest their young arms and get Joel Zumaya healthy. They've proved in this postseason they have the best pitching in baseball, and should be considered the favorite to win the World Series no matter what team emerges from the NL. "They're just a great all around team, and they're on a roll," says Thomas. "They've got a lot of hunger and spirit. Good luck to whoever they face."