The Detroit Tigers will host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series Saturday night. As much as it pains me to type these words about a World Series, the pinnacle of the baseball world, I couldn??t be less excited. For a variety of reasons that I will now explain.
1) Lopsided matchup
First off, the Tigers look invincible. Their pitching staff is deeper and more talented than the Tigers that I would take, at this point, Bonderman, Verlander or Rogers over Chris Carpenter to win me a decisive game. Unless the partially deceased Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen find a cure for Alzheimer??s before Saturday night, the Tigers lineup is much more lethal. The bullpen is the biggest question mark. The Cards bullpen decided to mirror their pitching after Rudy Seanez in the last month of the season, but have miraculously rebounded to put up a very accomplished 2006 postseason, which is the main reason I??m not writing about the Mets right now. The Tigers pen is reliable and dependable, as well. With the home crowd advantage going to Detroit in a landslide, this series shouldn??t be all that difficult.
2) Sick of the same old Cardinals
The Cardinals have reached the postseason six out of the last seven years. They reached the NLCS in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, winning the pennant in 2004 and 2006. Most of the main players of the last three years remain. The banged-up Jim Edmonds. The obviously injured Scott Rolen. The same old Albert Pujols getting intentionally walked in every big spot. Tony LaRussa. David Eckstein. Jeff Suppan. It??s the guys were so familiar with, and so tired of watching in the playoffs. Come on, is anyone else just sick of the Cardinals? Don??t they spell boring in every imaginable way? Their team chemistry is bordering on Yankee-level, their manager has a rod up his, well, he??s the opposite of loose, and their lineup- Wilson, Molina, Encarnacion- just doesn??t get me excited for a World Series. I would have loved to see exciting, charismatic, intriguing players like Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Endy Chavez in the World Series. But we??re stuck with these guys. Again.
3) FOX telecast
Bordering on unbearable to watch. Like milk, McCarver gets more and more stale with age. I??m stunned he didn??t pull out more confusing phrases he tries to pour all over his viewers, like ?®David Wright is looking more like David Wrong tonight against Carpenter?∆ or ?®this stadium was called Busch, now it??s more like Shush.?∆ Buck is okay, but he puts me to sleep faster than John McCain and doesn??t provide any real insight. That??s not the real problem, though. It??s the pitcher close-ups FOX has been displaying for years now that got me to realize Chris Carpenter may indeed have derived from a species of chipmunk. It??s the distracting flaming speed gun at the top. It??s the interminable commercials that last a good five minutes between half innings. And I??ll never forgive them for the way they bombarded us with Curse flashbacks and painful memories with the Sox in the postseason.
4) No emotional interest in the series
None. Whatsoever. I don??t care who wins. I don??t care who loses. If the Tigers win, I??ll be generally pleased because the fans truly deserve the title and they seem to have a great bunch of players that work as a collective team and have the utmost respect for their manager. If the Cardinals win, I??ll be indifferent, most likely just shrug. Believe me, the World Series is what I look forward to every Fall. I would have loved to see the Mets in the series because they??re from New York, they hate the Yankees, and I know many Mets fans, so I could root for them easily.
5) Storylines?
Are there any really? The Cardinals battling back from almost choking away the division and making it this far in the postseason? Jim Leyland making his return and promptly winning a title, a topic that??s already been beaten to the ground? Pudge leading this young pitching staff to the next level? To see how many times McCarver will cry over David Eckstein??s grittiness and unparalleled ability to lay down a squeeze bunt? No wonder ratings are down.
My prediction: Tigers over Cardinals in four
Now can someone tell me which college football games are on Saturday night?
