Tuesday, October 23, 2012

FALL CLASSIC




The stage is finally set for this years fall classic as the San Fransisco Giants gave the St. Louis Cardinals a dose of their own medicine and staved off elimination for the sixth consecutive time. 

The scrappy Giants will now face the power arms and bats of the Detroit Tigers this Wednesday evening.

The well rested Tigers, having just swept the inept New York Yankees, will turn to the world's most intimidating pitcher in game one, Justin Verlander.  He has been almost untouchable this postseason and seems to get better with every outing. 

He has a unique ability to get stronger as the innings and pitches mount.  It is not uncommon to see him throw a fastball in the 90's in the first inning and clock it at 100 in the 9th inning.  Verlander, right,  is pure power. 

The rotation for Detroit is set as manager Jim Leyland has stated all along he will use his regular four man rotation, with Anibal Sanchez, Matt Scherzer, and Doug Fister and then see how the series plays out if there are any tweaks. 

This is not the case with the Giants.  They will use Barry Zito in game one and then after that it is a toss up.  If Zito can build off his series turning performance like he had in the NLCS game 5 this would be a huge bonus for San Fran.   

The Giants also have gotten great outings from their other starters like Matt Cain last night and two great outings from well traveled Ryan Vogelsong.  They really though need a rebirth of sorts from the former "Freak" Tim Lincecum, pictured below.

The man lead the league in strikeouts for three consecutive years, '08, '09, '10, and has been a Cy Young award winner.  This season has been a total roller coaster and if he can get back to 80-90% of his past performance the Giants will be tough to beat.  It doesn't sit with just the starting rotation for these clubs.

Lincecum has done well in the bullpen too but we will see going forward where he ends up. 


Each teams bullpen could come down to whether or not either of these teams take the title or not. 

Detroit has struggled in the playoffs in having their games closed out.  Using the term "closer" almost seems funny as they are not closing anything but are really "gently shutting" the door on teams. 

Jose Valverde, who was once a dominate closer, has been all over the place and almost seems to be "waiting" for something to happen.  Rather than taking the stance that nothing will happen. 

He has gotten roughed up in the past rounds and Jim Leyland has stated he is still his guy but hasn't gone back to him.  Leyland has "had a Coke and a smile" since going to lefty Phil Coke to end the game.  He has been a bit shaky but has gotten the job done. 

This could be a real issue going forward if the Giants can keep games close and force Leyland to take his starters out for his relievers.
 
The Giants, on the other hand, have been quite stellar in the finishing of games department.  They have a very good closer in Sergio Romo, right.  He is a sort of poor man's Brian Wilson.  He has the strong arm, huge beard, and a quirkiness that makes closers unique.  He revels in the opportunity to crush a teams hopes and help his team be victorious. 

Having security in your teams ability to get outs 25, 26, and 27 make the difference between being a World Series champion and a team sitting at home admiring Erin Andrews on Fox.

The position players for both Detroit and San Fran are an interesting group as well.  The Tigers of course are anchored by Miguel Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner since 1967 who will need to be his usual self in order for the Tigers to stay effective.  He will be protected in the line up by Prince Fielder and Delmon Young, the ALCS MVP.

A very formidable group in the heart of the Tiger line up. 



Cabrera and Fielder are a huge assets to the Tigers as they both play in the field not limiting their usual offense as the transition to National League rules and no DH.  In years past, teams have struggled to get their best hitters in the lineup without sacrificing their fielding abilities and having them in the lineup daily both hitting and fielding is a plus for Detroit.  

Delmon is able to play the field as well and shouldn't cost the Tigers anything from a defensive standpoint either.  He is definitely no David Ortiz who the Red Sox in years past dealt with his offensive prowess over his defensive liabilities.  

The Giants are led by NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro, Pablo Sandoval, and Buster Posey.  The first two gentlemen have carried the Giants when their backs were against the wall in these playoffs. 

This would not have been the case earlier in the year when Melky Cabrera was their best player and winning All-Star game MVP and helping the National League secure home field advantage.  This is a stupid use of the exhibition, that is for another day, but it benefits the Giants now.

Then a funny thing happened on the way to their second half of the season.

Melky was caught using PED's and bam he is gone for 50 games.  His suspension ended at the beginning of the playoffs but the team didn't want him back.

Chemistry was at an all time high and they didn't want to mess up a good thing. 

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

The actions of the Giants have been wonderful in the wake of this issue and the team almost feeds off of negativity and those who are against them.

Scutaro was demolished in the NLCS when Holliday ran him over on a force out attempt and he bounced back with 14 hits and a .500 batting average.  If he can continue this push and attitude coupled with the backing from Kung Fu Panda himself Sandoval the Giants will do well.

They need Posey to hit like the .336 hitter he was in the regular season.  He is a likely MVP of the National League and he needs to perform like it.  He has been on this stage before and so have some of his teammates.  He isn't a rookie anymore like in 2010 and it will be difficult against the power arms of Detroit.  

I think the difference maker could be lefty Brandon Belt.  He showed some flashes against the Cardinals with some shots to right center and a home run in game 7.  Might be a big contributor with the amount of righties coming at them in this series.

The ultimate winner of this game will come down to who is hot and who is not at the right times.

The Tigers have been off for a number of days and have even called in their internationnal team to keep the team fresh and not complacent.

The Giants are hot and the momentum is building with three straight wins in convincing fashion.

This group of Giants have that "it" factor that really makes a team.  It is a combination of chemistry and talent that wins championships.

They were able to win in 2010 with the same sort of team.  Manager Bruce Bochy is a master with this kind of team.

Fe Fi Fo Fum...

these Giants smell the blood of a Tigerman.

And they will eat them up in 7 games.





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