"No matter how low a right-fielder's batting average slipped or his defense dipped, Jim Leyland wanted Magglio Ordonez nearby.

You could not replace the lightning that still flashed from his bat. You could not duplicate his hitting wits with any big-league player who was still pulling on a uniform.

Down the stretch, Ordonez would make a difference, the Tigers manager wagered. And if the Tigers were to slip into the postseason, their 37-year-old outfielder, who approaches a pitcher with the mind of a chess master, would also be invaluable.

As he was Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

He had three singles that were struck so crisply and so loudly they sounded like rifle fire as he helped the Tigers to a 5-3 victory over the Yankees in Game 2 of the Division Series that today moves to Detroit."