Unless they screw it up by letting the Yankees off the hook in the American League Championship Series and this thing somehow goes the distance, the Detroit Tigers are setting themselves up as a difficult test for whoever survives the National League Championship series.
So much was brought up about the A's ruining the Tigers' pitching rotation when they forced a Game 5 of the ALDS because Justin Verlander was only going to be able to pitch Game 3 and a potential Game 7 against the Yankees. When the Tigers won both games in New York, Verlander had the chance to all but bury New York when the series shifted to Detroit. Verlander did, and when was the last time a pitcher has been this dominant in a team's first eight games of the playoffs?
His performance is magnified even larger given his somewhat mediocre playoffs (of course he also beat the A's in the 2006 ALCS) and World Series performance in years past, and the pressure he faced in Game 5 against the A's when the Tigers were on the verge of what would have been as far as this blog is concerned a deliciously epic Detroit collapse and comeback by the Athletics.
Looking back now, the A's had little chance against an in-the-zone Verlander, and barring a drastic funk, the Yankees' A-Rod and Swish-less lineup was quiet off him, and neither San Francisco nor St. Louis appear to have the bats to have much World Series success either. Verlander did allow a solo home run in the top of the ninth Tuesday to the Yankees' Eduardo Nunez before turning over the ball to Detroit's embattled bullpen (Phil Coke survived two base hits to get the final two outs and save a 2-1 victory and a commanding 3-0 series lead). But Verlander has been disgustingly good in three postseason starts: 24 1/3 innings, all of 10 hits and two earned runs allowed. Verlander's outing Tuesday also dispelled the notion he's just a power pitching getting by on the strikeout. He had just three (with no walks) in his 8 1/3 innings and mixing in both ground ball outs (eight) and fly balls (14).
If the Tigers can finish off a Yankees' team that seems to be in disarray in the next two games, the Tigers could get Verlander three starts in the World Series in Games 1, 4 and 7. Wishing you the best of luck with that, Giants or Cardinals.
So much was brought up about the A's ruining the Tigers' pitching rotation when they forced a Game 5 of the ALDS because Justin Verlander was only going to be able to pitch Game 3 and a potential Game 7 against the Yankees. When the Tigers won both games in New York, Verlander had the chance to all but bury New York when the series shifted to Detroit. Verlander did, and when was the last time a pitcher has been this dominant in a team's first eight games of the playoffs?
His performance is magnified even larger given his somewhat mediocre playoffs (of course he also beat the A's in the 2006 ALCS) and World Series performance in years past, and the pressure he faced in Game 5 against the A's when the Tigers were on the verge of what would have been as far as this blog is concerned a deliciously epic Detroit collapse and comeback by the Athletics.
Looking back now, the A's had little chance against an in-the-zone Verlander, and barring a drastic funk, the Yankees' A-Rod and Swish-less lineup was quiet off him, and neither San Francisco nor St. Louis appear to have the bats to have much World Series success either. Verlander did allow a solo home run in the top of the ninth Tuesday to the Yankees' Eduardo Nunez before turning over the ball to Detroit's embattled bullpen (Phil Coke survived two base hits to get the final two outs and save a 2-1 victory and a commanding 3-0 series lead). But Verlander has been disgustingly good in three postseason starts: 24 1/3 innings, all of 10 hits and two earned runs allowed. Verlander's outing Tuesday also dispelled the notion he's just a power pitching getting by on the strikeout. He had just three (with no walks) in his 8 1/3 innings and mixing in both ground ball outs (eight) and fly balls (14).
If the Tigers can finish off a Yankees' team that seems to be in disarray in the next two games, the Tigers could get Verlander three starts in the World Series in Games 1, 4 and 7. Wishing you the best of luck with that, Giants or Cardinals.
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