The Tigers so far are reminding me of the Colorado Rockies in 2007. They won their LCS fast in four straight and then had to wait a long time for the World Series while the Red Sox rallied from 3-1 to beat the Inidans in the ALCS and then come WS time, Colorado was dead and flat and got swept four straight.
Amazing performance by Sandoval to join the history books with his three homers in Game 1.
The Tigers are clearly the better team (except for the bullpen) but they are getting outplayed by a scrappy cobbled together group in San Francisco. Of course, baseball history is full of David vs. Goliath type stories in the post season and if this one follows it's current path yet another will be added. This has to be maddening for Tiger fans considering what happened in 2006 when they were also the favorites to win the WS going in against St. Louis.
You look at all the high octane lumber in that Detroit lineup and then you look at San Francisco's lineup and you shake your head at how they are doing this. Okay, there's Buster Posey and Sandoval. But Angel Pagan? Marco Scutaro? Gregor Blanco? Hunter Pence?
Doug Fister pitched a gem for Detroit last night and the Tiger bats once again all looked asleep against Madison Bumgarner. Zito and Bumgarner were the SF pitchers the Detroit offense was supposed to be able to handle and both of those guys shut them down cold. Now right around the corner will be ace Matt Cain.
The Tigers have come in flat in this series. The Giants hit the ground running. The Tigers have to start hitting in game 3. If they don't, this could be a very short series.
The Tigers are clearly the better team (except for the bullpen)
Clear to you, maybe, but not to anyone else, and simply not supported by the facts.
The Giants have clearly outplayed the Tigers thus far in the series. They had a better regular season record. And yet you insist that they are "clearly" the better team.
The Tigers are clearly the better team (except for the bullpen)
Clear to you, maybe, but not to anyone else, and simply not supported by the facts.
The Giants have clearly outplayed the Tigers thus far in the series. They had a better regular season record. And yet you insist that they are "clearly" the better team.
I guess some folks just can't deal with it.
I gather you are a Giants fan. And new to the board. Welcome!
I think I have been very respectful to the Giants during the playoffs. They indeed "hit the ground running" in this series and were prepared to play. Perhaps you have not read my comments further up in the thread.
I'm a Mets fan, so I can deal with quite a bit.
I'm just stating my own opinions here as I go and calling it as I see it. As we all are, really.
And in what feels like a colossal afterthought to me, as the Hurricane approaches, the Giants won the World Series in four straight. Congratulations to them.
Leland and his coaching staff are back next year. Goodbye Valverde and Young. I expected all 3 of those. No place for Young with Victor Martinez coming back next season. With Dirks and Garcia and Berry there is no room for him in right or left field. Looks like Laird may not be back same with Sanchez. Tigers want him back but may not be able to afford him.
Soriano opts out of his contract so now the question of whether Rivera comes back or not gets more interesting.
The Yankees more than ever seem like a brittle team to me that it wouldn't surprise me if they go through a fall next year. Maybe not, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Soriano opts out of his contract so now the question of whether Rivera comes back or not gets more interesting.
The Yankees more than ever seem like a brittle team to me that it wouldn't surprise me if they go through a fall next year. Maybe not, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Eric:
Glad to see you are ok after the storm. Can you imagine if the Yanks had been in the series and been playing in NY when the storm hit...yikes.
I have a feeling that Boesch and Raeburn are done as Tigers as well.
Yeah, you're right we would have been in a nightmarish scenario because Game 5 of the WS would have been in NY on Monday night. It would have made the chaos that happened in SF during the 1989 Earthquake pale by comparison.
This is a time when people realize what matters more than baseball.
An item in the Daily News reports that Pascual Perez, who pitched for Montreal and Atlanta and briefly the Yankees in 1990-91, and whose career was wrecked by drug use, was stabbed to death in the Dominican Republic.
I'm sure we'll all be throwing logs on the fire from time to time.
Lots will be going on here on this thread during the winter. As always.
For the Mets they will trim payroll once again and hope they can improve with what looks like a pretty good (mostly young) starting rotation for next season. The bullpen flat out stinks and I don't see where it can get much better without spending some serious money there. Alderson picked up other teams re-treads at affordable prices to try to fill the hole last year, and it proved to be a disaster.
But you can't win ballgames without scoring some runs..
Hopefully, Ike Davis will not be traded (as has been speculated) and can get off to a healthy start next season. He finished strong, and his second half power numbers were extraordinary considering his struggles the entire first half at the plate. But they'll need Wright back to form and the addition of another outfielder with some pop. Sandy Alderson will have to get creative with not a lot to work with.
Soon we'll learn if R.A. Dickey has won the 2012 NL Cy Young Award. He was the only consistant bright spot on a team that fell flatter than a pancake in the second half. The Mets picked up the 5 million dollar option to keep Dickey for 2013. After that he will cost money to re-sign. A lot more than 5 million.
Then there is David Wright whose option was also picked up at the end of the season. Also needing a contract extension. The Wilpons will probably start at an offer of 100 million and work from there. I don't think 100 million will get it done.
Well, nobody can say they didn't see this coming. I won't have Jason Bay and his disasterous 66 million dollar contract to kick around on this thread anymore.
Goodbye Jason Bay.
The New York Mets have bought out their 34 year old left fielder Bay with one year remaining on a 66 million dollar deal that was signed prior to the 2010 season. The Mets reached an agreement to stretch out the remainder of the payments Bay is owed to help with the flexability of their payroll as they move on. So much was expected, and the Mets got next to nothing from him in return in terms of performance. It was time to go.
He'll recieve the 16 million final year payment just to walk out the door in 2013, he will also be paid a 3 million dollar buyout, and also recieve the final installment of the 8.5 million dollar signing bonus he was given at the time the contract was signed.
Jason Bay became without doubt, the worst free agent signing in New York Mets history. (And that takes in a lot of territory.) He will get another chance on another ballclub someplace else, but at the major league minimum salary while the Mets eat (over time) the chunk of what became another huge contract disaster.
