Giants-Tigers World Series Preview

The Detroit Tigers ended the regular season with the 7^th best winning percentage in the American League. To compound the issue, they achieved only the 7^th best record even though they played the Indians, Royals and Twins 455 54 times. All this would lead you to believe the Tigers are lucky to get to the World Series and were probably carried by the spirit of Jeff Suppan. Come now, let us laugh at their starting pitchers!

1) Justin Verlander (2.64 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 9.03 K/9,  2.27 BB/9)

2) Max Scherzer (3.74 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 11.08 K/9, 2.88 BB/9)

3) Anibal Sanchez (3.86 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 7.68 K/9, 2.21 BB/9)

4) Doug Fister ( 3.45 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 7.63 K/9, 2.06 BB/9)

Ok, nevermind. That is very unfunny. The combined xFIP for those 4 pitchers is 13.64. In 2010 the Giants 4 postseason starters (Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and Sanchez) combined xFIP was 14.88. Obviously that’s a pretty blanket comparison, but the point remains valid. The Tigers starting rotation is stacked. None of the Tiger starters has allowed more than 2 runs total in the postseason. The most extreme of them has been Justin Verlander who has allowed 2 runs and struck out 25 batters in a whopping 24 postseason innings. We have now discovered that Justin Verlander is good at his job.

Justin Verlander is probably the best pitcher in baseball. You knew that. There will be a time to worry about Justin Verlander, also known as tomorrow. But this is a Tigers team preview, and as your elementary school P.E. told you, there’s no Verlander in team. Even without the former MVP, the rest of the rotation is very good. There is Verlander, and then there are a bunch of really good pitchers.

Max Scherzer is the primary filth deliverer. And he is filthy with a capital FILTH. When Scherzer is on, and his command is good, he’s unhittable. He had the best K/9 in baseball at 11.09, which tells you his stuff is tremendous. On May 20^th against the Pirates, Scherzer posted this line:

7.0 IP, 2 ER,  4 H, 15 K, 1 BB

That pretty much tells you everything you need to know. It took a while for Scherzer to put it together despite the unquestionable talent he has. As recently as last year he posted a pedestrian 4.43 ERA. Here is how his 2^nd half in 2012 ended up:

90.1 IP, 2.69 ERA, 110 K, 27 BB, .229/.288/.378 against

I mean what. It’s safe to say he ironed out a few kinks in the offseason. Oh, and he hasn’t allowed more than 3 earned runs since August 5^th. His stats from then until the end of the season?

60 IP, 1.65 ERA, 71 K, 14 BB, .562 OPS against

Max Scherzer has been Justin Verlander for the past 2 months of the season. The Tigers have Justin Verlander and Justin Verlander in their first 2 rotation spots. Sounds reasonable.

The last 2 starters are nothing to scoff at either, not by a long shot. Anibal Sanchez has thrown 14 complete games in his career against the Giants. Doug Fister the last two years accumulated 9.0 fWAR. Both pitchers have the ability to shutdown opposing offenses.

So the Tigers have fantastic starting pitching. The hitting is not quite as good, but it’s certainly potent. Apparently Miguel Cabrera is on their team, which is a major bummer :(.  The hitting is comprised of:

- Miguel Cabrera :(, Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson

- Andy Dirks (??????)

- Bad

- Very Bad

- Delmon Young

The first 2 are obviously the batman and robin, although seeing Prince Fielder in a Robin uniform is something I would pay to do. They’re really really super duper awesome. That’s pretty much all I’m going to say on the matter. If you would like to learn more about Miguel Cabrera, please visit any other baseball site that exist.

Austin Jackson has turned in a breakout year (.300/.377/.479) and his speed makes him an even more dangerous threat once he gets on the base paths. Then there’s Andy Dirks who for some reason hit .322/.370/497. It could be a fluke, it could not be, but in the time period we're concerned with, he's swinging the bat well. By the way, Andy Dirks is a Major League Baseball player. 

But the rest of the lineup is very poor. I don’t care if Delmon Young had 300 base hits in the postseason. He hits like a one eyed Aaron Rowand. From Jhonny Peralta to Omar Infante the rest of the lineup is like watching the 2008 Giants on loop.  So while the top of the lineup can hit baseball to outer space, the rest of the lineup is a full load of Jose Castillos.

To recap: The Tigers have fantastic, sometimes unhittable starting pitching and an extremely top heavy lineup. Seems like a really really good team. It doesn’t make sense though. Why were Tigers only 7^th best record-wise in the American League?

That’s why.

This is where the Giants seemingly have an upperhand. The Giants are a good offense that generates runs by putting the ball in play and hitting singles and doubles. The issue facing the Tigers is that when a ball is put in play, their defense must engage in order to record an out. In other words, the Tigers defense struggles at baseball. 

The Tigers defense is awful. Omar Infante has helped nail down the infield defense a little bit and Austin Jackson is a premier defensive centerfielder. But other than that, it is baron. The team was next to last in both zone rating and defensive runs saved in the American League. Their corner infielders weigh 515 pounds. Even if Fielder, Cabrera and the overall infield defensive woes has been exaggerated this season, the fact remains the two corners feature heavy men who have limited range.

The outfield has been the real issue. Jim Leyland should probably just send Austin Jackson to the outfield by himself. On one corner, there is Andy Dirks, who, granted in a very limited sample, has recorded UZRs of -5.3 and -12.8 in his only two seasons in the majors, which is very poor.

Then in the other corner there is... Delmon Young. Oh man oh man oh man Delmon Young is going to play the outfield in this serious and it will be glorious. Delmon Young is to the Tigers what Vladimir Gurrero was to the Rangers in 2010. That is, the DH who is playing in the field in the NL ballpark. This is Delmon Young:

Weeeeeeeeeeeee.

Yes, the Tigers are good. I’d venture to say much better than their regular season record indicates. They are probably a better team than the Giants. But it’s not a terrible matchup for the Giants either. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are bad matchups for everybody. But the way the Giants play, i.e. putting the ball in play and splitting the gaps, they can exploit a Tigers defense that plays with cinder blocks on their feet. Also Delmon Young. If they were smart, they would just hit it to Delmon Young the whole game. That's a win for the Giants and the internet.

Of course, it’s a 7 game series. I’ll say it for the 50^th time: Anything and everything that can happen will happen. Nothing I predict will come true anyways. Baseball is the funkiest weird you will ever see. Sometimes Barry Zito will pitch a shutout on the road in a playoff elimination game. Always remember that.

And also don't forget, that this is the World Series. Over the next few days, long lasting memories will be made and unforgettable plays, whether good or bad, will be witnessed. It's going to be all kinds of fun. Let's just sit back on the edge of our seats and enjoy the torture. 

Also there’s always the chance that Jose Valverde gives up a 10 run inning and spontaneously combust so you can always hold onto that hope.