Detroit Free Press Michael Rosenberg column: Pumped up.(Column)

Byline: Michael Rosenberg

Oct. 6--NEW YORK -- Earlier this week, in a concrete hallway under the stands at Yankee Stadium, Willie Horton was asked if he was nervous. And before he could answer, one of the Tigers stopped, turned around and said, in a tone of shock, "You're nervous?" The Tiger was rookie reliever Joel Zumaya. And Thursday afternoon, Zumaya showed exactly what he meant. With his team clinging to a 4-3 lead and desperate for a victory, Zumaya plowed through the thickest part of the Yankees' lineup to help preserve a Game 2 victory. Zumaya did it with a bloodshot right eye -- "it's just allergies," he said -- and the Yankees probably couldn't see that, but goodness, would you want to face a guy with blood in his right eye, a flame tattoo on his left forearm and a 103-m.p.h. fastball in his arsenal? Probably not. And the Yankees didn't want to face this, either: a 1-1 division series tie heading into the first playoff baseball game in Detroit since 1987.

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