2011(and beyond!) MLB thread.

[clashcityrocker10]

Of course, it's not like Joe Saunders is tossing a gem so far, either.

[SheSaidSheSaid]

That's because Joe Saunders sucks.

GOD I AM GETTING SO FREAKING SICK OF THIS 'WRITTEN IN THE STARS' SONG

Wolf is sure not fooling anybody.

[HairyMan]

Looks like the NL will have TWO Game 5's this year. WOW!

[HairyMan]

If only Tampa Bay could have pulled off Game 4, for the first time ever, we'd have all four Division Series going to five games. That's amazing.

Anyway, for the ALDS between the Tigers and Yankees, I'm going to list ten reasons why each team could win Game 5.

Tigers:
1: Having seen the rookie Nova in the first game, they now put together a better game plan for Game 5.
2: Playing in NY, what would be outs in Detroit can turn into homeruns to help them score.
3: Fister has pitched twice against the Yankees this year and pitched well both times. Now that he has Game 1 under his belt, he won't have the first time nerves that he seemed to have in Game 1.
4: Detroit won the last game they played in Yankee Stadium, so they know they can win there.
5: Jose Valverde wants redemption for his shaky performances in the series, and his comment that got blown out of proportion.
6: Scherzer should be available to come in if Fister gets in trouble, and Scherzer has shut down the Yankees the last two times he faced them.
7: There's little to no pressure on Detroit as they weren't expected to win anyway. So they have nothing to lose.
8: Yankees offense has been tremendously inconsistent all year long, so they are just as likely to score one or two runs in Game 5 even though they scored ten in Game 4.
9: Although NY has the home field, the advantage it gives (gets to bat last) is nullified by the fact that in extra innings, or games where they've trailed at home in the 9th, the Yankees have been absolutely horrific and lost most of those games. Therefore, Detroit can take advantage of that to pull out a victory.
10: NY's main three bullpen guys are great, but their middle relief is incredibly questionable. If they get Nova out of the game, or if the game goes into extra innings, that middle relief can be beaten.

Yankees:

1: Nova pitched great in Game 1 and won't have those first time jitters here in his second start.
2: The Tigers' bullpen has been very shaky in this series, and has not been lights out.
3: Jim Leyland has counted on Al Alberquerque to bridge the gap from the starter to Valverde, but Alberquerque has shown by his body language and his results that he simply can't handle the pressure.
4: NY showed in Game 4 that they don't need to hit homeruns to score runs. (They scored 10 runs without a single HR). Now that they are back in NY, many of the flyballs they hit to right field will end up being homeruns.
5: Robertson and Rivera are very well rested and will be able to go two innings each, thus shortening the game even more.
6: Alex Rodriguez seems to have 'awaken' as his bat has gotten faster, it seems, as the series has moved on. Now that he has two hits in the bag, that pressure has disappeared.
7: If A-Rod has indeed "found it", Detroit will need to pitch to Cano and that could result in trouble.
8: The Yankees pulled the momentum away from Detroit with the way they fought back in Game 3, and took over Game 4.
9: Justin Verlander will not pitch in Game 5 according to Jim Leyland. If he did pitch, he'd have to do so on short rest after a long pitching session, not a short one like after Game 1. So no Verlander and they way they've beaten on the Tigers bullpen in this series helps the Yankees.
10: The start by A.J. Burnett in Game 4 pulled an already "tight" team even closer. While Baseball is a game of individual results, having good team chemistry helps out. When the Yankees were dominant in the mid to late 1990's, their roster melded together which helped them with positioning on plays, give confidence to them to help out in tough situations, and know that they would have the support of their teammates regardless of what happened, thus taking a great deal of pressure away. From about 2002 through 2007, the Yankees didn't really have that team chemistry. Numerous roster moves and personnel changes hurt that chemistry. When NY won it all in 2009, that chemistry was back. The way the team pulled together to congratulate A.J., and the way Jorge Posada has finally accepted his role on the team and his upcoming departure has helped out tremendously. They have that "fire" going on, and after losing the two in a row to Detroit in Game 2 and Game 3, they realized that they can't just "relax".

I honestly think that Game 5 will be a lot like Game 1. It will be fairly close initially, then Detroit's bullpen will come in and falter. It's more imperative for Detroit to score first since that will potentially rock the confidence of the rookie and take the crowd out of the game a bit. If NY scores first, the crowd will be deafening and that could impact Fister and his psyche. I truly believe that NY will win this game, but I'm not going to commit to any type of blowout game, or pitching duel. For the most part, until late inning massacres by NY's offense, all of the games have been ultra close. I don't see Game 5 being any different.

[clashcityrocker10]

Awesome news.

[ultimatespidey81]

i think this pretty much came outta nowhere. i don't think anyone was expecting ventura. but i knew that no matter how much chatter there might've been about francona, kenny was not gonna hire someone who could potentially overshadow him.

[clashcityrocker10]

I just love Robin Ventura. Is he younger than Omar Vizquel, though? He's still on the White Sox, right?

Also, wow. Girardi is pulling out all the stops for this game.

[ultimatespidey81]

oh yeah i loved robin when he was with the sox. one of my favorite players growing up. a member of the hall of very good. but he's got no experience. i'll support him either way and i hope he can get more outta the sox than ozzie did this last year.

[clashcityrocker10]

At the very least, you know the White Sox will hit a grand slam every time the bases are loaded.

[ultimatespidey81]

hahaha so very true.