The year before that, I picked the Angels (first-round ouster), and the year before that the Cubs (first-round ouster), and the year before that the A’s (ousted in American League Championship Series).

I’d slow down on labeling him the next Nostradamus

Rivera is still good, but he is older and not automatic anymore.

Larry Stone, top Sports Writer in the Pacific Northwest
who predicted every MLB playoff team and the winners of every play off series
including the Giants winning the World Series last year,

is picking the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series in 2011

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/larrystone/2016360965_stone30.html?prmid=head_main

The main difference is that this Tigers team is much improved
over that 2006 squad at multiple positions, the starting rotation and the bullpen.

Verlander was a rookie in 2006, now he is a Cy Young pitcher.
Fister is better than Bonderman
Sherzer is better than Robertson.
Tigers bullpen Valverde is better than Jones.
Benoit is a shutdown set up guy like Zumaya was in ’06

3B Bettemit is a better hitter than Inge
SS Peralta is a better hitter than the ’06 SS(Guillen?)
1B Cabrera is much better than 1B Sean Casey
DH Victor Martinez is much better than Craig Monroe or Marcus Thames at DH
C Avila is a better hitter and comparable on defense to Pudge in 2006.
LF Delmon Young is better than Craig Monroe or Marcus Thames in LF
CF Granderson with the Yankees is better than Granderson with the Tigers in ’06,
plus better than present Tigers’ CF Austin Jackson offensively
RF Magglio in 2006 had more power and better D, but he is hitting something
like 400+ in Aug-September for the Tigers albeit with less power.

So overall, the Tigers squad of 2011 is a better team than the 2006 team that beat
the Yankees in 4 games on and went to the World Series.

Yankees also are getting older(Posada, A Rod, Jeter, Rivera)
and are not the invincible Yankees that won multiple World Series titles.

I say history repeats itself, Tigers split with the Yankees in the Bronx
and then win 2 at home in CoAmerica Park to close out the Series in 4 games

salary levels

All the last bastion of the person with no argument based in fact. Bring up salaries. The $170M Red Sox are sitting at home, the $134M Cubs are sitting at home, the $142M Mets are sitting at home, $142M Angels, get the picture?

Glad you brought up the folding part again, since I didn’t just disprove it in the previous comment. What next? They have no heart, no guts, no grit?

Oh wait, the Yanks came back and won Game 1…

I think both teams are even, but I doubt [and hope] that the Yanks go 8/63 with RISP this year (5/51 after Game 1).

We here on the bridge of the Death Star do not approve. The force is strong this season in the Universe, … Yankees in 4.

Now JV doesn’t have to toss a PG, NH, or even a SO. But he can drop the Yanx into a batting slump from which they can’t recover quickly enough. Or he could get bashed for 5 runs in the 1st inning and the Tiggers will be sent quickly into the Hundred Acre Wood of early winter.

WAR for the starters (Fangraphs):

Verlander (7.0 in 251 IP) v. Sabathia (7.2 in 237.1 IP)
Fister (2.4 in 70 IP) v. Nova (2.7 in 165.1 IP)
Scherzer (2.7 in 195 IP) v. Garcia (2.2 in 146.2 IP)

I dunno, both teams can rake so this should be interesting.

Anybody else hupe for an edit function? A way to tight a wrong? Please?

“Mariano Rivera has ice water in his veins. Jose Valverde has ants in his pants.”

As long as we know what’s supposed to be there, you can basically mess up any letters in the middle you want and the human brain will get your drift. At least most that is….