The Giants have home field advantage in this series thanks to All-Star Game MVP Melky Cabrera, who was suspended for PED violations and was left off the Giants playoff roster (his 50 game suspension just ended). The Tigers have the advantage of having swept the Yankees in the previous round, which already feels like was a month ago. The Giants came back from being down 3-1 to the Cardinals, in which they got a shutdown start from Barry Zito and had pitcher RBIs in almost every win.
Team Rankings
Respective league ranks for both teams
| Tigers | Giants | |
| wRC+ | 105 (3rd) | 99 (4th) |
| BSR | -10 (12th) | 5.5 (6th) |
| UZR | -28.1 (13th) | 8.6 (7th) |
| DRS | -32 (13th) | -7 (8th) |
| SP FIP- | 85 (1st) | 102 (10th) |
| RP FIP- | 90 (6th) | 99 (10th) |
It's pretty clear where the Tigers strengths lie. As long as Verlander, Fister, et. al continue to strike out a zillion batters, they won't have to worry too much about the shambolic defense behind them. And who would have thought that the Giants would make their way to the playoffs based on their offense, and not their pitching?
Semi-Regular lineups
wRC+ for each player listed
| Tigers | Giants |
| CF Austin Jackson (135) | CF Angel Pagan (113) |
| LF Quintin Berry (89) | 2B Marco Scutaro (137) |
| 3B Miguel Cabrera (166) | 3B Pablo Sandoval (115) |
| 1B Prince Fielder (153) | C Buster Posey (162) |
| DH Delmon Young (89) | RF Hunter Pence (84) |
| SS Jhonny Peralta (86) | 1B Brandon Belt (116) |
| RF Andy Dirks (133) | LF Gregor Blanco (91) |
| C Alex Avila (104) | SS Brandon Crawford (79) |
| 2B Omar Infante (78) |
Both likely MVP winners face off in this series, which I'm sure tons of writers will point out as evidence that they should be MVPs, or something. The Tigers play a lot of mix and match with their corner OF spots, with Avisail Garcia and Brennan Boesch mixed in relatively regularly. Garcia is a rookie with only 51 PAs in the majors (not including playoffs).
Playoff rotations
Season FIP- listed for each pitcher
Tigers: Justin Verlander (70), Doug Fister (81), Anibal Sanchez (87), Max Scherzer (77)
Giants: Barry Zito (120), Madison Bumgarner (94), Derrek Lee (91), Ryan Vogelsong (99)
Storylines you may or may not care about
TRIPLE CROWN TRIPLE CROWN MVP TRIPLE CROWN CROWN MVP ERARAHGAHFKDHGKAHGKAHKDHFMNXMU
Did you know that Cabera won the Triple Crown this year? You will hear this approximately 10051 more times during this series.
Will the Fox cameras catch Jim Leyland smoking an entire pack of cigarettes between each inning?
In ~1 week, we won't have to hear Tim McCarver's voice for another 5 1/2 months.
In ~1 week, there won't be any more baseball for another 5 1/2 months. That is, unless you follow HP's updates of all the winter leagues down south.
Is there usually this much action before the official end of the season? I was really surprised to hear about that relatively big DBacks trade earlier this week, as well as the Red Sox hiring/trading for Farrell. There's usually a gentlemen's agreement to not conduct business during the postseason, except for maybe some PBTNL type announcements.
Did you know that Cabrera had the best AVG, RBI, and HR in the AL this year. Who knew?!
Prediction
Even if you leave out the difference in results from the previous round, it's hard not to pick the Tigers here. I'll go with Tigers in six.
ZOMFG DEFENSE
The Tigers’ line in funny. Great starting pitching, very good hitting, horrible fielding and baserunning. No surprise, but it’s pretty extreme.
Holy BABIP!
I honestly thought the WS started tomorrow since there wasn’t a preview up (dying laughing)
Wow, Panda
Panda!
Panda is not impressed by Verlander. Wow.
Panda power + Posey —> pissed off Verlander
Panda is batting 1.000/0.000/4.000 so far in the World Series (dying laughing)
(I know hitting a HR adds to OBP but he was never on base, just passing by)
@ WaLi:
He’s on pace for something like 16-28 HR!!!11!one!
@ WaLi:
Hey, home plate counts as a base!
Any thought of pulling Verlander here and bringing him back on Saturday, or is that just dumb?
That was a bloody weird double play.
By the way, Joe, “Pandoval” shirts have been available in the Giants team store for about five years (for much more than $10 a pop, of course).
Just a wee bit of luck for the Giants so far.
@ uncle dave:
Better to be lucky than good
I kind of like the idea of saving Verlander for another day, but the game is still early and close so it might be too early to do that just now. He looks way off though.
(dying laughing), of course. Pitcher RBI seals it.
Wow, Delmon.
SF pitchers must not be a fan of the DH.
Berselius wrote:
i thought this was actually an explicit rule. didn’t the cubs get in hot water for hiring epstein before the playoffs were over last year? or am i just imagining things?
@ uncle dave:
I’m amazed they’re playing him in the outfield. I mean, I know there’s no DH, but it’s not as though his bat is good enough that they have to play him somewhere.
@ Berselius:
I’m pretty sure this is his true World Series talent level
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Maybe they should’ve switched him and Prince Fielder in the field. I would have been extremely amused.
Verlander is out!
Buster Olney:
@ Rice Cube:
He’s not distinguished himself at the plate, either. I’m assuming he has nude pictures of Leyland or something (which must just be terrifying).
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Campana’s put on some weight.
@ Rizzo the Rat:
He was obviously targeting the invisible cutoff man.
This is Zito from a decade ago.
Zito’s really brushing the dust off his clown shoes
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Is that the ALCS MVP?
Holy shit Panda
MVPanda
Holy shit Panda
EnricoPallazzo wrote:
Bud Selig frowned at them, that was about it.
(dying laughing) Berselius and I had same comment.
REG-GIE REG-GIE REG-GIE
Seeing Theriot cheering in the dugout really takes the shine off this excitement (dying laughing)
Al Abuquerque, former Cub
Selig gave the cubs permission to announce hiring of Epstein and he did the same a few years earlier when they hired Lou.
It’s not a rule and Selig doesn’t mind transactions between series.
Berselius wrote:
True.
@ mb21:
This just confirms my suspicion that all the blog authors are part of one hive mind.
@ Berselius:
Kevin Elster would not have been my first guess.
@ Rizzo the Rat:
You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
The 2012 Cubs!!!one!
@ uncle dave:
Yeah, I have no idea who would be a good guess for that one (dying laughing)
Bonds probably could have done it if he wasn’t walked in 1/3 of his at bats (dying laughing)
@ WaLi:
That kid deserved it.
@ Berselius:
Barry Manilow.
So today Bruce Levine was pontificating about the Cubs trying to acquire Josh Johnson. What would it cost to get him? Or can the Cubs just take on all the salary and give them Lendy Castillo?
Similarly I wonder if the Cubs could swap something for Lincecum’s last year of his contract…I just don’t think Timmy is done yet.
@ WaLi:
@ Rice Cube:
Lincecum makes $22 million so the Giants should be happy if the Cubs would take him off their hands and give them some money. I’d be all for that if the Giants kicked in about $6-8 million, which I doubt they’d do.
@ mb21:
How about if they send us Lincecum and a prospect and no money?
@ BVS:
I had forgotten I read this recently: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/velocity-trends-and-pitchers-to-watch-in-2013/
Lincecum lost nearly 2 mph in velocity this season and 91% of the pitchers who lose more than 1 mph lose an average of 1.6 mph the following year. Unless the Giants want to send the Cubs at least half of what Lincecum is being paid, I’d stay away. Even then I’d probably still stay away. He’s very likely going to get worse.
@ mb21:
That’s a bummer. Maybe he just needs more vitamins.
/wink wink nudge nudge
@ mb21:
Hey, but he’s a special case! #everyregressionargumentever
Come on Panda.
@ Rice Cube:
I’ve never been so disappointed by a line drive single before tonight.
Aisle, we have 2 cocker spaniels on our shelf that my wife hasn’t decided what to do with, even after 3-5 years. They are in plastic biohazard boxes, even though they aren’t biohazards, as far as I know. Guess we know how to do presentation in PR.
Anyway, ashes with plants are tricky because ashes have high pH and unless a plant (house plant?) is in acid soil, the ashes won’t help, unless added with a buffer. You can buy a buffer if you want. So if Schultz had a house plant he liked to eat, you could mix him in there.
Alternately, it might be worth it to consider some place that may not be so symbolic of Schultz’s life, but fits in with something else important to you, or to spread him somewhere that will trigger happy memories in the future. For example, maybe there is a restaurant that has some special meaning to you and putting Schultz under the trees outside will let you say, “Hey Schultz,” whenever you have dinner there. Or a bus stop, or park bench, etc. Doesn’t have to be a fancy spot, just somewhere you pass by sometimes where Schultz can trigger a “Remember the time that Schultz did —- ” memory. Eventually those will be more common than the feeling of loss.
You can mix ashes with concrete, so if you own your condo and are thinking about new concrete countertops, hearth, or something like this, I suppose you could mix Schultz there. We’ve never been able to keep our cat off the counters, despite our efforts. It would be appropriate in our case.
@ BVS:
We buried our cocker spaniel’s ashes at my in-laws’ house with the rest of her family’s dogs. It took almost two years to do because usually the only time we’re home is at Christmas, and the ground is too frozen to dig. We’d rather have buried him back in WI but it didn’t feel right to bury him in some place that we were going to move away from in the next few months. If we could have snuck a shovel in we would have buried him at the big city dog park (his favorite place) but somehow I don’t think the city would be happy with that.
@ mb21:
What if SF packaged Lincecum with Chris Stratton and/or Joe Panik and no money for some C-level Cubs prospect?
Surely Lincecum can do better than Chris Volstad did.
Is Bochy a HOF manager?
I guess you take no chances, but I wonder why you don’t just let Kontos waste his arm now instead of later.
That was a recent ass-kicking I enjoyed.
@ mb21:
If the post-season is any indication, Lincecum’s real future is in long relief.
Honestly, I’d love to see the return of the Hoyt Wilhelm-esque relief ace who throws over 100 innings a year.
I love the “too much time off” argument for why the Tigers lost.
@ jtsunami:
Personally I blame, in no particular order…
1. Verlander grooving batting practice pitches to Panda;
2. Insane luck as the Giants stole the Cardinals voodoo;
3. Barry fucking Zito
PacNW in the fall. I am always wet. This will last until June.
@ jtsunami:
Had they won the argument would have been because of the time off. (dying laughing)
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/barry-zitos-cumulative-value-after-those-gems/
If he gets destroyed in a potential Game Five this entire article is invalidated…it’s fun to play with numbers though, I guess.
Trivia Question: Which is greater, Panda’s reported weight or his WPA last night x 1000
False.
Although Panda looks like he is over 269 lbs, his reported weight is only 240, making his WPA of .269 x 1000 greater than his weight.
@ WaLi:
Was surprised to see that Panda’s WPA was that low all things considered, but I guess Zito’s unusually good performance had a lot to do with it, plus Scutaro’s hit preceding Panda’s homer also ate up a huge chunk of WPA.
Holy shit, that’s some rotten luck for the Duncan family. At least it still seems like they caught it in time.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/25/former-cardinals-outfielder-chris-duncan-overcoming-brain-tumor/
Players with 3 HR in a postseason game
Babe Ruth (NYY) – Game 4, 1926 WS
Babe Ruth (NYY) – Game 4, 1928 WS
Bob Robertson (Pit) – Game 2, 1971 NLCS
Reggie Jackson (NYY) – Game 6, 1977 WS
George Brett (KC) – Game 3, 1978 ALCS
Adam Kennedy (ANA) – Game 5, 2002 ALCS
Adrian Beltre (Tex) – Game 4, 2011 ALDS
Albert Pujols (StL) – Game 3, 2011 WS
Pablo Sandoval (SF) – Game 1, 2012 WS
One of these things is not like the other
Berselius wrote:
STEROIDZ
@ Rice Cube:
I was too, I expected him to have a .500 WPA (dying laughing)
Is anyone here as knowledgeable about liquor as we all seem to be about beer? I have a question.
akabari wrote:
Not nearly as much as beer, but throw it out there. One of us drunks probably knows the answer (dying laughing)
@ akabari:
Too bad oog isn’t around anymore, IIRC he knew his whiskeys
Yeah for once it isn’t whiskey. Its a rum question. Last year my brother brought me some rum from then virgin islands that was incredibly spicy, kind of sweet and SUPER over proof. Like make my whole apartment reek of booze just from opening the bottle (dying laughing). Turned out to be amazing for fall punches, warm apple cider…etc. Anyone know of a good spiced over proof rum so it doesn’t taste like sugar syrup ala 151?
I’ve used Panama Red in warm ciders and it was pretty good. I’m not big on spiced rum, though. I’ll usually use brandy, bourbon or a smokey scotch in warm cider. Or, if I’m using rum, I’ll just pour in some cheap dark rum like Myers.
Well, Everclear is the obvious answer although you probably knew that and it’s not rum. Everclear has pretty much no flavor so that is a good option if you are worried about the sugary taste of rum.
Also, are you looking for light or dark rum?
MLBTR suggests that the Angels won’t pick up Haren’s option, especially if they get Greinke
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/10/offseason-outlook-los-angeles-angels.html
@ jtsunami:
Dark. Definitely dark. And ever clear, while a good idea, may kill me (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
Also I’ve never thought of bourbon in cider. Hmm… might have to try both.
Any other essential fall drinks?
This is a brilliant idea and must be done soon. To ebay!
@ akabari:
It’s called “butt-chugging,” and yes, you should stop.
@ Rice Cube:
My friends and I still play this at parties. We don’t do the “must come to a complete stop” to drink rule though, we just mandate you cannot have your hands on your beer and your controller at the same time (one or the other). So basically any time you get hit, you pound as much beer as you can in those 2 seconds while your car is in the air. Have I mentioned that I’m almost 30?
We also don’t have the inexplicable misogyny towards Peach either, but to each his own I guess. (dying laughing)
Is there a list somewhere of recent MLB draft picks who signed 40 man roster contracts?
First person who writes http://www.recentmlbdraftpickswhosigned40manrostercontracts.com gets kicked in the taint.
@ GBTS:
http://www.mlbdraftpickswhosigned40manrostercontractsthatirecentlyenjoyed.com
@ GBTS:
I really do wish I had the N64 still. Mario Kart Wii is fun but it isn’t the same.
Also, whoever designed the beer version of Battleship was a genius.
@ Rice Cube:
It seems like those should either be filled with whiskey or be full pints of beer.
Also, if my wife weren’t pregnant, we’d play the mario kart drinking game immediately. She always kicks my ass on Kart, but I think if she were drunk, I would still lose horribly.
@ mikeakaleroy:
Royal Raceway is a good one because you can chug while mid air on the big bridge. Luigi Raceway is the worst because it’s like a 90 second race. (dying laughing)
@ mikeakaleroy:
I bet she uses Peach, too.
(I keed, I keed)
@ GBTS:
You can use some strategy on Luigi Raceway. Just shotgun the beer as fast as you can and then pedal to the metal so you don’t have to stop before the last lap to drink, right?
Fielding Bible award winners, including Darwin Barney:
http://www.actasports.com/stats_detail/?StatId=345
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/index.php?cyear=2013&team=HOU&pos=
(dying laughing)
@ GBTS:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/index.php?cyear=2017&team=LAN&pos=
@ GBTS:
Double bonus (dying laughing) for almost all of that money going to a guy who isn’t even on the team.
@ Mish:
He should win the gold glove too. I know a lot of Cubs fans will riot when I say this, but Barney is the best defensive 2nd baseman I’ve seen on the Cubs.
@ mb21:
I disagree; no one will riot because no one will care what you say. (dying laughing)
But I agree with you.
@ mb21:
We should ask SK if he’s better than Evers.
@ Mish:
I hope that isn’t the reason he won…
@ mb21:
He should, but at least the guy who is going to win it (Phillips) is no slouch either.
@ GBTS:
Total Zone says Evers saved 26 runs in 1907, so he was close.
@ Rizzo the Rat:
I didn’t even know they cared about that stuff back then.
To compare apples to apples, Darwin Barney’s Total Zone Rating was only 16. So, 1970 Evers > 2012 Barney.
Rizzo the Rat wrote:
ZOMBIE EVERS
@ Rice Cube:
I’m sure the long-dead corpse of Evers was a better hitter than Barney, at least.
ANyone know if there is a live feed on this game? Too lazy to go upstairs.
@ josh:
firstrowsports dot eu ?
bahleeted
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Evers was a little before my time.
(dying laughing) @ Detroit TOOTBLAN fucking up their inning
That’s gonna leave a mark…
@ josh:
vipbox[dot]tv
@ Rice Cube:
Says it needs Stream Torrent. Is that a major security risk?
@ BVS:
Don’t download ST. Go to vipbox[dot]tv, they have Flash feeds you can stream.
Why are his pants down? Getting a hand jibber in at the old ballgame?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Thanks. That’s what I usually use. Thought I’d try the other if it was good, but anything with Torrent is suspect to me.
Sorry about that…unless you find a direct flash feed I wouldn’t use the firstrow site. Torrents scare me.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
No idea. I’m surprised I don’t see more wardrobe malfunctions with the way some dudes “wear” their pants.
@ BVS:
My thought exactly.
Smyly has no idea where his pitches are going
Blanco —–> 1000000 point bunt
Awful swing by Theriot.
Crawford illustrates why it is important to make outs by putting the ball in play, rather than strike out. Me hates Ks.
God Theriot is an asshole even when he strikes out.
@ BVS:
I would’ve been pissed earlier in the game, but this late I think I’ll take it as win expectancy >> run expectancy now.
The best part about carving a pumpkin are the pumpkin seeds.
I wish the Taco Bell closest to me wasn’t in the demilitarized zone.
@ WaLi:
Your pumpkin makes me want to get high and listen to “Uncle John’s Band”
That was a recent game I enjoyed.
Baseball.
@ Rice Cube:
The giants scored two runs and the tigers had no errors yet there was only one RBI scored by a Giants player
@ WaLi:
Giants won. You ain’t gonna bring me down, fun sucker.
@ Rice Cube:
I just thought that was interesting. I never knew that if you get a GIDP and a run scores, you don’t get an RBI.
Even the non-stat fags had some understanding of the RE chart. They knew that if you have a runner on 1st and 3rd with no outs or bases loaded with no outs, you should score more than one run (RE = 1.853 and 2.390 respectively) so they decided not to help the player add to the almighty R+RBI stat.
Scoring that run actually brought down the WP by 2.5% (dying laughing)
@ WaLi:
I looked that up after the fact and realized that Leyland made a smart decision. It’s really too bad that Fatass sucks at baserunning and the rest of the Tigers offense couldn’t do anything.
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/season-review-starlin-castro.html
Im late maybe ill get here on time next time? Leyland definitely made a smart decision, I agree with @Rice cube