Free Press sports writer John Lowe reveals his picks for the unheralded players who could make the difference for their teams:
1) Jhonny Peralta
It's where he lives. The shortstop was a quiet hero in Game 5 in Oakland -- back-to-back smooth plays on grounders that not every shortstop would have handled so well, and then a hit to start the four-run seventh. With his calm approach, he's a candidate to get a hit when Yankee Stadium is an uproar and a tough pitcher is facing him.
2) Eric Chavez
We would have said Raul Ibañez, but after his pinch-hit homer for A-Rod, he's too prominent. Go instead with Chavez, the former Gold Glove star in Oakland who started for Rodriguez at third base in Game 5 on Friday against Baltimore and who would figure to play there when Rodriguez doesn't. Chavez remains a tough, shrewd player who fits in quietly and efficiently with the stars around him.
Contact John Lowe: 313-223-4053 or jlowe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @freeptigers.
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