World Series Preview

The San Francisco Giants completed their stunning comeback on Monday night by blowing out the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-1, in Game 7 of the NLCS. The Giants looked done when they dropped three of the first four games to the defending World Series champs, but with their backs to the wall they rallied. San Francisco held the Cardinals offense, the same lineup that scored the second most runs in the Senior Circuit and featured Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Carlos Beltran, Allen Craig, and David Freese, to only one run over the final three games.  Meanwhile, the Giants offense scored 20 times in the same span to eliminate the Redbirds and secure their second National League pennant in three years. They will face the Detroit Tigers, who swept the Yankees in the ALCS last week by silencing New York's expensive bats.

Both teams have great pitching, good hitting and excellent managers at the helm, so it should be a great series. Here is why I think the San Francisco Giants will win in 6:

1. The Giants have home field advantage

Thanks to the National League's Melky Cabrera-driven 8-0 All-Star Game victory, the Giants enjoy home field advantage in the Fall Classic.  This edge could prove to be decisive because Giants pitchers thrived at AT&T Park, where they compiled a 3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and limited opponents to a .649 OPS. That doesn't bode well for Detroit, whose lineup and pitching were significantly worse on the road this year. Away from Comerica Park, the Tigers offense scored 60 fewer runs, slugged 21 fewer home runs and posted an OPS that was 71 points lower compared to their home totals. Furthermore, AT&T Park is a hitter's nightmare that figures to give Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and co. fits. But the hitters weren't the only ones who struggled; Detroit's team ERA jumped by more than half a run and their opponents' OPS climbed 51 points. It's no wonder, then, that Detroit has played sub-.500 ball on the road this year. Playoffs included, they're an uninspiring 40-45 away from home. The Giants are 52-36 at home.

2. The postseason is all about pitching, and the Giants have more of it
San Francisco fielded one one of the best pitching staffs in baseball this year, and it's not hard to see why. Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Ryan Vogelsong were outstanding while Barry Zito and Tim Lincecum rounded out the rotation. The bullpen, sans Brian Wilson, has been nothing short of phenomenal. The Tigers have the best pitcher on the planet in Justin Verlander, but even he has not been immune to postseason struggles. Coming into the playoffs, the 2011 AL Cy Young winner/MVP had a 5.57 ERA spanning eight playoff starts. He's been untouchable thus far, but who's to say he won't get lit up a la CC Sabathia? Max Scherzer has been just as good, but he's notoriously inconsistent and could be due for a licking as well. Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister are above average starters, but neither one possesses dominant stuff. Plus the bullpen, Jose Valverde in particular, has been shaky.

3. The Giants have enough offense to support their pitchers
In 2010, the Giants caught lightning in a bottle when the likes of Cody Ross, Edgar Renteria, and Andres Torres elevated their games in October and sparked San Francisco to the championship. This time around, San Fran's offensive attack is led by more talented and established hitters. Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence form an intimidating heart of the order. With Angel Pagan and NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro setting the table for them, they should have opportunities to drive in runs and do some damage.

The Tigers Win the Pennant

That was easy.

After taking four straight games from the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers are World Series bound and look to capture their first title since 1984. They will take on the San Francisco Giants, who rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in the NLCS and are gunning for their second championship in three years.

Detroit won on the strength of exceptional performances from their starting pitchers Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Anibal Sanchez, who combined to allow two earned runs in 27 and a third innings (a 0.66 ERA!). The bullpen was shaky, but aside from its Game 1 meltdown pitched quite well. ALCS MVP Delmon Young paced the offense, but hardly alone. Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson, Jhonny Peralta and Avisail Garcia swung hot bats, too.

The Yankees, who posted the best record in the American League this year, never even held a lead, for Steinbrenner's sake. They failed to show up. It was like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, except the aliens only stole the New York Yankees. The oldest roster in baseball looked like it had run out of gas.

The Yankees hadn't been skunked in a best-of-7 series since 1976, when the Big Red Machine cruised to their second consecutive championship by dominating Billy Martin's Yankee squad, a humiliation that prompted George Steinbrenner to dig into his pockets and sign Reggie Jackson. New York also rolled a donut in the 1963 Fall Classic against the Dodgers, when they scored four runs total off Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and co. Before that, you'd have to go all the way back to 1922, back when the original Yankee Stadium was still under construction, forcing the Giants and their little brothers to share the Polo Grounds.

The mighty Yankees scored all of six runs in the series, four of which were generated during their extra-inning Game 1 defeat. The bats went into hibernation mode, bearing no resemblance to the high-powered offense that set a franchise record with 245 home runs during the regular season and paced the American League in long balls, OBP, SLG, and total bases. Tigers pitching neutralized the Bronx Bombers, holding them scoreless in 33 of 36 innings and limiting their hitters to .157/.224/.264 triple slash stats.

The entire Yankee offense, sans Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki, went AWOL. Check these series numbers and try not to cringe:

Robinson Cano: 1-for-18 with no walks
Eric Chavez: 0-for-8 with four strikeouts
Brett Gardner: 0-for-8
Curtis Granderson: 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts
Russell Martin: 2-for-14 with no walks
Alex Rodriguez: 1-for-9 no walks
Nick Swisher: 3-for-12 with five strikeouts
Mark Teixeira: 3-for-15 with no RBI

Not even a healthy Derek Jeter could have turned that team around.

Culminating with an 8-1 drubbing in Game 4. New York managed just two hits, a Swisher double and Eduardo Nunez triple, as Max Scherzer silenced their bats. Detroit hammered CC Sabathia for eleven hits and six runs (five earned) , handing him the second loss of his otherwise stellar postseason track record with the Bombers. By the time Joe Girardi replaced him with Cody Eppley in the fourth inning, the game was already over.  In all, Detroit pounded out 16 hits, four of which cleared the fences,

Detroit has had New York's number in the postseason lately, ending the Yankees' season in three of the past seven playoffs. The Tigers whipped them in the 2006 ALDS, outlasted them in the division series last year and dominated them this season. But while everyone focuses on how poorly the Yankees played, what seems to be forgotten is that Detroit has a roster loaded with top shelf talent. They have the best pitcher (Justin Verlander) and hitter (Miguel Cabrera) in baseball. They have Prince Fielder, one of the game's top sluggers, and Austin Jackson, perhaps the most underrated player today. Top to bottom, the lineup can inflict damage, and the rotation is surprisingly deep.

I like their chances against San Francisco in the World Series, which starts tomorrow night with a rested Verlander on the bump.

Patriots-Jets Live Blog

7:49 PM: Sanchez fumbles as he reaches back to throw and New England recovers. The referees review the play just to be sure, and the ruling on the field stands. With their 29-26 victory secure, the 4-3 Patriots now lead the AFC East.

7:41 PM: Gostkowski comes through again! His 48-yard field goal gives New England a three point lead in overtime. Now the defense has to finish the job.

7:31 PM: New England wins the toss and will receive the overtime kickoff. Hopefully the momentum from their game-tying drive carries over.

7:30 PM: Brady gets Stephen Gostkowski into field goal range after three quick passes. Gostkowski shanked the game-winning touchdown against Arizona in Week 2, but this time he splits the uprights and forces overtime. Redemption.

7:25 PM: Folk drills another 43-yard field goal. New York has scored 13 unanswered points to take the lead. The Pats have 97 seconds to make some magic happen. Let's go.

7:18 PM: McCourty fumbles on the kick return. Jets recover with 2:01 to play. I think I'm gonna be sick. Tebow, the miracle worker, comes in. He's been nowhere near as effective this year as he was last year. He doesn't scare me.

7:16 PM: Stephen Hill drops a wide open pass that would've given New York a first down, so the Jets have to settle for 43-yard field goal from Folk. Game is tied at 23, but Brady has three timeouts and more than two minutes of clock to work with. I like New England's chances.

7:10 PM: Three and out for Brady and company. Jets will get the ball back with more than four minutes to rally. Plenty of time to mount a comeback, even for Sanchez and his short passes.

7:03 PM: Sanchez threads the needle, hitting Dustin Keller in the end zone to cap a 92-yard drive on 14 plays. New England leads 23-20. I start having flashbacks to last week's fourth quarter meltdown in Seattle. Trying to block them out.

6:46 PM: Start of the fourth quarter. New England leads 23-13.

6:40 PM: Brady hits Gronkowski again for their second touchdown of the game. Gronk has been giving New York's defense fits all day.

6:36 PM: Patriots respond with solid drive of their own. Weird play where Hernandez fumbles and Jets recover in the end zone for a touchback.  Belichick challenges the play. It's overturned because Hernandez was already down.

6:19 PM: Jets open the second half with a drive that culminates with a 21-yard field goal. New England leads 16-13.

6 PM: Halftime.

5:57 PM Nick Folk's 54 yard field goal is good. New England leads 16-10 despite having a mediocre half on offense. On the other hand, their defense looked quite good.

5:52 PM: Sanchez running the hurry-up offense. No huddles.

5:50 PM: Two minute warning.

5:46 PM: Sanchez moving the chains with short passes. He seems afraid to throw it deep even though New England has a horrible secondary.

5:40 PM: Patriots unable to add to their lead. This game is still too close for comfort.

5:29 PM: Sanchez struggling with accuracy on this cool, fall New England day. No surprise there. The Patriots record their first interception in three weeks.

5:20 PM: New England has been running the ball much more this season to make their offense more well-rounded. The Patriots are averaging 152 yards per game on the ground, most since their 1983 season. Brady sacked for nine yard loss on third down, leading to punt.

5:18 PM: Shonn Greene fumbles handoff, which Sanchez kicks, giving the Patriots their first safety since 2006. The Pats lead 16-7 and have already scored on offense, defense and special teams.

5:10 PM: End of first quarter. Patriots lead 14-7.

5:08 PM: Brady delivers a perfect bomb to Brandon Lloyd off the play-action, but Brandon Lloyd can't hang on. Disappointing. It's always so frustrating when the quarterback makes an excellent pass, but the receiver wastes it.

5:04 PM: Jets fumble, but recover. Sanchez fails to convert one of his signature slant passes on 3rd and 3, so the Jets punt it away. No offensive rhythm for New York so far in the early going.

4:57 PM: The announcers talk about how Rob Gronkowski isn't playing at 100 percent. Moments later, he hauls in a misplaced ball by Brady and dives into the end zone with his fourth touchdown catch of the season. A depleted Gronk is still a beast.

4:52 PM: Mark Sanchez sacked and the Jets punt the ball away. Hopefully Brady's second offensive series is more productive than his first.

4:46 PM: New York's lead is short-lived. McCourty returns the kickoff for a 104-yard touchdown against the team that led the league in kickoff coverage last season. It is just the eighth kickoff return of his career. Game tied at 7.

4:44 PM: Announcers refer to the Patriots defense as "vulnerable." That's putting it nicely. The Jets score on their first drive. New York leads 7-0.

4:26 PM: First play, first down for New England. 11-yard pass from Tom Brady to Shane Vereen. Vereen, whose status for today's game remained uncertain for most of the week, touches the ball on the first three possessions. It will be interesting to see if he plays a big role in New England's offensive attack today.

4:26 PM: Jets win the coin toss, but elect to kick off. Touchback.

Yankee Free Agents

There are a lot of question marks surrounding the New York Yankees these days, most of them concerning how GM Brian Cashman plans on retooling the roster this winter. After getting swept out of the ALCS for the first time in team history, the Yanks will be busy this off-season.  It seems all but certain that they will exercise the options of perennial MVP candidate Robinson Cano ($15 million) and Curtis Granderson ($13 million), who leads all players in home runs since Opening Day, 2011. However, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Ichiro Suzuki, Russell Martin, Raul Ibanez, and Nick Swisher are all slated to hit free agency, and their futures with the organization are more uncertain.

Kuroda: 16-11 with 3.32 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 5.2 bWAR
This free agent signing earned his money by setting career highs in wins, starts, innings, complete games, strikeouts, and bWAR. He'll be 38 next year, but he's one of those pitchers who's only improved with age--his ERA+ has increased three years in a row. Won't command big money on the free agent market given how old he is, so he should be affordable. I think he'll return next year. It would be a mistake if New York lets him leave, especially if Michael Pineda doesn't bounce back..

Swisher: .272/.364/.473 with 3.5 bWAR
Swish has been a model of consistency during the regular season, but shrinks in October. In his 35 playoff games with the Yankees he has batted .159/.252/.302 with 36 strikeouts and just six RBI. This inability to produce in the postseason combined with his high asking price will ensure that he's playing somewhere else in 2013. Possible replacements include Josh Hamilton, B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn, or Shane Victorino.

Pettitte: 5-4 with 2.87 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 2.2 bWAR
Will the 40 year-old retire? The southpaw pitched well in the regular season and playoffs, but at his age health and durability have to be major concerns. He's averaged 102 innings per season since the start of 2010, and you can't rely on him to deliver much more than that. He still has gas left in the tank, so don't count him out.

Suzuki: .283/.307/.390 with 1.6 bWAR
Ichiro returned to form after joining the Yankees in late July by batting .322/.340/.454, right in line with his career .322/.365/.419 rates. Still, Suzuki turns 39 next Monday and is clearly in decline. There's not much use for a slap-hitting singles guy who's lost a step in the field and on the bases.

Martin: .211/.311/.403 with 1.5 bWAR
The three time All-Star was passable the last two years but has become an all-or-nothing hitter. His 21 home runs and .192 ISO were career bests last year, but he also set a career high in whiffs and batted a career worst .211. He'll be 30 next year, a dangerous age for catchers, but the Yankees may not have a choice.

Rivera: 5 saves with 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 0.4 bWAR
The all-time saves leader tore his ACL shagging fly balls during BP. He's set to turn 43 next month, but age hasn't affected his performance in the slightest. I can't envision the lifelong Yankee playing anywhere else.

Ibanez: .240/.308/.453 with 0.3 bWAR
Postseason heroics aside, Ibanez is on the wrong side of 40 and can't run, field, or hit lefties. Pass.

And as for Alex Rodriguez? He's not going anywhere. His mind is made up; he will not waive his no-trade clause because he plans on redeeming himself next year. Even if he was open to the possibility of a trade, good luck finding a team in the market for a 37 year-old third baseman with $114 million remaining on his contract, not including his home run milestone incentives which would tack on up to $30 million if he passes Barry Bonds.

Kyle Lohse Press Conference Live Blog

St. Louis sends Lohse to the hill in Game 3 of the NLCS

With the National League Championship Series tied at one game apiece, Kyle Lohse is in the right frame of mind to square off against Matt Cain in the pivotal third game. The 34 year-old Lohse has been at the top of his game all season, pitched well in the Wild Card playoff game in Atlanta and dominated the Nationals  in Game 4 of the NLDS. Lohse permitted just one run, an Adam LaRoche solo shot, through seven innings.

Lohse, buoyed by his recent success, isn't patting himself on the back just yet. He knows he'll have to keep it up when he faces the Giants tomorrow night for the first time since April 10, 2011. San Francisco has a much thicker lineup than years past with Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro setting the table for a formidable heart of the order; Pablo Sandoval, likely NL MVP Buster Posey and Hunter Pence. Lohse acknowledged the Giants have a "tough lineup...with guys up and down that can hurt you." His main goal is to not let Posey bat with any runners on base, and he's looking forward to going toe-to-toe with Matt Cain. Lohse spoke highly of his opponent, praising Cain as "a very good pitcher who's had a lot of success in this game...It's going to be a challenge."

Lohse has adopted an approach to pitching that relies on what he called "controlled aggressiveness." His plan involves getting ahead of batters and making them hit his pitch. He knows he's not a strikeout guy, that he doesn't have the velocity to blow fastballs by hitters.  He'll work with battery-mate Yadier Molina on setting batters up and hitting targets, trying to expand the strike zone whenever possible. Lohse stresses taking the game one pitch at a time and staying in the moment.  "Keep it simple" was the mantra of his press conference.

So Lohse's game plan is simple enough. Tomorrow night against the Giants, it's all about location, location, location.