The World Series starts tonight, Game 1 in San Francisco as my Detroit Tigers go against the San Francisco Giants, much beloved of Uncle Skip and others.
We'll see if the six days off between dispatching the (stunningly hapless) New York Yankees and the beginning of the next round translates into 'rusty' or 'well-rested'. The same thing happened in 2006, and it didn't work to my Tigers' advantage.
We've got the Best Pitcher in Baseball on the mound for us tonight, and the Best Hitter in Baseball (who just happened to win the Triple Crown this year) playing third base for us. And a few other decent players, besides - our first baseman and center-fielder are pretty darned good, and our other three starting pitchers (NOT named Verlander) are pretty good, too.
That said, the Tigers are far from a perfect team; they're not the '84 Tigers, just cruising through the playoffs on their way to coronation. Beyond the three guys I just mentioned, our hitting has been, uh, sporadic for most of the season, tho a couple guys have decided to get hot at the best possible time; hopefully, they can keep that going for a few more games. Our defense isn't very good, either, but when Verlander and Scherzer are striking guys out by the bushel, that might possibly be less of an issue. And our bullpen has struggled for much of the year; it's a good thing our starters have been so amazing in the post-season, because there's not a lot to inspire confidence once they leave the game.
So we will see. I don't know that much about the Giants, beyond the fact that their pitching might be just as good as ours (Verlander aside). I'm told that young Mr. Posey is quite a ballplayer, and of course, there's the matter of that bases-loaded triple that Mr. Sandoval hit off Verlander in the All-Star game. So I take nothing for granted.
But it's baseball; it's the World Series, and it's the Tigers. I do intend to enjoy the ride. . .
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Watch out for the Giants bullpen. They might be even better than the starters.
ReplyDeleteThe ride is fantastic ...isn't it?
Skip - It's a real fun ride. We don't get to ride it very often, around here, so we gotta enjoy it when it comes around. . .
ReplyDeleteAll of the pre-Series analyses that I've seen say that the bullpen is the Giants' single biggest advantage. So I guess we've gotta kick ass on the starters when we get the chance. . .
all i kow is i was happy to see the yankees go down. i am partial to the phillies for me and the mets and indians for my husband and son (and yes, i know as a phillies fan i a supposed to hate the mets the way he hates the phillies, but i don't). but it boils down to ABY anybody but the yankees. so tigers or giants....either one is fine with me.
ReplyDeleteLime - Hating the Yankees is like an American tradition (unless, you know, you're from the city; or you're a despicable front-runner).
ReplyDeleteI think it's hilarious that Mr. Lime is an Indians fan; I mean, you'd think, if he's just gonna latch onto a team he has no geographic connection to, that he'd pick one with, you know, more of a, uh, winning tradition. I mean, I have a certain fondness for the Cubs, but most of my family lives in Chicago (they're all White Sox fans, but, you know, some things I just can't do).
And my gosh, your Phillies; talk about pitching. I know it was a down year for 'em, but good grief. People talk about the Tigers having a #1 pitcher and three #2's; the Phillies have three #1's. For whatever unfathomable reason, I've always liked the Phillies (Pete Rose notwithstanding). So, you're welcome. . .
And jeez, I don't mind if you really don't care who wins, but when you're commenting here, tell me you're pulling for the Tigers (tell Skip whatever you want). . .
;)
enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteMr. Lime has good taste!
ReplyDelete...errrr... Go TIGERS!!!
ReplyDelete;)
Xavier - I'm tryin', but after last night, it's not so easy. . .
ReplyDeleteBijoux - I was waitin' for you on that one!
Flutter - Thanks; you're very kind. . .