World Series Preview

So the 2012 World Series has started and the Giants and Tigers emerged as the best teams in their respective leagues. The Tigers swatted away the upstart Oakland Athletics and then swept the Yankees to get here, while the Giants rallied back from being down 0-2 and 1-3 to the Reds and Cardinals to win six straight elimination games and claw their way into the World Series. Who will be victorious? Let's look at the rosters.

Catcher

	Regular Season													Playoffs
Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
Buster Posey	148	530	78	178	39	1	24	103	69	96	1	0.336	0.957	12	45	4	8	2	6	0	0.178	0.600
Alex Avila	116	367	42	89	21	2	9	48	61	104	2	0.243	0.736	7	22	2	5	1	1	0	0.227	0.636

 Posey was obviously the better weapon in the regular season as he is a front-runner for the MVP award. His production in the postseason, though, has been sub-par. He has hit a couple of home runs, but his overall production has been poor. Avila's, though, is just as bad. He crashed down to Earth hard after his breakout season last year.

Advantage: Giants

First Base

 

	Regular Season													Playoffs
Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
Brandon Belt	145	411	47	113	27	6	7	56	54	106	12	0.275	0.781	11	36	6	8	1	2	1	0.222	0.689
Prince Fielder	162	581	83	182	33	1	30	108	85	84	1	0.313	0.940	9	38	2	8	1	3	0	0.211	0.558

This situation is very similar to first base. Fielder was obviously the better player this season but has had a mediocre postseason and really hasn't stepped up in any way. Belt hit a home run against the Cardinals, but also hasn't had a good showing overall in the playoffs. In the end, you have to give the nod to Fielder due to his greater potential to put in a great series.

Advantage: Tigers

Second Base

	Playoffs													Regular Season
Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
Marco Scutaro	61	243	40	88	16	1	3	44	13	14	2	0.362	0.859	12	48	8	17	0	5	0	0.354	0.841
Omar Infante	64	226	27	58	7	5	4	20	9	23	7	0.257	0.668	9	35	9	10	0	0	2	0.286	0.639

No one has been hotter over the last month than Marco Scutaro. The Giants ended up getting a steal when they traded with the Rockies to acquire the second basemen that they gravely needed. He was a catalyst for the Reds comeback against the Cardinals and earned the NLCS MVP award with his strong work at the plate and in the field. Infante had a standard season and has hit for decent average. He is a great presence at the top of the order, but isn't turning anyone's heads.

Advantage: Giants

Third Base

	Playoffs													Regular Season
Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
Pablo Sandoval	108	396	59	112	25	2	12	63	38	59	1	0.283	0.789	12	50	6	16	3	9	0	0.320	0.920
Miguel Cabrera	161	622	109	205	40	0	44	139	66	98	4	0.330	0.999	9	36	4	10	1	5	0	0.278	0.810

It's a no-brainer who had the better season. Cabrera won the Triple Crown and battled with Mike Trout for the American League MVP. Sandoval missed a large chunk of the season with a broken hamate bone. In the playoffs, though, Sandoval has been red hot. At the time of this writing, he is 2-2 in game 1 with two home runs. I think Miguel breaks out, but this one is far more even than you think.

Advantage: Push

Shortstop

 

	Playoffs													Regular Season
Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
Brandon Crawford	143	435	44	108	26	3	4	45	33	95	1	0.248	0.653	12	34	3	7	0	6	0	0.206	0.619
Jhonny Peralta	150	531	58	127	32	3	13	63	49	105	1	0.239	0.689	9	35	4	12	2	3	1	0.343	0.921

Brandon Crawford has been pretty good with the glove this season, but hasn't shown any offensive proficiency. Jhonny, on the otherhand, has countered from a meager season at the plate to hit pretty well for the Tigers. He is a steady hand in the field and can hit for pretty good pop.

Advantage: Tigers

Outfield

 

	Playoffs													Regular Season
Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
Gregor Blanco	141	393	56	96	14	5	5	34	51	104	26	0.244	0.676	12	36	9	8	1	4	0	0.222	0.780
Angel Pagan	154	605	95	174	38	15	8	56	48	97	29	0.288	0.778	12	53	7	11	2	6	0	0.208	0.623
Hunter Pence	160	617	87	156	26	4	24	104	56	145	5	0.253	0.743	12	48	4	9	1	3	1	0.188	0.475
Andy Dirks	88	314	56	101	18	5	8	35	23	53	1	0.322	0.857	9	35	0	9	0	1	1	0.257	0.592
Austin Jackson	137	543	103	163	29	10	16	66	67	134	12	0.300	0.856	9	37	7	11	1	4	0	0.297	0.864
Avisail Garcia	23	47	7	15	0	0	0	3	3	10	0	0.319	0.692	9	18	0	6	0	4	1	0.333	0.757

With the exception of Hunter Pence, both teams feature outfield made up of fairly unheralded players. The difference between the two, though, is the Tiger's outfield bats. Both teams get solid defense, but Detroit's young trio is surprisingly skillful with the sticks. The Giants have two light-hitting speedsters in Blanco and Pagan and a power hitter in Pence.

Advantage: Tigers

Bench

 

	Playoffs													Regular Season
Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OPS
Joaquin Arias	112	319	30	86	13	5	5	34	13	44	5	0.270	0.693	8	8	3	3	0	0	0	0.375	1.000
Hector Sanchez	74	218	22	61	15	0	3	34	5	52	0	0.280	0.685	3	7	1	1	0	0	0	0.143	0.476
Aubrey Huff	52	78	7	15	4	0	1	7	16	12	0	0.192	0.608	9	8	1	1	0	0	0	0.125	0.347
Xavier Nady	19	50	6	12	3	1	1	7	6	13	0	0.240	0.733	4	5	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.167
Ryan Theriot	104	352	45	95	16	1	0	28	24	47	13	0.270	0.637	5	5	0	2	0	3	0	0.400	0.900
Delmon Young	151	574	54	153	27	1	18	74	20	112	0	0.267	0.707	9	34	3	10	2	8	0	0.294	0.851
Gerald Laird	63	174	24	49	8	1	2	11	14	21	0	0.282	0.710	4	13	0	1	0	0	0	0.077	0.220
Ramon Santiago	93	228	19	47	7	1	2	17	20	39	1	0.206	0.555
Danny Worth	43	74	9	16	3	0	0	3	13	23	0	0.216	0.586
Don Kelly	75	113	14	21	2	1	1	7	14	22	2	0.186	0.523
Quintin Berry	94	291	44	75	10	6	2	29	25	80	21	0.258	0.684	7	18	3	5	0	0	2	0.278	0.705

In the games in Detroit, we know that Delmon Young will get the at bats as the designated hitter, but the Giants don't have a solid option to rely on. Theriot and Arias have been hitting well this season and in the postseason, but they are not guarantees to give you productive at bats. Both teams are fairly shallow in terms of bench options, but the speed of Quintin Berry could make him useful in pinch-running situations.

Advantage: Push

Starting Rotations

	Playoffs													Regular Season
Pitcher	G	GS	ERA	W	L	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	WHIP	G	GS	ERA	W	L	SV	IP	BB	SO	WHIP
Barry Zito	32	32	4.15	15	8	0	184.1	186	85	70	114	1.39	2	2	1.74	1	0	0	10.1	5	10	1.45
Justin Verlander	33	33	2.64	17	8	0	238.1	192	70	60	239	1.06	3	3	0.74	3	0	0	24.1	5	25	0.62
Madison Bumgarner	32	32	3.37	16	11	0	208.1	183	78	49	191	1.11	2	2	11.25	0	2	0	8	2	6	2.13
Doug Fister	26	26	3.45	10	10	0	161.2	156	62	37	137	1.19	2	2	1.35	0	0	0	13.1	6	13	1.35
Ryan Vogelsong	31	31	3.37	14	9	0	189.2	171	71	62	158	1.23	3	3	1.42	2	0	0	19	6	18	0.89
Anibal Sanchez	31	31	3.86	9	13	0	195.2	200	84	48	167	1.27	2	2	1.35	1	1	0	13.1	5	10	0.98
Matt Cain	32	32	2.79	16	5	0	219.1	177	68	51	193	1.04	4	4	3.52	2	2	0	23	5	15	1.17
Max Scherzer	32	32	3.74	16	7	0	187.2	179	78	60	231	1.27	2	2	0.82	1	0	0	11	3	18	0.73

Verlander is in the process of getting shelled in the first game, which could be a sign that he is reverting to his career postseason stats. For some reason, he has never been a very good option in the playoffs, but has been lights out this year. The Tigers biggest strength is their rotation, as the number show. All four Tigers starters have been dynamite in the postseason so far and will pitch in two notorious pitcher's parks. The Giants have two solid starters in Vogelsong and Cain, but have been shaky outside of those two. Zito has been solid so far, but has been inconsistent ever since the ink dried on his San Francisco contract. Bumgarner has been rotten in his two starts. Tim Lincecum is an option to start, but has been better suited out of the bullpen. If I'm putting my money on a group of starters, it's Detroit's four.

Advantage: Tigers

Bullpen

	Playoffs												Regular Season
Pitcher	G	GS	ERA	W	L	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	WHIP	G	GS	ERA	W	L	SV	IP	BB	SO	WHIP
Sergio Romo	69	0	1.79	4	2	14	55.1	37	11	10	63	0.85	7	0	1.17	1	0	1	7.2	1	4	0.65
Javier Lopez	70	0	2.50	3	0	7	36	37	10	14	28	1.42	5	0	0.00	0	0	0	3	2	4	0.67
Santiago Casilla	73	0	2.84	7	6	25	63.1	55	20	22	55	1.22	9	0	1.59	0	0	0	5.2	1	8	1.59
Jeremy Affeldt	67	0	2.70	1	2	3	63.1	57	19	23	57	1.26	8	0	0.00	0	0	0	8.1	2	6	0.84
George Kontos	44	0	2.47	2	1	0	43.2	34	12	12	44	1.05	7	0	3.60	0	0	0	5	0	2	0.80
Tim Lincecum	33	33	5.18	10	15	0	186	183	107	90	190	1.47	4	1	3.46	1	1	0	13	4	12	1.00
Jose Mijares	27	0	2.55	1	0	0	17.2	14	5	8	20	1.25	5	0	11.57	0	0	0	2.1	2	4	2.14
Guillermo Mota	26	0	5.23	0	1	0	20.2	24	12	8	24	1.55	3	0	21.60	0	0	0	1.2	0	3	3.60
Jose Valverde	71	0	3.78	3	4	35	69	59	29	27	48	1.25	3	0	27.00	0	1	1	2.1	1	5	3.43
Joaquin Benoit	73	0	3.68	5	3	2	71	59	29	22	84	1.14	4	0	4.91	0	0	0	3.2	1	2	1.64
Phil Coke	66	0	4	2	3	1	54	71	24	18	51	1.65	7	0	0.00	0	0	2	7.1	2	5	0.82
Octavio Dotel	57	0	3.57	5	3	1	58	50	23	12	62	1.07	4	0	0.00	0	0	0	3.1	3	5	0.90
Al Alburquerque	8	0	0.68	0	0	0	13.1	6	1	8	18	1.05	2	0	0.00	1	0	0	1.1	0	1	0.00
Drew Smyly	23	18	3.99	4	3	0	99.1	93	44	33	94	1.27	2	0	0.00	1	0	0	2.1	0	2	0.43
Rick Porcello	31	31	4.59	10	12	0	176.1	226	90	44	107	1.53	1	0	0.00	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0.00

This is where things really get interesting. Disregarding Mota and Mijares because, let's face it, they aren't going to factor into the World Series, The Giants have a fantastic bullpen. Lincecum has been an electric arm, but hasn't been shut down. Kontos is a role player who probably won't see much time. Romo, Lopez, Affeldt, and Casilla, though, are a fantastic group to lean on in late inning games. If they get the lead, there's a good chance they won't cough it up. The Tigers have the opposite situation. The top guys in their pen, Valverde and Benoit, have been poor in the postseason. Their minor characters have been lights out in the postseason. There is a decent chance that Coke, Dotel, Smyly, and Porcello revert to their season stats, but the X factor for the Tigers could be Al Alburquerque. He was a fill-in closer last season, but lost time due to injury this year. He could definitely play a big part in the Tigers' success if the starters get pulled.

Advantage: Push

As you can see, these are two really evenly matched teams. More than ever before, this is an incredibly hard postseason to call, especially since no one predicted these two teams to make it this far. Since it's a lock that Detroit loses tonight, I'll predict they win the next two, lose at least one in Detroit, and Verlander wins his next start. That gives the Giants two more elimination games to further their amazing run, but I think the pixie dust has run out.

Prediction: Tigers in six.