"The face of determination is covered with sweat and dripping with champagne. Sometimes there's also a sneer, or three-day stubble.

The faces of the Tigers told the story the other night, but to them, it's an unfinished story. Beating the mighty Yankees was an incredible accomplishment, but the Tigers have been aiming even higher for a while now.

They're in Texas tonight to open the ALCS, and once again they'll technically be underdogs, even if they don't look it or act it, not with Justin Verlander on the mound for Game 1. The defending A.L. champion Rangers have a terrific lineup but unimposing starting pitching, uh, sort of like the Yankees.

The Tigers didn't slink into these playoffs and certainly didn't slink into Yankee Stadium, winning twice there, including the taut 3-2 clincher. Every move they made this season — from owner Mike Ilitch to GM Dave Dombrowski to manager Jim Leyland — was a move to push harder, to add more.

They'll need more against Texas, the top-hitting team in baseball.

"That's a tremendous team, a very versatile team," Leyland said Friday. "I remind everybody like I did in New York — we're pretty good, too."

The Tigers haven't been here regularly, but they are built for this. It's why Dombrowski acquired Doug Fister and Delmon Young, and why he spent so much for DH Victor Martinez and reliever Joaquin Benoit. It's why the Tigers invested heavily in Miguel Cabrera and Jose Valverde. It's why they're on such a roll, 37-14 since Aug. 11. "