Power Rankings: 5/5/13

1. Tigers
2. Cardinals
3. Rangers
4. Red Sox
5. Braves
6. Giants
7. Yankees
8. Royals
9. Reds
10. Rockies
11. Athletics
12. Nationals
13. Orioles
14. Diamondbacks
15. Pirates
16. Rays
17. Dodgers
18. Mariners
19. Phillies
20. Indians
21. Brewers
22. Mets
23. Twins
24. White Sox
25. Padres
26. Cubs
27. Angels
28. Blue Jays
29. Marlins
30. Astros

Giants Re-Sign Angel Pagan

The San Francisco Giants have re-signed Angel Pagan to a 4-year, 40 Million dollar contract.  Now, Pagan is a great player and tends to fly under the radar and he helped the Giants win the World Series and in the postseason by his work last year, but I think this deal is one year too much and a little bit too much money.  Pagan will be a great hitter agin next year for the Giants though.  He m not repeat his numbers and play exactly but it should be close and the Giants need him to try to repeat their success from 2012, as Pagan was a key part.  The Giants also couldn’t live without his speed, his stolen bases and triples at the top of the order helped them a lot.  They also too him off the market as a great and cheap option in center field for NL rivals.  The first two years should be good because he should repeat most of his 2012 success but the last two years may not look as good, but the Giants did what they needed to do in getting him back, and it’s a pretty good deal all-around.  Pagan is a key signing for the Giants and I like how he played last year a lot for them, they’re the best fit for each other it seems and he should do a good job overall for the Giants, especially in 2013.

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.

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

MLB Postseason Pick’em: 10/14/12

Tigers over Yankees 7-6
I know I said NYY would win Game 2 and it will be close but I see losing Jeter as a big factor in this game and the Tugers slugging away ln Kuroda
Giants over Cardinals 6-3
The Giants won Game 1 of the NLCS in 2010 and I expecta repeat of that, the home crowd will help while their pitching does what it does and they win a big Game 1

MLB Pick’em 10/9/12

Giants over Reds 5-4
Still think that the Giants will pull out one win
Tigers over Athletics 11-4
Tigers bats get hot is what I think will happen and Anibal is just getting hoter, but the A’s are tough

Under The Radar Players To Watch this Postseason

CARDINALS: Daniel Descalso- He can play defense that for sure but he’s under pressure as he is getting more playing time with Rafael Furcal getting hurt and though he may not breakout and be a hero, he could be a key factor for the Cardinals if he hits well, and could be one of the big reasons they advance, if they beat the Nats and if he gets going in the playoffs the Cardinals could really start rolling.  I expect him to do well, but it really depends on if the Nationals pitchers are on or choke a bit.
NATIONALS: Ryan Zimmerman- The Nats best hitter had waited since 2005 to get the chance and he’s too good of a player not to put up some good numbers or help his team, and maybe have a legendary postseason.  Even if the Nats get eliminated I expect him to do good and if they make a run i think he will get better and batter as the playoffs go on.
REDS: The Outfield I could pick Votto but we know he will hit well and be a hard out, I think the whole outfield will be worth watching the postseason with the Reds.  Jay Bruce is the best, most powerful and talented player out of the bunch and could easily power his way into the record books.  Ryan Ludwick is off to a hot start and should keep that up along with his power.  Heisey could do well in his spots and Stubbs should hit a lot better than he did in the regular season.  They may not be legendary this postseason but they could help a lot
GIANTS: Pablo Sandoval- He will hit for this team and provide some power, and I can see him coming through in the big situations this postseason.  The Giants will do well as a whole if they do good, but Sandoval could very well be their best hitter this postseason
YANKEES: Ichiro Suzuki- He finally gets his chance to be a postseason hero and with his track record, I expect a lot of hits for him this postseason, and some of them being really big ones.  The Yankees would be smart keeping him in the two spot.
ORIOLES: Manny Machado- He gave the Os’ the spark to finish off their improbable season and he might be to the Orioles what Miguel Cabrera was to the 2003 Marlins, that extra piece.  It’ hard to pick from this team since most of these guys found their spot all at the right time kind of like the 2010 Giants did, but Machado needs to help lead them on all sides of the ball, regardless of age.
TIGERS: Avisail Garcia- Speaking of Miguel Cabrera, this guy could really put his name on the national map.  He has power he hasn’t shown yet but his big way of helping the Tigers this postseason is on defense and getting hits at the bottom of the order.  I think he can do a lot of big things.
ATHLETICS: Yoenis Cespedes- He’s a five tool player and a showcase, he can help the A’s any way and he is by far the best player on their team.  He could turn in more performances like Game 2 in the ALDS.  He is by far the A’s best player.

Can Only Add To Legacy and Just Might
Tigers: Miguel Cabrera
Athletics: Too Young
Yankees: Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano
Orioles: Jim Thome
Cardinals: David Freese
Nationals: Jayson Werth
Reds: Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips
Giants: Buster Posey

X-Factors To Doing Well
Reds: Aroldis Chapman
Giants: Ryan Vogelsong
Nationals: Bryce Harper
Cardinals: Jon Jay
Tigers: Jhonny Peralta
Athletics: Brandon Moss
Yankees: Rafael Soriano
Orioles: JJ Hardy