1) What did you think of the Al Alburquerque kiss?

Well, it’s not something that you see everyday and it’s not something that I condone but I know Al Alburqurque didn’t mean any harm by what he did, just from being around him and knowing what kind of kid he is. And I know he wasn’t rubbing it into the Oakland A’s in any way, it was just a heat of the moment thing. Josh Reddick was the one A’s player that was the most vocal about it and he’s obviously had a very difficult series so I think it was out of frustration on his part. All in all, I don’t think it was that bad but it’s the playoffs, and you see a lot of emotion in the playoffs.

2) Do you see Jim Leyland making a move with Joaquin Benoit?

I don’t see Jim Leyland doing anything different with Joaquin Benoit. Benoit is fine, at least seeing how he pitched in the game against Oakland on Saturday. cheap air max shoesNow, on Sunday, with a runner on third base, it is very difficult to throw a changeup in a 2-2 count and I think a collection of things happened in that inning – the Yoenis Cespedes stolen bases, the wild pitches – that contributed to the lack of execution on the full-count pitch Reddick hit for a home run. Benoit is the Tigers’ setup guy, I just think that in certain situations, he needs to have better execution of the pitches.

3) What impresses you the most about Avisail Garcia?

His maturity level. This is a guy that’s just 21 years old but carries himself like he’s 24 or 25. I think it’s because of the close bond he developed with Miguel Cabrera in spring training and the second half of the season, but they’re very close and I think it’s rubbed off on Garcia. The scary part about the whole situation is, he has only been in the big leagues for a couple of months and he hasn’t realized himself as a player yet. He has a chance to be a legitimate 5-tool player in the major leagues and there will be nothing that Garcia won’t be able to do in the big leagues. When he threw out Coco Crisp on Sunday, that is one of those moments we’re going to remember in Tigers history. It was just an incredible throw.

Watch Rod during the postseason on Fox Sports Detroit’s pre- and post-game shows before every Tigers game. Follow him on Twitter at @Rodallen12.

Join sports writer George Sipple for a live blog of Tigers-A’s Game 3 on Tuesday night at freep.com/sports. Tag your Tigers photos on Twitter and Instagram with #tigersplayoffs for the chance to be published. Also get ready for the playoffs with our We Love the D poster, Tigers paper dolls, player masks and Twibbon.




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