Who will win the World Series? [Poll]
The Detroit Tigers swept the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The San Francisco Giants came back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.
So now that we know who is in the World Series, it’s time to debate who will win it all -- the well-rested Tigers or the battle-tested Giants.
Writers from around Tribune Co. will offer their predictions. Check back throughout the day for their responses and join the conversation by voting in the poll and leaving a comment of your own.
Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun
The San Francisco Giants certainly have shown tremendous resilience, fending off a St. Louis Cardinals team that seemed born to be the wild-card world champion, but that seven-game NLCS is going to cost them in the World Series.
The Detroit Tigers are well-rested and ready to line up their starting rotation just right to get the jump on the Giants, even though the Fall Classic will begin in San Francisco. The home-field disadvantage probably is not going to bother Justin Verlander, who should be very fresh pitching on more than a week’s rest.
The maximum availability of the Tigers ace and a pretty good supporting cast should be the difference in this series. Tigers in five.
[Updated at 10:05 a.m.:
Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune
Do the Giants have anything left in their bag of tricks? The reality is that they probably would have been eliminated on Oct. 9 -- swept by the Reds in the Division Series -- had Buster Posey not made a perfect throw to nail Brandon Phillips at third base in the first inning of Game 3.
They are 1-5 in the games they could afford to lose and 6-0 in the ones they had to win this October. But they better not fall into a hole against the Tigers, whose rotation has had a 1.02 ERA in leading their team to a 7-2 record. If the Giants can’t beat Justin Verlander in Game 1 at AT&T; Park, they’ll watch their magical run end when he nails down Game 5 at Comerica Park. I’m calling it Tigers in five.]
[Updated at 11:06 a.m.:
Mandy Housenick, Allentown Morning Call
This one goes to the Tigers in 7. I know, I know. The Giants have the momentum. They cruised past the Cardinals in Game 7 of the NLCS and limited them to just one run the last three games of the series, while the Tigers have been sitting around since their sweep of the Yankees on Thursday.
But Detroit has this pitcher named Justin Verlander -- maybe you’ve heard of him. He’s got an 0.74 ERA (2 ER, 24.1 IP) in three postseason starts this season. If you include his last four regular-season outings, his ERA goes down to 0.69 (4 ER, 52.1 IP). And if needed, he’d certainly be a guy who could pitch on short rest and make three starts in the World Series. That right there says it all.]
[Updated at 11:53 a.m.:
Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times
My pick before the playoffs was for the Tigers and Giants to get to the World Series, and for the Tigers to win. No change now, and Tigers in five.
The Tigers have the best pitcher in baseball, and the best hitter. Justin Verlander throws the upper-90s heat that the Giants could not touch against Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal in the NLCS, but Verlander brings it for eight or nine innings instead of one or two. The Giants can’t run up his pitch count, because 120 pitches for him is like 100 for anyone else. Verlander has lost once since Aug. 1.
The MVP in each league could be on display. The Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera, the AL Triple Crown winner, had more hits in a four-game ALCS sweep than the Giants’ Buster Posey had in a seven-game NLCS. The Tigers also have Prince Fielder, who hit 30 home runs to Cabrera’s 44. The Tigers have five players with at least 13 home runs. Posey, who hit 24, is the only Giant with 13 or more.
The Giants have the edge in the bullpen, but the Tigers’ starters have a 1.02 ERA this postseason. If the Tigers win with Verlander twice, the Giants would have no more than five games to win four. The Giants’ pitchers drove in three runs in the NLCS, and the Giants clinched it on a crazy broken-bat hit, but Posey and Hunter Pence are cold.]
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