Tigers lose game, Jim Leyland loses mind: "They're going to the ******* playoffs, I ain't going anywhere."

Another loss takes a back seat to the extracurricular activities at Yankee Stadium. The Tigers got into a bit of a beanball war with the Yankees.

In the 1st inning, with the game's first pitch, Jeremy Bonderman drilled Brett Gardner...payback for his Monday night end of game takeout slide, which ultimately put Glass Joe Carlos Guillen on the DL.  Home plate umpire Eric Cooper immediately warned both teams. The Yankees then proceeded to get back at Bonderman, as Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano hit back to back home runs, taking a 3-0 lead. So much for purpose pitches.

You'd think that would be the end of the story.

Not a chance. With the Yankees leading 9-4 in the 8th, tensions escalated.

Miguel Cabrera, who hit his 29th and 30th home runs earlier in the game, was nailed high in the ribs with a fastball from Yankees' reliever Chad Gaudin. You'd expect Cooper to come out from behind the plate, and toss Gaudin. After all, warnings were issued. Standard procedure, right?

Wrong.

There was no ejection. Gaudin remained in the game. Yankees manager Joe Girardi wasn't ejected. Cabrera looked stunned that there was no ejection, then took his base.

Absolutely nothing happened at all...save for Jim Leyland losing his mind.

When it was obvious there would be no repercussions for hitting the Tigers' meal ticket, Leyland ran onto the field to give Cooper a long piece of his mind. After somehow not getting tossed, Leyland's berating of Cooper continued from the bench. The commentary from Leyland was a string of F-bombs interspersed with his saying someone was going to get hurt, and this prime nugget.caught by Fox Sports Detroit's microphones...

"They're going to the ******* playoffs, I ain't going anywhere."

Well, it is the truth. Leyland is going to have a job next season, though I doubt that is what he meant. Was Leyland, caught up his anger, conceding the season is essentially over for the Tigers? Probably. But he'll never admit it.

In the middle of all the commotion, the Tigers loaded the bases with no one out...and couldn't get a hit with RISP. The only run of the inning scored on a Brandon Inge sac fly.

It was in the middle of the 8th when the umpiring crew finally had their fill of Leyland ranting and raving, and gave him the thumb. 

In the Yankees' side of the inning, reliever Enrique Gonzalez threw behind God's gift to the world New York  the media, Derek Jeter...somehow missing him. Again, Cooper did nothing. Girardi looked as if he was about to make a scene, got to the top of the dugout steps, thought better of it, and like Cooper, did nothing. 

And that was the end of hostilities. For tonight, anyway.

In the post game, when asked about the purpose pitches and the aftermath, Leyland would only reply with, "Next question."  I didn't expect anything else from the Marlboro Man.

Say this about Jim Leyland. You can rant about his head-scratching lineups, the screwy batting orders, and sometimes questionable use of the bullpen...but you cannot deny the fact he would take the rap for any of his ball players, defending them to the bitter end.

That's something you have to respect.

As for the game itself, what is there to say? The Tigers traded long balls with the Yankees, but it wasn't enough. 

Bonderman wasn't sharp, allowing three home runs (one by Curtis Granderson, who seems to have re-discovered his long missing swing against his old team), and 6 earned. Brad Thomas wasn't any better, allowing a pair of runs in less than two innings of work. Ryan Raburn had another misadventure in the outfield, losing a fly ball in the lights.

The Tigers got the pair of home runs from Cabrera, and a two run shot from, of all people, Don Kelly. They scattered ten hits in all, and plated four runs off Yankees' starter Dustin Moseley. But they couldn't do a thing with the Yankees' stellar relief corps. There were no fireworks to be had when the Yankees went to the bullpen, as they shut down the Tigers' offense.

At least we got fireworks from Leyland.

Should be an interesting afternoon in the Bronx tomorrow.