2016 trade package #18: My Sports Obsession's trade package is a fall classic

Buddy of the blog Jeff from My Sports Obsession was in town on Saturday for Michigan's football homecoming game, so we managed to meet up for a few minutes beforehand for a bit of in-person trading.  That's something I don't get to do very often so it was a nice added bonus to our usual ongoing dealing.

I've got plenty of baseball stuff to show off over here plus a good handful of Wolverine stuff over on TMM as well.  The baseball stuff comes at a nice time since we're right in the midst of the World Series, with game 2 hopefully getting played as scheduled tonight (weather cooperating).  I'm rooting for the Cubs to end their curse as I did Boston 12 years ago, but I could live with a very good Cleveland team ending their own drought.

Detroit's own lack of titles hasn't been nearly as bad, but it has been 32 years since the Tigers' Wire-to-Wire '84 season.  Here's a few guys there were part of that championship run represented in cards Jeff gave me:

Sparky, seen here on an '83 Topps base, managed both the Reds and Tigers to titles.  The next group (along with five cards in the next scan) all hail from '86 Topps.  Evans turned out to be a solid free agent signing for '84, then put up nice numbers the next few seasons in Motown.  Herndon was a valuable role-player and had a nice Series, hitting a two-run homer that proved to be the winner in game 1.  Petry was a key cog in a rotation led by Jack Morris and went 18-8 in the regular season.  Tanana's the only guy in this group who wasn't with Detroit in '84; the Tigers grabbed him from Texas the next year and he had a few good seasons with the team.  And of course Trammell (seen here on 1980 and 1983 Topps issues) was the MVP of the Series thanks to a robust .450 average, 2 HR, and 6 RBI, all that after a nice ALCS.

The cards above are of guys I have sorted by player in my Tigers box while the next group includes cards that'll go into my "vintage" (pre-90s) Detroit collection:

Hebner, from '82 Donruss, was better known as an 11-year Pirate and was long gone before the '84 Series.  Cabell, another '83 Topps example, spent a good number of his years with Houston and was in Detroit in 1982-83 only.  Castillo was a backup C/3B and '84 was the apex of his five year career as he also contributed in the playoffs, including a game 3 homer.  Garbey was briefly a rookie sensation in '84, his first of two years with Detroit (he'd enjoy one last season with the Rangers in '88) and also made the playoff roster.  Lopez, a.k.a. Señor Smoke, was a very good RP who went a crazy 10-1 in '84 and picked up a win each in the ALCS and World Series.  O'Neal went 2-1 in three starts as a Tigers rookie that year, then went on to a seven-year career with a total of four other teams.  Finally, Simmons was a rookie OF that got a cup of coffee with the team and appeared in just 100 games over parts of three seasons with Detroit and Baltimore between '84 and '87.

Besides sending Tigers, Jeff included a pair of PC guys:

This Gwynn card from 1996 Pinnacle is very familiar to me as it hails from one of my favorite sets.  However, it isn't actually the base card, but the Foil version instead, made as part of a retail-exclusive parallel of the Series 2 set.  I really liked the ".300 Series" subset and the foil does a nice job of making the card pop, even if foil inherently makes scanning more difficult!

In keeping with the World Series theme, Gwynn made it to two of those--one in '84, which I've been discussing this whole post, and then against the earlier portion of the late 90s/early 2000s Yankees dynasty, in '98.  He went on to hit nearly .400 with a homer in his nine Series games.

Jeff hit one of my other major PCs, a guy we both chase in Cal Ripken Jr.:

The Iron Man made his lone Series appearance in '83, his second full season and third overall.  After the Fall Classic he'd be named AL MVP, and though he didn't contribute much to the five-game win over the Phillies, he did have a nice ALCS (against Jeff's White Sox!).  The first card in this scan includes his stats from that year as it hails from '84 Topps.  The others are from 1989 Topps Glossy All-Stars, 1992 Leaf, 1992 Pinnacle, 1993 Upper Deck, and 1994 Pinnacle (with a great photo).

Cal's Orioles did make it back to the playoffs in 1996 and '97, but they lost to the Yankees and Indians, respectively, and that was it for Ripken's playoff experience.  Here he is on cards from '95 Score, '98 Donruss, '98 Topps, 2000 Impact Mighty Fine in '99, and 2015 Topps Update Rookie Sensations.  Definitely a nice bunch for one of my favorite PCs!

Thanks for some great new cards, Jeff!

Please don't forget to head over to TMM for more baseball goodness while you settle in for game 2 tonight!

Let's get World Serious for a second

After what's been a very good playoffs to this point, tonight's game 1 of the World Series.  Giants.  Royals.  West Coast vs. Midwest.  Posey vs. Gordon, Bumgarner vs. Shields, Bochy vs. Yost.  Two wild card teams duke it out, featuring the experienced Giants (winners in 2010 and 2012) against the Cinderella Royals, who've yet to lose in the 2014 postseason.

Personally, I'm predicting that Kansas City's magic ends and the Giants win in six, but in the end I hope I'm pleasantly surprised by the Royals bring to an end San Fran's even-numbered year mojo.  Regardless it's a pretty good matchup, so good luck to both teams.  And at least the Yankees and Red Sox aren't involved, right?

2013 ALCS game 5, Jim Leyland, and World Series rooting interest

ALC-YES:

Went to my first ever playoff baseball game last Wednesday, and boy was it a great time.  I got my rally towel (which I waved til my arms hurt) and enjoyed my view from the left field upper-deck near the fair pole:

(Yes, my pictures suck this time since I used my phone)

The crowd's energy and noise and the overall atmosphere was incredible, exactly what I was hoping for based on games I'd seen on TV.

The Tigers strung some walks and big hits into a nice inning against Jake Peavy leading to very little late drama.  After the disappointment from most of the previous games in the series, this was a refreshing change of pace.  Starter Doug Fister (my third different Tiger starter this year) was very good for the few innings he pitched and a resurgent Austin Jackson was the star of the evening.

As it turned out, this was the last game in the series the Tigers won.  Oh well, maybe next year?  Anyway, I had a blast and can't wait to make it to another playoff game in-person.

FIRE LEYL--oh, cool, he stepped down:

I'm not particularly sad to see Jim Leyland no longer managing the Tigers.  Too often I took issue with his strategies (or lack thereof) and refusal to see when changes needed to be made (i.e. moving Prince Fielder's fat ass down in the order).  I do give him credit for a great record, multiple playoff appearances and two Pennants over his eight seasons in Motown, and he comes off as a good guy who was obviously proud to be part of the Detroit tradition.  He just always struck me as a guy whose teams just couldn't get over the hump and often disappointed, falling below expectations at times.  With a team this talented I just can't believe he couldn't win a ring with the Tigers.

The story of Detroit's season in one animated GIF

Still, I know I should be careful what I wish for.  I definitely don't want an awful situation such as the Mattingly-Dodgers feud, an embarrassment like Bobby Valentine, or a hateful idiot like Ozzie Guillen.  Time will tell who the Tigers hire as their next manager, and I'm holding out hope for new blood instead of some retread--it's worked out well for a number of teams recently.  Good luck to Leyland on his future with the Tigers and outside of baseball, and best wishes to the team as they try to find a leader to get the team its first ring since 1984!

BEAT THE BEARDS!:

When Detroit threatened to bow out of the playoffs (and then did that), leaving Boston as the AL's representative, I pinned my remaining hopes on St. Louis defeating LA because I couldn't stand the idea of a completely unwatchable World Series featuring two villains.  I mean Boston has pretty much become the Yankees' barely-less annoying younger brother since winning titles in '04 and '07.  Plus they've got those stupid beards and look like idiots.  For me they have no redeeming qualities and I will happily root against them, not out of a sense of revenge for beating the Tigers (hell, I could have pulled for Tampa or Oakland in the Series) but because I just can't stand them and what they've become since finally winning in 2004.

This right here?  This looks stupid.  You look stupid doing this.

I have less of an annoyed attitude towards the Dodgers, really, but the dysfunctional way their front office and manager interacted, plus the attempt to throw a ridiculous pile of money at a title (which the Tigers are guilty of, just not all at once), were really huge turn-offs.  I haven't rooted for the Dodgers since Kirk Gibson's limited time with the team, and I really haven't had any reason to pull for them in a long, long time.  That's not to say that I don't hope some of their guys win it all at some point in their careers, especially Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp.

This look familiar, Dodgers fans?

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are a natural fit for my World Series rooting interest.  I can't think of anything I hate about them.  St. Louis is a venerated baseball town with great fans and an excellent history.  It's become a model for draft strategy and success (see:  Wacha, Michael, plus the 2009 haul), and the way they've performed since refusing Albert Pujols' king's ransom is amazing.  This is a Midwestern NL team playing NL ball the way it's meant to be played.  And of course I'm plenty biased since their second-year manager is a Michigan grad, so I'm wishing Matheny and his team the best of luck.  Hopefully this won't be a boring repeat of the very blah 2004 Series; I'd bet against it as this year's games have generally been entertaining.  With sincere apologies to all my Dodger-blogging buddies, I've got St. Louis in six.

GO CARDS!

Sending the Tigers a Bill

Detroit definitely could use some luck right now given the way the Giants have steamrolled them through the first two World Series games.  I'm not quite sure why everyone's making San Fran out to be some scrappy underdog, but regardless, they've pretty much done everything right so far to take an impressive, commanding lead of the Series.

So, in an attempt to show off another pickup from eBay while also trying to bring the Tigers some luck, I'm sending them a bill, namely this one:

Bill Freehan 2005 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Lineage auto (#09/25)

As I sometimes do, I paid a bit more than I would have preferred for this card, but then again, this was the first time I had seen one for sale, which isn't a huge surprise since it is fairly limited at only 25 copies.  This is definitely one of the better signatures of his in my PC of him, too, and it really works well with a nice card design.  I can now say I have 37 different Freehans in-hand and scanned (I really need to start abbreviating that) with many more to come.

Ok, I did my part, and hopefully the Tigers do theirs tonight in an effort to take back the Series and restore the roar to Motown.  GO TIGERS!

COMC haul #4: AJax and Detroit's World Series Odyssey

(Note:  all COMC haul posts can be accessed here)

Please feel free to skip down to the picture, but the impending Game 1 has me waxing lyrical tonight.

Ajax was one of those mythical mighty Greek warriors you hear about sometimes.  He was apparently extremely strong (though I don't know what the Greek equivalent of Rod Allen's "country strong" is) and also very intelligent, especially when it came to battle.

Fast forward some number of centuries and you'll find another AJax--Austin Jackson--as a top New York Yankees OF prospect.  A couple years after he bursts onto the scene, he's part of a deal that sends former blog favorite and face of the Tigers Curtis Granderson to the Evil Empire in a three-way deal that also includes the Diamondbacks.  Joining Jackson in the deal are fellow Yankee Phil Coke, a pitcher, and Max Scherzer, a fireballing starter for Arizona.  The deal is universally panned by the writers of this blog, and many Detroit fans are equally angry, while some take a "wait and see" approach.

Jackson's 2010 debut performance earns him second place in the Rookie of the Year voting, and it looks like he may after all live up to his potential and swing the deal back to the Tigers' favor.  Then 2011 occurs, and while his power increases slightly, his batting average and OBP take a nosedive, partially thanks to and even larger number of strikeouts.  His performance in the postseason isn't much better, and although Scherzer shows some flashes, Granderson puts up numbers that make this look like a steal for the Bombers.

But then something interesting happens:  2012 rolls around and Jackson begins to do more than just show progress:  he has a breakout season in which he improves all of his key stats, including cutting down on strikeouts, and plays a key role on a team that for a while was eking out a playoff spot.  Meanwhile, despite Phil Coke's meltdown, Max Scherzer becomes a crucial part of an outstanding rotation.  And although the Yankees surely appreciate Granderson's power surge, they apparently don't realize that he's become their team's Rob Deer.

This story continues with a nice postseason so far for all three Tigers that were part of that deal, not the least of whom is Jackson, who put up big numbers as the Tigs swept his former team back to the nursing home they came from (with some nice performances from a newly-confident Phil Coke as well).

What I'm trying to say here is that it's taken me this long, but I finally appreciate that that deal that cost my favorite player has been a bigger boon to my team than I could have realized.  Thus, Jackson is a guy whom I've slowly been collecting in the last few months.  However, back in June when I first began piling up cards for this epic haul, Jackson's excellent regular and postseason were still a ways down the road, so it's just dumb luck that I picked up a couple nice things of him when I did.  And now that the Tigers are set to face off with the Giants tonight in Game 1, here's one of those pickups to get myself and fellow Tigers fans in the mood:

Austin Jackson 2010 Topps Update Manufactured Rookie logo patch (#378/500)

Insert comments about how awesome/terrible manu-relics are here.  For my part, I don't pretend that they have anything to do with actual relics, and my only criteria for picking them up (besides player and price, of course) is design.  In this case, I think we've got a fun manupatch design commemorating Jackon's rookie year, which, again, went quite well numbers-wise for the Tigers.  As for whether or not the card meets my other criteria, obviously I like the player, and the price was surprising, even for a manu-relic:  a measly $4.

Win or lose, I'll be showing off a few other Tigers pickups during the Series, (good luck to you, Giants fans, I hope for a great Series for both of our teams!) and I'll tease you guys a bit by mentioning that I picked up one other Jackson that's way better than this one, so stay tuned!  As for tonight, GO TIGERS!

Trade with MCM and World Series thoughts

Trade with MCM:

Adam from My Cardboard Mistress shot me a note last week mentioning that he had this card for me,

an Austin Jackson 2011 Topps Lineage 1975 mini relic jersey, and that he'd rather send it to me than have to put it back.  That's as good a reason for a trade as any, and the result is a pretty cool Jackson hit, my first of him.  AJax really, really needs to learn to cut down the strikeouts and get on base, because he definitely has the talent to be the leadoff hitter Granderson, the man he replaced, never was.  Granderson, of course, only morphed into the power hitter he is after joining the Yankees, but I hope Detroit's staff can work on him and get him right--the Tigers offense would be ridiculous with a consistent leadoff hitter and stolen base artist.

Anyway, I definitely owe Adam something nice in return, and hopefully I can square us up soon.  Thanks, Adam!

World Series thoughts:

Well, Friday night ended the 2011 baseball season, and I'm happy to say that the amazing Cardinals capped off one of the most unlikely title runs ever for their 11th championship.  I don't mean to imply that I was specifically rooting against Texas, because I would have been thrilled especially for Nolan Ryan after all his hard work trying to revitalize the team.  Still, there's the George W. Bush factor, even if he no longer actually has a hand in the team after it went to shit along with every other one of his ventures. (but that's not a discussion for a sports card blog)  Besides, there's plenty to like about the incredible Cardinals run anyway.  All that said, here are some of my thoughts about the Series, some of which I hope prompt discussion in the comments:

• Is there a more entertaining manager to watch than Ron Washington?  I don't think I could ever root against a skipper who wears his heart on his sleeve.  He does make some goofy decisions but really, what manager doesn't?  He's the type of animated manager that's good for the game, not some moronic asshole like Ozzie Guillen, whom I hope loses 100+ games with the Marlins for all the shit he's pulled in his managerial career.
• I don't care for Josh Hamilton at all, for reasons I won't go into as they're also not relevant to this blog.  Still, I give the guy huge props not only for gutting though an obviously debilitating and painful injury, but for overcoming it with an outstanding performance instead of dogging it and blaming the injury.
• Nobody deserves more props than the Cardinals, though, for squeezing in to the playoffs on the season's final day, then beating the two best NL teams in the playoffs, not to mention a favored Rangers team.  I know they're already getting a lot of credit for this, but seriously, they earned it.  And what's cool is, it's nice to see that the wild card still makes sense--I wasn't always a fan of it, but we've seen some fun teams eke out a playoff spot like this and go on to win a title.  Nothing was handed to the Cardinals, but their resilience was definitely their biggest asset this year.
• Adrian Beltre was the real deal this year in the regular season and playoffs, and I was shocked because it wasn't a contract season, so I was wrong about him, at least this year.  I still think the Rangers massively overpaid him, but for now the results speak for themselves, to be fair.
• The Mighty Pujols had a bit of an impact in the other games, but besides his record-setting game three, he wasn't the deciding factor.  Instead, guys like Allen Craig and David Freese were the heroes who will forever be legends in St. Louis, and that's the fun of the championship being decided by a seven-game series.
• Speaking of Cardinals heroes, besides the two guys above, how about Lance Berkman?  He rightfully caught some flak for comments he made before the season when he called the Rangers an average team without Cliff Lee, although based on their pitching performance in the playoffs, he was somewhat vindicated.  Still, having not signed with them and then being traded to St. Louis, it looks like Fat Elvis had the last laugh.  Protecting Pujols because Matt Holliday was ineffective/injured, he punished the Rangers time and again with clutch hits after Texas was forced to intentionally walk El Hombre.  Hell, Berkman pretty much set up camp on second base throughout the series.
• Can you remember a more exciting World Series in the last decade?  The somewhat similarly crazy Yankees/DBacks matchup back in 2001 is the best I could do.  In my mind, nothing could compare to game six in which David Freese made a crucial error, (one of several between both teams) brought the team back from within one strike of losing, (which the Cards also did in the 10th) then smacked one of the most dramatic walk-offs in the history of the game.  I literally sat on my couch at 12:39 a.m. EST saying "I can't believe it!" after the hometown here Freese punched St. Louis' ticket for game seven.  I hope the Series' ratings improved this year.
• I definitely enjoy the games more when the pitchers bat, because sometimes they have an unexpected offensive impact, and even when they don't, the strategy of the game becomes so much more interesting.  All you DH apologists can have your 300-pound .260 hitter who contributes 20 HR and nothing else to the game, I'll still with exciting matchups like this one.
• I'll admit I like to see teams win championships at home, which has happened quite a bit recently in the World Series, apparently.  Because of that, I might have pulled a bit more for the Rangers had the AL won the All-Star Game this year.  It just has to be 100 times sweeter for the home fans to get the instant gratification of celebrating in the stadium instead of having to wait for the team to arrive at the airport.  The postgame festivities just work better that way.  I understand that the Super Bowl just couldn't work that way, but football really misses out on that experience, unless a team really beats the odds and gets a home game.

And now, in celebration of the Cards, and because this post is seriously lacking in images,

I give you Fat Elvis, sans awesome facial hair and mullet, plus

two-time champion and current best player in the League, Albert Pujols.

Now begins a long offseason, though fortunately for me, one that's devoid of the NBA, which means Christmas came early.  Time to focus on college and pro football, plus college hockey, as the weather turns cold and depressing.  For now, may your teams find success in free agency, trades, the Rule V draft, and the excitement that is baseball's winter meetings, not to mention the upcoming awards announcements.  What a season!

2011 MLB playoff predictions: not-at-all-biased, semi-wishful thinking edition

Well, the MLB playoffs are upon us. (or just about, since they start tomorrow)  For the first time since I was four, the Tigers won their division, and for just the first time since that insane finish, they'll be in the playoffs.  Will Fister prove to be the 21st century Doyle Alexander?  Will Kirk Gibson revel in postseason glory once again?  Will the world yawn as the Yankees buy another World Series?  I don't know, but this seems like as good a time as any for some predictions:

NL:

Diamondbacks (94-68, West champs)
vs.
Brewers (96-66, Central champs):
Arizona manager Kirk Gibson likes the playoffs--

At first I was like...

And then I World Series'd.  Again.

Arizona is the NL team I'm most rooting for because of two Michigan connections:  Gibby and comeback stud closer J.J. Putz.

Oh look, he mentioned a Michigan player again, how surprising...

Breakout star Justin Upton and former Yankee prospect Ian Kennedy, a Cy Young contender, headline this team.

But Milwaukee has a motivated Prince Fielder, Hebrew Hammer Ryan Braun, and an excellent playoff-caliber pitching staff led by Yovani Gallardo and Zack Greinke.

Prediction:  Brewers in 5--the Brew Crew pitching holds the D-Backs offense at bay and Cecil the Younger puts up big numbers in his final season in the Cheese State.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cardinals (90-72, NL wild card)
vs.
Phillies (102-60, East champs):

The Cardinals squeaked into the playoffs on the final day of the season thanks to a major collapse by the Braves.  Still, they finished with 90 wins in a decent division that also included the playoff-bound Brewers, so nobody should write them off.  Most of their offense is this guy, whom you might've heard of,

and their pitching is a bit of a grab bag compared to other teams.  Still, this group includes some guys that won rings the last time the Tigers made the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Phillies steamrolled their way to baseball's best record by a whopping five games, and they were the only 100-win team this year.  Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino headline a potent offense, though in the postseason there's no denying this guy's credentials:

I often come up big, like the size of my enormous head

MAN I wish we still had Polanco.  Fortunately, since their entire rotation has won the last 30 Cy Youngs, it might not matter who else is on the field.

Prediction:  Phillies in 4--Pujols supplies enough offense to win one game and keep at least one other close, but the Phillies' dominant roster is too much for the happy-to-be-here Cards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AL:

Rays (91-71, AL wild card)
vs.
Rangers (96-66, West champs):

Tampa took a path similar to the Cardinals to get to this matchup, but in many ways they're a better team.  That they needed the wild card to sneak in isn't a huge surprise in a division that includes the Yankees and Sawx, plus one other .500 team, a resume no other division can match.  The Rays boast an offense featuring superstar Evan Longoria, who'll win at least one game in this series with his bat, plus former Tiger Matt Joyce, the lesser Upton brother Justin and playoff stalwart Johnny Damon.  A star-studded pitching tandem of James Shields and David Price bodes well for the Rays.

Texas is a bit more balanced in several ways, with its offense spread among Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre,

Am I a free agent after this season?  No?  Screw it, I'm just gonna hang out over here then...

Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler.  The pitching isn't a one-man show either, with C.J. Wilson, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando all owning double-digit win totals this year.  The Rangers are likely starving for another shot at a title after falling short against the Giants last year in the only successful playoff campaign in the team's history.

Prediction:  Rays in 3--yep, I'm predicting an upset AND a sweep. Tampa comes in with a ton of momentum, still flying high over stealing the last playoff spot, and Evan Longoria dominates this series, allowing Shields, Price and stud pitching prospect Matt Moore to shine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tigers (95-67, Central champs)
vs.
Yankees (97-65, East champs):

I spent most of the year bitching about Jim Leyland.  I still don't like him and no matter what happens, I still don't want him back.  But the fact is, he's got an excellent team, in many ways an improvement over the '06 version. (with the exception of POLANCO GODDAMMIT WHY DID WE LET HIM GO?!)  Fister was the cream of the trade deadline crop, Victor Martinez was the best free-agent signing, and the existing cast of Cy Young dominator Justin Verlander,

MVP-caliber batting average/blood alcohol champion Miguel Cabrera,

Giant Potato and off-balance sky-pointing closer of unshakable certainty Jose Valverde,

and a very good supporting cast make this a team to watch.

New York, in addition to its overpriced, aging, star-studded roster, has benefited from the presence of one Curtis Granderson,

who would be an extremely good non-Cabrera choice for the MVP.  But he's got plenty of help in a lineup that features an aging but you still know he'll make a ridiculously important play and stock prices for smelling salts will skyrocket thanks to all of ESPN fainting from delight Derek Jeter.  Equally impressive second baseman Robinson Cano, slugger Mark Teixeira and some guy shopping for purses

will help score a bunch of runs for a rotation anchored by CC Sabathia,

Actual photo of Sabathia

excellent rookie Ivan Nova, and...um...I guess Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon?  Those guys are about 100 years old combined, but they have that important quality often found in Yankee fan favorites--they're not A.J. Burnett.  Should the offense and pitching produce a lead going into the ninth, Greatest Closer Ever Yes I Said It So You Can Shut Up Now Mariano Rivera

will be there to shut the door (a large door, if it's one Sabathia and Colon can fit through) assuming the Tigers don't bring back Luis Gonzalez.

Prediction:  Tigers in 4--in a prognostication that in no way could be construed as wishful thinking, I just can't see Detroit losing games one and two started by Jesus Verlander and Doyle Fister.  I predict that the Yanks pull off a laugher against Max Scherzer, who gets his terrible start out of the way early, then looks more serviceable in the latter rounds.  I couldn't pick against Detroit if I wanted to, but I really do have good justifications for thinking they'll win this series comfortably, and that doesn't even include karma, so we got that goin' for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NLCS:  Phillies over Brewers

ALCS:  Tigers over Rays

World Series:  Tigers over Phillies

We're due, so let's bring a title back to Motown, boys!