And then there were two.\u00a0 I know the entire central time zone will be offended by this (but really, when was the last time anyone gave a shit about the central time zone), but The Machine sure is glad that St.\u00a0Louis didn’t\u00a0make it to the World Series.\u00a0 Nothing against the birds either, Mike Matheny and crew had a hell of season all things considered (they did lose a pretty good first baseman to free agency if I\u2019m not mistaken).\u00a0 But the real reason we were pulling for the Giants is that they match-up better against the Tigers.\u00a0 While no one walking planet earth can come close to matching Verlander pitch-for-pitch, the Giants boast a deep and talented rotation of their own.\u00a0 So let\u2019s dissect each team, and determine who is going to win this thing\u2026..<\/p>\n
Detroit<\/strong> Tigers, 88-74 AL Central Champs<\/strong><\/p>\n ALDS Series: Beat Oakland (3-2) in five games, outscoring them 17-11.<\/p>\n ALCS Series: Beat New York (4-0) in four games, outscoring them 19-6. (No, that\u2019s not a typo!)<\/p>\n General Vibe: The Tigers made quick work of the Yankees and got themselves a few extra days of rest.\u00a0 This can actually have an adverse effect on baseball players, who are creatures of habit and routine.\u00a0 Still, a veteran manager like Leyland should be able to keep this bunch focused and hungry.\u00a0 And they have to feel pretty damn good about their chances considering they have the best pitcher and best hitter in baseball.<\/p>\n San Francisco<\/strong> Giants, 94-68 NL West Champs<\/strong><\/p>\n NLDS Series: Beat Cincinnati (3-2) in five games, getting outscored 18-22.<\/p>\n NLCS Series: Beat St. Louis (4-3) in seven games, outscoring them 35-19.<\/p>\n General Vibe:\u00a0 Down 3 games to 1 against the Cardinals this group battled back to win the pennant in improbable fashion.\u00a0 This team is built for post season play, returning a majority of their young and talented pitching staff that helped them win the 2010 WS.<\/p>\n Starting Pitching:<\/strong><\/p>\n Detroit<\/em> – As mentioned, Justin Verlander is otherworldly; filthy; sick.\u00a0 A perennial 15+ Win, sub 3 ERA, 225 K, Cy Young (and MVP) caliber pitcher.\u00a0 Verlander is slated to take the ball in Game 1 and Game 5; advantage Tigers!<\/p>\n The rest of the Tigers rotation is filled guys whom may, or may not, give you a solid outing, including: Max Scherzer, Doug Fister (possibly the greatest name in baseball) and Anibal Sanchez (another name that has urban dictionary written all over it).\u00a0 These guys have great postseason numbers this year, but those figures are slightly inflated thanks to a Yankee team that couldn\u2019t buy a hit (irony at its finest!).<\/p>\n As good as Verlander has been, Jose Valverde \u2013 Papa Malo \u2013 has been equally bad.\u00a0 How bad you ask?\u00a0 Try 7 earned runs in 2.1 post season innings pitched bad!\u00a0 That ball Ibanez hit still hasn\u2019t landed!\u00a0 If this gas can enters the game with anything less than a 5 run lead look out!\u00a0 That chain smoker Leyland isn\u2019t a fool; you\u2019ll see him squeeze as much juice out of his starters as possible, play the match-ups out of the pen, and hand the ball to Phil Coke\/ Al Alburquerque to close the door.\u00a0 At this point can you really trust your entire season on Jose Valverde?!<\/p>\n San Francisco<\/em> \u2013 Is there a stable of more talented, young pitchers in the bigs these days?\u00a0 Cain, Bumgarner, Vogelsong, Lincecum.\u00a0 Unfortunately for the Giants, due to their seven game tilt with the Cardinals, none of these guys are pitching Game 1.\u00a0 Instead they turn to, wait for it, Barry Zito.\u00a0 Yes, that Barry Zito.\u00a0 How he is still getting guys out (let alone winning games) is beyond our comprehension.\u00a0 Zito is bad.\u00a0 Not quite Valverde bad, but still not a guy you can trust.\u00a0 But perhaps that plays into the Giants hand.\u00a0 Considering the roll Verlander is on, chances are slim even with your best pitcher that you beat him.\u00a0 So, chalk up Game 1 as an \u2018L\u2019 and give yourself the pitching edge in games 2, 3 and 4.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure punting a WS game is ever sound advice, but it may be their best shot to stretch this thing to seven games and give themselves a chance.<\/p>\n Hitting:<\/strong><\/p>\n Detroit<\/em> \u2013 There is a lot to love about this lineup, and it all starts with Miggy Cabrera.\u00a0 The guy not only lead his team in HRs, AVG, and RBIs, he lead the entire league in those categories!\u00a0 Not since Affirmed in 1978 has there been a Triple Crown Winner!\u00a0 Now, as we all know, Miggy\u2019s success is directly related to how incredibly fucked up he can get on the eve of this series, and our MoTown sources have indicated that the Patron has been flowing since 7 PM EST tonight, so except big things from our favorite horse in this race!\u00a0 Add in Cecil Fielders boy, Delmon Young, Infante,Jackson and Peralta and you\u2019ve got a dangerous lineup.\u00a0 Oh, and because it has the chance to cost them a game in this series it is worth mentioning that during the regular season this team was one of the worst defensively.\u00a0 They seem to have tightened the reigns a bit in the postseason, but this could be their Achilles heel.<\/p>\n San Francisco<\/em> \u2013 Don\u2019t be surprised if the best hitter in this series turns out to be Buster Posey.\u00a0 This kid can flat out rake!\u00a0 Also, I love Sandoval recent approach at the plate; he seems to be locked in this postseason.\u00a0 Mix in scrappy hitters like Pence, Pagan and Scutaro and you have a team that always seems to be scoring timely runs.<\/p>\n Survey Saaaays:<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re in for a real treat with this series!\u00a0 There is a lot to love about both teams. (We loathe the fact that the Giants have home field advantage because Bud Selig is the biggest blow hard in sports and Melky \u201clet me drop the fake website excuse on them\u201d Cabrera was juiced out of his mind during the All Star.\u00a0 Oh and while on the topic of baseball shit that drives us nuts, could someone please explain why the hell Game 7 is schedule to take place in NOVEMBER!\u00a0 This is baseball.\u00a0 BASEBALL.\u00a0 You play baseball in the SUMMER.\u00a0 This series should have been over 2 weeks ago).\u00a0 Anyways, give us the Tigers in six.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And then there were two.\u00a0 I know the entire central time zone will be offended by this (but really, when was the last time anyone gave a shit about the central time zone), but The Machine sure is glad that … Continue reading