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!

Fister needs to teach the offense how to Dougie

I'm once again heading down to Detroit this evening for my third(!) Tigers game of the year and first ever playoff game.  Naturally I'm excited, even though Detroit's offense has been suspect and has wasted some great pitching performances (as did the 'pen in game 2).

Fister.  'Murica.  Fuck yeah.

Tonight's Tigers starter is Doug Fister, so hopefully he and Kate Upton will be teaching Boston how to Dougie tonight.

Come on Tigers, RESTORE THE ROAR OF '84!!!

Restore the Roar 2013: LET'S GO TIGERS!

This evening's Tigers-A's matchup, a.k.a. game 5 of the ALDS, has all the signs of being one of the top playoff contests of the season.  Oakland, making their third playoff appearance in 2006, is looking to avenge losses to Detroit in 2006 (ALCS) and 2012 (ALDS).  The Tigers, meanwhile, returned to the postseason for the fourth time in the same span, with a loss to the 2011 pennant-winning Rangers bookended by defeats in the 2006 (Cards) and 2012 (Giants) World Series.

Precocious rookie Sonny Gray vs. a possibly rejuvenated Justin Verlander.  A team without superstars and their accompanying egos against a star-studded lineup that's seen its bats go silent at the worst possible moment.  The West Coast matched up with a flyover state.

Will the A's lose focus on the ultimate prize as they continue to make a mountain out of a molehill and laughably claim Victor Martinez's homer shouldn't have counted?  Will Justin Verlander, who had an off year by his standards, come up big when his team needs him the most?  Will ANYONE score any runs in this game?  Will Prince Fielder earn more free nachos?  Tune in this evening to find out.  You know where this here blog's loyalties lie.

Celebrating a division title with a few Bills for a few bills

I wasn't trying to get all Xzibit with the title, but it'll make sense in a minute.

For now, first I want to properly celebrate and congratulate the Tigers on their second consecutive AL Central Division title.  There were plenty of times this season where things looking embarrassingly iffy for such a talented (and well-paid) team, but the Tigs buckled down and got it done.  I look forward to the playoffs again, because as everyone knows, anything can happen come October (see:  2006 World Series). Hopefully next we'll be celebrating the newest member of the Triple Crown club, and if that happens, you know you'll be seeing something right here.

And now we go from potential winners to actual winners, namely a guy who won it all in 1968:

Bill Freehan 2004 UD Legends Timeless Teams 1968 auto

Bill Freehan 2005 UD Past Time Pennants Signatures Gold

Bill Freehan 2006 Greats of the Game auto

That's three new Freehan autos for my burgeoning PC of the former star catcher.  I picked up all three on eBay recently, and surprisingly (considering how prices had looked the last few months), I snagged each of them for under $10, and that's including shipping.  All three of these are really, really nice in my opinion, though if I was pressed to pick a favorite I'd go with the GOTG card on the grounds that it has what I consider the nicest combination of design and photo.  But seriously, I couldn't possibly go wrong here, and I'm thrilled to be adding all of them.

I'm now up to 11 hits--two relics, eight autos and a plate--and 30 overall Freehans in that PC, with more on the way via COMC.  I promise to show each and every one of those off just as soon as I have them in hand.  Between now and then, I hope we'll all be watching Cabrera and Verlander leading us deep into October!

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!

Michigan gameday: vs. Michigan State; Tigers ALCS game 6

Go Tigers?  GO TIGERS!:

Detroit travels back to Arlington for the first of (hopefully) two do-or-die, win or go home games against the Rangers.  PLEASE WIN THESE GAMES, DETROIT!

College football:  Hate Week Jr.:  

It's not yet time for the Game--that'll be in a few weeks--but this one's pretty large with Paul Bunyan's Axe and lots and lots of pride at stake.  It's time for Michigan to reclaim its rightful place as the state's flagship team while the Spartans go back to wearing popped collars, calling you "brah" and burning couches.

Other interesting games (aka what I'll be doing all day):

• #20 Baylor at #21 Texas A&M, 12
• #6 OK State at #22 Texas, 3:30
• Ohio State at #16 Illinois, 3:30
• #18 Arizona State at #9 Oregon

But first up is the day's best game.  On that note, LET'S GO BLUE!!!

Michigan gameday: at Northwestern; plus Tigers-Rangers ALCS game 1

Yankees lose!  THEEEEEEEE Yankees lose!:

So Detroit did about 95% percent of the country a favor and ousted the Yankees in an exciting ALDS game 5 on Thursday.  It was pretty touch and go for a while, but if you beat the odds and find yourself getting outmanaged by Jim Leyland, your prognosis is not so good.

I must say I'm thrilled--this team has come a long way this season, and I say the more chances you can throw the Verlander/Cabrera combo at a World Series chance, the better.  I'm not sure what to expect against Texas--my untrained eye thinks the Tigers can handle the Texas pitching enough to give our starters leads to work with, but what do I know?

Revisiting my playoff predictions, I got the Brewers right, correctly predicting the five-game series; like many others, I'm sure, I wrongly picked the Phillies; my "upset" pick of Tampa over Texas failed; and I got the right team but wrong number of games in the Tigers-Yanks duel.

My new predictions:  Brewers over Cards in 6, Tigers over Rangers in 5, Tigers over Brewers in 6.  Surely these guesses will not come back to haunt me in any way, shape or form.

Tonight Justin Verlander takes the hill for the Tigers in a must-win game one.  Go Tigers!

It's Saturday, college football time!:

A few interesting games highlight this football Saturday:

• #3 Oklahoma @ #11 Texas in the Red River Shootout, 12
• #17 Florida @ #1 LSU, 3:30
• #15 Auburn @ #10 Arkansas, 7
• Ohio State @ #14 Nebraska, 8 (if nothing, to see OSU get further humiliated)

Michigan heads to Evanston to play Northwestern in a night game for some reason.  The #12 Wolverines are surely overrated in the polls, but nobody with a brain pays attention to them at this point in the season anyway.  I'm anxious to see how we do on the road, but I think we'll be all right in the end and win by a couple scores.

LET'S GO BLUE!!

 

I know my calculus: Tigers + me = us

+

+

=

1 more...

A great time to be a sports fan in Michigan?

Who else would I start with?:

Michigan pantsed Minnesota 58-0 (and that was being charitable thanks to some field goals, a couple punts and, of course, finally getting some backups in) and my Wolverines are 5-0.  While I'm sure an undefeated season is just about out of the question, this is still a very encouraging start.  As always, IT'S GREAT TO BE A MICH-I-GAN WOLV-ER-INE!

In other college football news...:

Not only did the Buckeyes lose again, once again in embarrassing fashion--the team that beat them, Michigan's little brother Michigan State, was embarrassingly bad as well.  Please to enjoy this gem from the always hilarious EDSBS.  Excerpt:

Matt: Dantonio can't coach, but he hates humanity with a burning passion and that's what makes him the moderately successful and extremely lonely person he is.

In other college sports news:

Defending second place-finisher (damn you, Minnesota St.!) Michigan hockey kicks off their regular season tomorrow night against Niagara.  I'm hoping for another Frozen Four appearance, but since it's too early to be thinking about that, here's an example of the best college sports intermission tradition IN THE WORLD: (suck it, Badgers with your "jumping around") 

The Lions don't have a word for "winning" yet, so for now we're calling it "unlosing":

Well, I guess I covered it yesterday, but what a great comeback by the Lions.  Bonus genius response to a post entitled "Things Rob Ryan can eat":  "He can't eat his foot...that's already on his brother's menu." (courtesy of hiflew)  Johnny, for that comment you get

RESPEK KNUCKLES, my friend.
Yay Tigers, yay Curtis/boo Curtis:

The Tigers split with the Yankees in a water-logged pair of games.  Good ol' Grandy sure made a statement in the Bronx, but Miguel Cabrera and Papa Grande had the last laugh.  Valverde then made a tongue-in-cheek guarantee that the Tigers had this thing in the bag, inspiring me to create this guy:

Because of the weather weirdness, game three will be tonight, sans off day, in Detroit, with the Hamburglar facing Jesus Verlander. (for reals this time, we promise)  Go Tigers, and for the love of God, Leyland, DON'T SCREW THIS UP FOR US!

Does this blog still talk about cards?  I wanna talk about cards:

Careful what you ask for--I have major shipments from COMC and SportLots, plus something from eBay and maybe even from Blowout on the way.  Expect to see a nice uptick in card-related content in the next week to 10 days!

Michigan gameday: vs. Minnesota; plus Tigers game 1 (STILL?!)

New York is unfamiliar with this thing they call a "weather forecast":

Thanks to a ton of rain last night, game one of the Tigers-Yankees ALDS series was halted after the top of the second with the score tied at 1.  That was really a shame because both teams had their #1 pitchers going for those brief 1 1/2 innings.  Hopefully the weather cooperates today (and hopefully it's warmer than it is here, sheesh) and we get the rest of the game in so the series can continue with minimal interruption.  Go Tigers!

Let's Go Blue:
Michigan plays a terrible Minnesota team in what will hopefully be the blowout Wolverines fans have been waiting for so the backups get some snaps.  Not too much to say about today's game other than to mention the historic trophy that goes with it:  the Little Brown Jug.  Hit the link to read up on it if you're interested.  Otherwise, please to enjoy the following--the trophy's namesake song and a look at one of the most memorable games in its history, the epic 2003 Michigan comeback:

As always, LET'S GO BLUE!

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.

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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.

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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!