It's been a while since I have found some time to post anything new. I figured this would be a good time, what with the World Series beginning tonight. A few days ago, the world was preparing to hand the Tigers the title without so much as a hesitation. This was a team that had dominated the Yankees and A's this postseason, including seven straight victories entering the World Series. They were boasting a dominant pitching staff and came from a superior league. The Cardinals had just been shut down by the one and only Oliver Perez, who, other than the occasional sailing fastball, looked nothing like the Perez that went 3-13 with a 6.55 ERA this season. Most believed that no team from the NL would stand a chance against any AL team, especially a St. Louis squad that had been only five games over .500 in the regular season.
And the Cardinals won tonight 7-2. Not to sound like I knew this might happen, because I didn't, but why were we so quick to mark this one down as over before it started? Yeah, the AL beat the snot out of the NL during interleague play. Yeah, the NL only had one team with 90+ wins.
So what.
Anything can happen in a seven game World Series. Over 11 seasons, Jim Leyritz averaged one homerun every 28 at-bats in the regular season . In the postseason, he homered every 8 at-bats, including a couple of clutch bombs. Hell, the Pirates took five straight from the Mets and Dodgers in September. ANYTHING can happen with a small sample size. Plus, the Tigers were anything but dominant in the second half of this season. They dropped 31 of their final 51 games and squandered a huge division lead before settling for a wild card berth. Nobody remembers that after a couple of postseason wins.
That said, the Tigers will quite possibly still take this series. A 7-2 loss in game one does not mean a thing. I hope they do. Andy Van Slyke deserves his ring.
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