Napoli and Boston rise, while Fielder and Detroit face uncertainty

And while Tigers fans booed him for his seventh-inning strikeout, they probably didn't notice: He actually looked a little more comfortable at the plate. He

Michael Rosenberg | Oct 18, 2013

Napoli and Boston rise, while Fielder and Detroit face uncertainty /

Mike Napoli was the driving force behind Boston's victory over the Tigers in Game 5 of the ALCS. — Mike Napoli was the driving force behind Boston's victory over the Tigers in Game 5 of the ALCS :: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

And while Tigers fans booed him for his seventh-inning strikeout, they probably didn't notice: He actually looked a little more comfortable at the plate. He took the first pitch for ball one. He fouled off the next one. He grounded out to second base, but he wasn't lunging desperately or hacking at the first pitch. Fielder just needs one mistake from a Boston pitcher and one good swing to be a hero, and to play freely. The other first baseman in this series has proven it. There is still a chance in this postseason for Fielder to feel like that boy in Tiger Stadium again.

Published Oct 18, 2013

MICHAEL ROSENBERG

Michael Rosenberg is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, covering any and all sports. He writes columns, profiles and investigative stories and has covered almost every major sporting event. He joined SI in 2012 after working at the Detroit Free Press for 13 years, eight of them as a columnist. Rosenberg is the author of "War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and America in a Time of Unrest." Several of his stories also have been published in collections of the year's best sportswriting. He is married with three children.