2012 MLB Postseason and World Series Poll

[veganrob]

Go Tigers!
They have been very erratic this year and seem to be getting it all together at the right time. Our starting pitching will be very tough to beat. Miggy best player in MLB.

 

[Amsterhammer]

God, I absolutely loved the complete and utter humiliation of those damn Yankees, together with the total failure of the most unpleasant man in baseball. Being swept in a playoff for the first time since 1976 couldn't have happened to a more loathsome team.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I would agree with that! But let's credit stellar starting pitching for the Tigers for "collapsing" the Yankees. Detroit is going to be hard to beat in the WS.

I'm wondering if we'll see a rematch of 2006, when the Cards beat the Tigers. Leyland made a huge coaching blunder that year by pitching a young Verlander in game 5 on the road after his confidence was rattled, and sitting Kenny Rogers who had been unstoppable at that point with 23 shutout innings in a row. I can't help but think Tigers fans would love to try to exact retribution this year.

As to Arod, what's going to have to happen is that a team with a decent player they want to unload (the Angles and Vernon Wells?) is going to have to send that player to the Yankees in exchange for Arod and cash. Like, serious cash, to the tune of $30-50m. Remember, Arod still has 4-5 years left on a mostly guaranteed contract. That's a total in excess of $100m. Basically, the Yankees are going to have to pay for a new player, plus pay a chunk of Arod's salary to play somewhere else. That's the only way it will work, because they won't cut him as they'd have to pay him to do nothing. This is one of the big problems with MLB and their CBA and contract structuring. You don't see absurd guaranteed contracts to this level in the NFL or NHL or MLS (you somewhat do in the NBA, though the NBA has a flexible cap). But hey, caveat emptor, the Yankees get what they bargained for.

 

[Amsterhammer]

But let's credit stellar starting pitching for the Tigers for "collapsing" the Yankees. Detroit is going to be hard to beat in the WS.

Absolutely! Detroit pitching has been fantastic. Makes me wonder what Strasburg and Gio might do when they're a bit older, smarter, and more experienced.

I agree that the Tigers are looking like winners right now, but have learned in a particularly painful way how suddenly this game can turn upside down.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Tigers to A-Fraud's Yanks: "Yank my doodle, it's a dandy".

Listening to ESPN's Mike & Mike in the a.m. were the 10 most overpaid athletes:
1. A-fraud (under contract thru 2017) He was 1st on the list. Breakdown of his contract (LINK):
Signing bonus, $10 million
2008, $27 million
2009, $32 million
2010, $32 million
2011, $31 million
2012, $29 million
2013, $28 million
2014, $25 million
2015, $21 million
2016, $20 million
2017, $20 million
Total, $275 million

others on the list, not in any order:
2. Vick, Eagles (6yr $100M) link
3. Mario Williams, Bills (6yr $100M) link
4. Kolb, Arizona Cardinals (6yr $63M) link

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

So, it's $91m, not $100m he's left with. I wonder how much of that the Yankees will eat to dump him?

Well of course Michael Vick is way overpaid. I've been harping on him in the NFL thread for some time now. If the Eagles were smart they'd bench him, and dump him after the season.

Mario Williams. What a joke his contract is. Houston loses him and plays better, Buffalo gets him and plays worse. Huh.

Kolb has at least played fairly well this year, though his OL can't protect him and he can't scramble.

Mark Sanchez is stupidly overpaid. One of the most stupid contract extensions in sports history.

Lots of overpaid players in the NBA as well.

Sticking with baseball, remember Alfonso Soriano, and the deal he signed? How about the one Barry Zito got? Carl Crawford, Joe Mauer, Alberto Puljols, all paid a heap of cash to be average.

Good article here on poor contract structures, with A-Rod being a perfect example.

Read another today where the Angels say they aren't interested in Arod. So if they're really trying to dump Wells it either won't be to the Yankees, or they're playing it to where the Yankees have to open up the wallet big time.

 

[veganrob]

Hope the Cards beat the Giants and we can get World Series underway.
Detroit gets their revenge

Go Tigers!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Hours after I mention Barry Zito being overpaid he goes lights out in probably the biggest game of his career, dominating the Cards in a huge win. With the NLCS headed back to SF, and Vogelsong going game 6 and Cain game 7, I have to like the Giants chances.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

So, it's $91m, not $100m he's left with. I wonder how much of that the Yankees will eat to dump him?

Well of course Michael Vick is way overpaid. I've been harping on him in the NFL thread for some time now. If the Eagles were smart they'd bench him, and dump him after the season.

Mario Williams. What a joke his contract is. Houston loses him and plays better, Buffalo gets him and plays worse. Huh.

Kolb has at least played fairly well this year, though his OL can't protect him and he can't scramble.

Mark Sanchez is stupidly overpaid. One of the most stupid contract extensions in sports history.

Lots of overpaid players in the NBA as well.

Sticking with baseball, remember Alfonso Soriano, and the deal he signed? How about the one Barry Zito got? Carl Crawford, Joe Mauer, Alberto Puljols, all paid a heap of cash to be average.

Good article here on poor contract structures, with A-Rod being a perfect example.

Read another today where the Angels say they aren't interested in Arod. So if they're really trying to dump Wells it either won't be to the Yankees, or they're playing it to where the Yankees have to open up the wallet big time.

Those names in bold you mentioned above were on the Mike-N-Mike list too. So you have pretty good memory, especially for not (likely) having listened to the M-N-M show as I did. My memory not so good as I forgot those names within the hour.

 

[Amsterhammer]

I think it was obvious from the first inning, when the Panda smacked Verlander into the stands, that the Giants had some powerful mojo going for them. The ball that hit the third base bag just sealed the deal.

I have to say, that is one beautiful ball park there next to the water.

 

[broken chain]

So, it's $91m, not $100m he's left with. I wonder how much of that the Yankees will eat to dump him?

Well of course Michael Vick is way overpaid. I've been harping on him in the NFL thread for some time now. If the Eagles were smart they'd bench him, and dump him after the season.

Mario Williams. What a joke his contract is. Houston loses him and plays better, Buffalo gets him and plays worse. Huh.

Kolb has at least played fairly well this year, though his OL can't protect him and he can't scramble.

Mark Sanchez is stupidly overpaid. One of the most stupid contract extensions in sports history.

Lots of overpaid players in the NBA as well.

Sticking with baseball, remember Alfonso Soriano, and the deal he signed? How about the one Barry Zito got? Carl Crawford, Joe Mauer, Alberto Puljols, all paid a heap of cash to be average.

Good article here on poor contract structures, with A-Rod being a perfect example.

Read another today where the Angels say they aren't interested in Arod. So if they're really trying to dump Wells it either won't be to the Yankees, or they're playing it to where the Yankees have to open up the wallet big time.

And it all started with Catfish Hunter.
The owners were at their annual meeting and agreed not to offer Catfish any ridiculous amounts of money.
They went back to their respective cities and whats the first thing they did?Got into a bidding war for his services.
Greed was the mitigating factor and its cost them dearly over the years.
As a matter of fact I think they were found guilty of collusion if memory serves me correct.
Giants by the way look to be a pretty good bet.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

2-0.

While this is heading back to Detroit, this is one hole I have to wonder if the Tigers can dig their way out of. Next up they have to face Volgesong then Cain, whose combined post-season ERA is something like 1.2. The Giants have grit, mojo, heart, and momentum. If the Tigers don't win games 3 and 4...

 

[veganrob]

0-2

Next three games are in the D. Tigers need to win them all to have a chance. They can. Sanchez, Scherzer and then JV needs to return to form. I picked Detroit in six so...

Go Tigers!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I picked the Giants in 7, but it looks like 6...or 4 at the rate things re going. Agree that the Tigers almost have to win all three at home. I realize the Giants twice dug themselves out of deep holes. But can the Tigers come back from 3-1?

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Wow, only one for the Giants.... I picked the Tigers, but only b/c Vino was no option

 

[Merckx index]

0-2

Next three games are in the D. Tigers need to win them all to have a chance. They can. Sanchez, Scherzer and then JV needs to return to form. I picked Detroit in six so...

Go Tigers!

Vaughters plays baseball, too? Is he starting a team with Melky Cabrera? If you had mentioned their reliever Valverde, I would have sworn this was a cycling thread.

At the start of the postseason I picked Detroit to win it all, because I felt they had the best starting pitching, and the best middle of the lineup. I still wouldn't count them out, and I say this as someone who works within a few blocks of AT & T Park, so you know where my allegiances lie. Giants have been playing stunningly well, outscored their opponents 30-4 in past five games. Very unlikely they can keep it up, particularly the pitching. But Bochy is a certifiable genius when it comes to juggling pitchers. Amazing how Lincecum is no longer reliable as a starter, but has been lights out in the PS as a middle reliever. It also helps to have that tilting machine under the third baseline, that ensures bunts stay fair and line drives hit the bag.

And Foxy, what is it about teams called the Giants? The NFL Giants won two SBs following mediocre seasons in which they barely made the playoffs. The baseball Giants won the WS two years ago after sneaking into the playoffs on the final weekend, and are looking good for another one after a decent but hardly dominant season.

 

[knewcleardaze]

Anyone know if the Giants brought brooms to the Motor City?

 

[veganrob]

@MI
I was waiting for a wise guy to pick that up. If the Tigers win tonite then hopefully the Verlander will show why he is the best pitcher in baseball. Will start to get interesting then.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Congrats to the SF Giants, 2012 WS champions. And to think they did it without Wilson or Cabrera. Amazing.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Thousands Celebrate Giants Win in San Francisco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5sfwztckBq0

 

[Zam_Olyas]

I like LLWS. Never knew that Taiwan has won it 17 times.

 

[Merckx index]

Congrats to the SF Giants, 2012 WS champions. And to think they did it without Wilson or Cabrera. Amazing.

So many amazing stories here. Zito, one of the biggest contract busts ever, left off the postseason roster two years ago, is put on it this time basically as a last resort. He\s all the Giants have to start a crucial game to stay alive in the LCS, and he throws shutout ball into the eighth inning to win it. Based on that performance, he starts game one of the WS and beats Verlander, giving up only one earned run.

Bumgarner, great in the championship run two years ago, had been struggling for weeks, knocked around in the NL playoffs, suddenly regains his old form to win Game Two. Going in, it seemed almost certain the Tigers would win the first two games based on pitching matchups.

Lincecum, the former ace seemingly washed up as a starter, becomes unhittable as a reliever. Sandoval, who hardly played in the postseason two years ago because he was overweight--and he isn't now?--MVP. Scutaro, a no-name who was probably the overall MVP for the postseason.

I think there were two crucial turning points for the Giants this postseason. The first one came in Game three of the LDS. They had struggled offensively in the first two games, and continued to do so in the third game, but got great pitching to keep them in the game, and were just able to eke out a win. After that their hitters finally came around, and they won the last two games,and continued to hit well in the LCS.

The other turning point was Game five of the LCS, when Zito gave them the pitching they had to have.

First ever WS meeting between these two teams, and I think the first time since nineteen ninety one that two of the original MLB teams met for the first time in the WS. First four game sweep by a NL team since nineteen ninety. First time NL has won the WS three times in a row in about thirty years.

The numbers don't work on my keyboard.

 

[veganrob]

Cogratulations to Giants and fans.

Next year Tigers