The Tigers Are Down 3-0

The Tigers are down 3-0 in the 2012 World Series and could be swept if they lose tonight.  Their toughest challenge is tonight to not only avoid being swept but to beat Matt Cain.  The offense needs to wake up and score or else the team is doomed.  if the Tigers win tonight, they could easily win Game 5 and if they win Game 6, which isn’t impossible even though it will be hard, it’s a 3-3 tie, just like that and Game 7 anything can happen like Kevin Millar would say.  The only team in the history of the MLB to come back to win a postseason series down 3-0 were the 2004 Red Sox in the ALCS.  IF any team has a shot though, it’s this team.  They have the pitching that can do it and a built for winning four straight games with their offense.  The offense hasn’t been there but it could really show up at any time, one break or momentum changer and the hitters in this line-up could go off.  I expect a much better performance from Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder for sure tonight and I’d watch out for Jackson and Infante.  If this game is close and Berry is up, I’d pinch hit Garcia.  Garcia has proven he is more deserving of the at-bat.  The Tigers should at least win one game in this series if anything and they should protect their home field that has been good to them this year.  This team is talented and chances are very slim, but who knows with these Tigers.

Can The Tigers Comeback?

Yes, a team has come back from a 2-0 on the road and even though the Giants are a good road team, the Tigers are an even better home team and their pitching the next three games is better too.  Plus, the Tigers offense can’t be held to zeros forever and Cabrera, Fielder, and Young along with the rest of the team can hit so much better at Comerica.  I see the Tigers awakening and the Giants haven;t been in this position, so I see their chances of choking going way up.  Plus, home crowd is a huge factor in a game and the one at Comerica is going to help the Tigers a lot.  I expect to see more contributions from every Tigers player these next three games and I honestly think they will go 3-0 in the next 3.  Anibal should twirl a great game that is great and I think Scherzer can follow with an even better game.  i think the Tigers chances of coming back are greater than ever right now and my gut has this feeling that they will, but if they lose tonight they are more than likely done barring a small miracle.  The Tigers need to get off to quick starts in these games too, but they can do it,  This Tigres team in talented and special and could easily comeback and be one of the better teams in franchise history and in the past decade.  They can do something special, but the Giants are going to put up a fight even though I think the Tigers can beat up on them.
Updated Predictions
Game 3: Tigers 11 Giants 1
Game 4: Tigers 6 Giants 4
Game 5: Tigers 4 Giants 3

PS: Watch out for Andy Dirks and Peralta and maybe even Avila

Ranking The Starter Pitchers In The World Series

1. Justin Verlander
2. Matt Cain
3. Doug Fister
4. Max Scherzer
5. Madison Bumgarner
6. Anibal Sanchez
7. Ryan Vogelsong
8. Barry Zito
9. Tim Lincecum

The Tigers ae putting Scherzer up against Cain in Game 4, and that will probably be the best non-Game 7 match-up the rest of the series because of the fact Scherzer does well at home and has been hot and can face up pretty good against Cain.  the Tigers starters are better but both of these teams have A type starting pitching staffs.  Sanchez will put up some good innings and numbers tonight after a great outing against the Yankees, where he shut them down, but any of these game could be pitching duels with any of these starters.  They’re a group of All-Stars.  EDGE: Tigers

World Series H2H 2012 and Prediction

Catcher: Buster Posey vs Alex Avila- Avila is good and could make some impact or big plays, but Posey is the NL MVP at this point  EDGE: Posey
1B: Brandon Belt vs Prince Fielder-Belt might hit a HR, Prince has a better chance of hitting 5 before Belt gets 1  EDGE: Fielder
2B: Marco Scutaro vs Omar Infante- They are similar players, but Scutaro is hot and hitting very well, Infante could do well but not as well as Marco  EDGE: Scutaro
3B: Pablo Sandoval vs Miguel Cabrera: Both could be the team’s top hitter, but the Triple Crown winner gets the nod by a lot.  EDGE: Cabrera
SS: Brandon Crawford vs Jhonny Peralta: Crawford has a defensive edge but Peralta is playing out of his mind on both sides of the ball EDGE: Peralta
LF: Gregor Blanco vs Delmon Young- Blanco has been slumping lately and even with speed and being a singles hitter Delmon could change the whole series with his power and has been lately  EDGE: Young
CF: Angel Pagan vs Austin Jackson- Jackson has been so good all year-long and so has Pagan but I will take the Jackson in the battle of leadoff hitters because an advantage on defense and hitting  EDGE: Jackson
RF: Hunter Pence vs Andy Dirks- Pence was slumping but has really come out of it and should have a good series, Dirks has just hit all year but he loses the talent battle to Pence for now  EDGE: Pence
DH/PH/Bench: Tigers win with a better bench to select players from

SP1: Justin Verlander vs Barry Zito- No explanation needed, even with Rally Zito  EDGE: Verlander
SP2: Doug Fister vs Madison Bumgarner- Bumgarner has struggled lately and Fister hasn’t EDGE: Fister
SP3: Ryan Vogelsong vs Anibal Sanchez: Both have been so fantastic to this point with their different pitching styles EDGE: Tie
SP4: Matt Cain vs Max Scherzer- I really want to take Scherzer but Cain is just better  EDGE: Cain

Bullpen: Giants, even thought the Tigers only problem now is Valverde, the Giants have a stacked bullpen
Manager: Bruce Bouchy vs Jim leyaldn_ Botha re GREAT manager but Leyland seems more prepared EDGE: Leyland
Totals: SF 6  DET 10

Series Prediction: Tigers in 5
Game 1: Tigers win 6-2
Game 2: Giants win 4-3
Game 3 : Tigers win 6-5
Game 4: Tigers win 11-2
Game 5: Tigers win 7-4
MVP: 3B Miguel Cabrera

Are The Tigers World Series Favorites?

All of the teams that could have made the World Series this year are so closely matched, in almost every way, it’s kind of amazing.  The Tigers would have been easy favorites over the Cardinals but now they face the tough Giants, who refuse to die.  The Giants have been down 2-0 and 3-1 in two separate series and have cam back to win them, they will be tough.  The Tigers will be too.  I’ve heard either team being labeled as a favorite, and I don’t think the layoff will affect the Tigers.  The Giants have all of the right ingredients to win, but I think the Tigers are slight favorites over the Giants because of their talent.  They are hot and Cabrera and Fielder are ready to do damage.  This seems like it could be a classic, to close to call series between the Tigers and Giants, and it probably will be.  The Tigers just seem like the better team to me.  Both teams are going to be fun to watch and their pitching matches up too.The Tigers will be in their first series since 2006 and the Giants since 2010.  Both are tough teams and earned their pennents.  The Tigers can close ou the Gaints though and hhit their pitching most of the time.  I’ll give the Tigers a 60% chance in the World Sries.

Tigers Starting Rotation For The 2012 World Series Is Set

How I’d set it up

1. Verlander
2. Fister
3. Scherzer
4. Verlander/Sanchez (JV would be my number one option barring rest not being a big deal)
5. Sanchez/Fister (Rather Sanchez start)
6. Fister/Scherzer (Fister is my first choice)
7. Verlander

Verlander can go on 3 days rest once, maybe twice but the Tigers would defiantly be smart to keep him for Game 7.  I’d rather Verlander make three starts, but sometimes it’s impossible.

The Real Deal So Far

1. Verlander
2. Fister
3. Scherzer
4. Sanchez

I doubt Leyland will pitch Verlander more than twice, he’s just not that kind of manager and that’s fine, we can still win with these four great arms.  Verlander’s second start should be chosen very wisely, especially with the postseason he has had.  Verlander is great for Game 1 since he has improved a 100x this postseason and should take care of his business.  Fister is good to go Game 2, since he is good in the playoffs and has done well on the road and Scherzer in Game 3, since he has been the Tigers best starter behind Verlander and Game 3 is a huge game.  Let’s not forget Sanchez either, he’s a durable righty who can hold any offense most days that the Tigers get to throw out there for a game.  The Tigers rotation is fine regardless and the way Leyland is handling for the Tigers eleventh World Series is great.

NOTE: Valverde struggled again in a simulated game today, if he continues to struggle, Coke should close in the World Series and Smyly be used for all our lefty needs.  Also, I think Brennan Boesch should be on the World Series roster, but he can’t strike out like hr did in the simulated game.  Last, Avila hit a HR and I’ll be amd if he doesn’t start 3 of the first 4 games at least.

NLCS Preview 2012: Cardinals vs Giants

Prediction: Giants in 7
his will be a good series and I could see either team repeating what they did to get to the World Series in 2010 for San Francisco and 2011 for St. Louis and there is so many great players who could make their mark this series.
Head To Head
C: Buster Posey vs Yadier Molina-Posey- The top two catchers in the league, but Posey is better
1B: Brandon Belt vs Allen Craig-Craig-Belt is good and could hit a big HR or two but Craig will help more
2B: Marco Scutaro vs Daniel Descalso-Scutaro-It’s close but I’ll take the more experienced guy
3B: Pablo Sandoval vs David Freese-Freese-Regular season it would take Sandoval, but postseason is Freese
SS: Brandon Crawford vs Pete Kozma-Kozma-Both are close but Kozma has come through more in the clutch and on offense, Crawford could play a big defensive role
LF: Gregor Blanco vs Matt Holliday-Holliday-Blanco has been great so far for replacing Cabrera but he doesn’t match Holliday
CF: Angel Pagan vs Jon Jay-Pagan-I think Pagan is going to have a big series and wins, but not to take anything away from Jay
RF: Hunter Pence vs Carlos Beltran-Beltran-It’s so close but Beltran has been so good in OCtober his whole career and that’s not going to change
Rotation: Giants, Cain and Bumgarner are going to be the Giants two guys to go to and there aren’t many that are better and the Cardinals is good and Carpenter is cold, not bad but just an ice in his veins type of pitcher whose great and better in the playoffs but Wainwright ahs gotten bombed and there isn’t as much behind them
Bullpen: Giants, barely
Manager: Bruce Bochy vs Mike Matheny: Bochy

KEYS
ST LOUIS: Keep up their recent postseason success and eat up the pitchers in the late innings
SAN FRANCISCO:DO not fall behind in the series and don’t take a break once you have a lead, go hard the whole series

GRADES:       SF     STL
Starters           A-      B+
Relievers        B        B-
Line-Up          B-      B+
Bench              B-      B-

LINE-UP: The catchers could control this series with Molina and Posey being both great defensive catchers who can handle these experienced staffs and get the big, key clutch hit to win the game.  Beltran and Freese should be the biggest performers for the Cards and Holliday hits the Giants decently.  For the Giants, Sandoval has been their man all year.  Also, the Giants outfield will help a to, like they did in 2012.  Offense will be back and forth in this series and each game a new hero could be made like Belt or Kozma and all the guys on both sides will help at some point.  These offenses are pretty good.

PITCHING: The Giants pitchers have been great. Cain is one of the best pitchers in baseball, Bumgarner is on his way and both can pitch decent in the playoffs and we know Cain can win a game where it’s win or go home.  Vogelsong has also proven he is no joke and he will prove himself in the postseason and his stats are good and Zito has postseason experience and though he may not be great, he could put up a game where he keeps the Giants in it and could just pitch are really great game at some point in the series.  Romo and Casilla are two of the best late the past few years and I’d be scared to face Romo and Lincecum is pitching great since the postseason has started.  The Cards have Carpenter who, as I explained is better and Wainwright and Lohse who despite their great season could struggle a bit and their stats could look a bit different after the series.  Edward Mujica has been a great pick-up not allowing many runners to cross the plate.  Lynn has been giving up too many HR for their bullpen and Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller are young but could step up.  Their closer, who had 42 saves, Jason Motte is going to be almost automatic in save situations.

STAT TO NOTE: 32 vs 18- The numbers of runs in the NLDS by the Cards and Giants respectively, it could look different with the Giants pitching and luck but that’s a big difference

Yankee Lose Jeter

The Yankees offense is falling apart.  Rodriguez and Swisher are ice-cold and now Derek Jeter is hurt and he may not be the Yankees best player anymore but he is a postseason legend and always hits for them and he is almost irreplaceable while in the middle of a late career surge season.  Alex Rodriguez needs to step up for sure now and he just may a little, but he tends to choke and I wouldn’t bet against that either.  The big deal is that Jeter is a great leadoff hitter and even though Ichiro can fill that role being good but less productive it creates a hole somewhere else in the line-up and now Russell Martin is hitting fifth which isn’t good for the Yankees.  It also gives the Tigers an edge at shortstop and some momentum and makes winning this series look even harder for the Yankees.  Now Jayson Nix and Eduardo Nunez are playing short and they are not only a huge downgrade all-around but other than having some power probably won’t hit much a t all and their defense is shaky at best.  Losing Jeter and his WAR of 3.2 will hurt the Yankees this series and his a huge dent for them.  The offense really has to step up to make the loss of Jeter as minimal as possible.  Jeter will come back next year and I expect to see him in another postseason doing good just like he always has.

The Tigers Ninth Inning For The ALCS

The past three games the Tigers pitchers have given up eight runs, of those eight the Tigers closer since 2010, Jose Valverde has given up every single one of those runs, except one.  He literally is the problem for the Tigers right now.  Valverde has been good to the Tigers in 2010 and 2011 but he has had a massive collapse this year and it’s almost crazy how it happened and how in the playoffs it’s at its worst and changing closers in the postseason never happens, but after Valverde’s last two outings I think he has blown his job.  The Tigers have a good bullpen right now besides him and lots of other guys could close out the rest of the postseason.  What I’d do is pt Octavio Dotel as closer since he has postseason experience and I’d keep Benoit in his role because he is doing just fine there minus his home runs given up.  Al Albuquerque is another option but I don;t think putting him in that role in this situation his a good idea.  I’d keep Valverde as a mop up guy for now and if the Tigers are winning by a ton or losing a game that is out of reach for sure put him in.  If the Tigers keep Valverde in the role I think he will rebound somewhat and could get a save or two but he is still at high risk for blowing them.  He has good stuff, but it’s not working for him right now and he needs to figure out, but the Tigers can’t afford another blown save this series, so if they keep Valverde in there the Tigers are taking a big risk.  Valverde will be a lot better if he can get movement on his pitches like his fastball, but he could make that adjustment anytime.

MLB Pick’em 10/13/12 and Updated Predictions

Tigers over Yankees 6-4
Fister does grerat and Tigers geta ahold of Pettitte some while Cabrera breaks out

ALCS: Tigers in 7 (maybe in 6)
NLCS: Giants in 7
World Series: Tigers in 6