Subscribe to SI
Give the Gift of SI
Extra MustardSI On CampusFantasyPhoto GalleriesSwimsuitVideoFanNationSI KidsTNT
Posted: Friday October 20, 2006 2:58PM; Updated: Friday October 20, 2006 2:58PM
Free E-mail AlertsE-mail ThisPrint ThisSave ThisMost PopularRSS Aggregators
St. Louis
Cardinals
(83-78)
(7-4 postseason)		 vs. Detroit
Tigers
(95-67)
(7-1 postseason)
Parity, if that's what you want to call it, is about to give us our seventh World Series champion in seven years. This time, it's between the surprising 95-win wild-card Tigers -- losers of 119 games just three years ago -- and the super-surprising Cardinals. They won just 83 games in capturing a mediocre National League Central. The only team to win fewer games in a full 162-game season and make it this far: the '73 Mets, who won 82 games and lost a seven-game Series to the A's.

The Cardinals have been to the World Series recently, though they'd probably like to forget about that sweep by the Red Sox in '04. The Tigers, on the other hand, haven't been since 1984, when they beat the Padres in five games. And for the purists among us, this is also a rematch of the memorably pitching-heavy 1968 Series, which the Tigers won in seven games.
GAME 1
SAT 10/21
@
7:30 PM ET
FOX
GAME 2
SUN 10/22
@
7:30 PM ET
FOX
GAME 3
TUE 10/24
@
8 PM ET
FOX
GAME 4
WED 10/25
@
8 PM ET
FOX
GAME 5*
THU 10/26
@
8 PM ET
FOX
GAME 6*
SAT 10/28
@
7:30 PM ET
FOX
GAME 7*
SUN 10/29
@
7:30 PM ET
FOX
*If Necessary
PROJECTED LINEUP
CARDINALS
Al Bello/Getty Images
  PLAYER AVG HR RBI OBP
SS Eckstein .292 2 23 .350
LF Wilson .243 8 17 .300
1B Pujols .331 49 137 .431
CF Edmonds .257 19 70 .350
RF Encarnacion .278 19 79 .317
3B Rolen .296 22 95 .369
DH Spiezio .272 13 52 .366
2B Belliard .237 5 23 .295
C Molina .216 6 49 .274
Tigers
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty
  PLAYER AVG HR RBI OBP
CF Granderson .250 19 68 .335
2B Polanco .295 4 52 .329
1B Casey .245 5 30 .286
RF Ordonez .298 24 104 .350
SS Guillen .320 19 85 .400
C Rodriguez .300 13 69 .332
LF Monroe .255 28 92 .301
DH Thames .256 26 60 .333
3B Inge .253 27 83 .313
Albert Pujols hasn't hit many homers in the postseason -- just two, if you're counting -- but he's still the man you have to stop in the St. Louis lineup. The guys around him -- especially Preston Wilson and Juan Encarnacion -- have been hitting terribly this October, as has David Eckstein at the top of the order (.195). So how have the Cardinals arrived at this point? Yadier Molina (.353, with a pair of homers) has been strangely studly. The Tigers are known as a free-swinging bunch, but that hasn't hurt them this postseason (.276, 44 runs in eight games). The one guy who won't whiff is Placido Polanco, the AL Championship Series MVP. He's been phenomenal (.471, two strikeouts in 37 plate appearances). Magglio Ordonez, Curtis Granderson and Carlos Guillen have three homers apiece.
BENCH
Cardinals
  PLAYER AVG HR RBI R
L Duncan .293 22 43 .363
B Miles .263 2 30 .324
R Taguchi .266 2 31 .335
L Rodriguez .301 2 19 .374
Tigers
  PLAYER AVG HR RBI R
L Gomez .272 1 6 .318
B Santiago .225 0 3 .244
B Perez .200 0 5 .235
R Infante .277 4 25 .325
Chris Duncan has power, and he displayed it with a huge pinch-hit home run in Game 5 of the NLCS. So Taguchi has been hot off the bench, too. Either could be used as a designated hitter in the games in Detroit. After that, the Cardinals' reserves thin out considerably. The Tigers have used what little bench they have remarkably well in the playoffs. Marcus Thames cleaned up in the Division Series against the Yanks (.333 with a pair of doubles as designated hitter) and Alexis Gomez cranked an important homer in the ALCS against the A's when he was DH. Neifi Perez should be used for defense and bunting only.
PROJECTED STARTERS
Cardinals
Getty Images
PLAYER Rec. ERA K/BB K/9
Carpenter 15-8 3.09 4.3 7.5
Suppan 12-7 4.12 1.5 4.9
Weaver 5-4 5.18 2.3 4.9
Reyes 5-8 2.1 1 7.6
Tigers
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
PLAYER Rec. ERA K/BB K/9
Verlander 17-9 3.63 1.4 6.0
Rogers 17-8 3.84 1.6 4.3
Robertson 13-13 3.84 2.0 5.9
Bonderman 14-8 4.08 3.2 8.5
Chris Carpenter is the Cardinals' ace -- he won two games in the NLDS against the Padres -- but it's hard to pitch any better than Jeff Suppan did in Games 3 and 7 of the NLCS. Jeff Weaver, too, has settled down and kept the Cardinals in every postseason game he's pitched (2.16 ERA in three starts). So the Cardinals aren't as slack as you might think. Veteran Kenny Rogers of the Tigers had career-defining wins over the Yanks in the ALDS and the A's in the ALCS. He hasn't given up a run in 15 innings. Jeremy Bonderman has been almost as good. Nate Robertson took the team's only postseason loss in the opener to the Yanks.
BULLPEN
Cardinals
THR PLAYER ERA G IP K/9
R Kinney 3.24 21 25.0 7.9
L Johnson 4.95 56 36.1 9.2
R Looper 3.56 69 73.1 5.0
L Flores 5.62 65 41.2 8.6
R Wainwright 3.12 61 75.0 8.6
Tigers
THR PLAYER ERA G IP K/9
R Rodney 3.52 63 71.2 8.1
R Zumaya 1.94 62 83.1 10.5
L Walker 2.81 56 48.0 6.9
R Grilli 4.21 51 62.0 4.5
R Jones 3.94 62 64.0 3.9
After closer Jason Isringhausen was injured, the Cards turned to Adam Wainwright, who hasn't allowed a run in 6 2/3 postseason innings. His big-time curve froze the Mets' Carlos Beltran for a strikeout and the last out of the NLCS on Thursday. Randy Flores is a very good lefty. He hasn't allowed any runs in the playoffs, either, and neither has Josh Kinney. If Joel Zumaya's wrist is healed, his 100 mph heat will be a critical component for Detroit. If not, Fernando Rodney could fill his role, mainly to set up closer Todd Jones (37 saves in the regular season). Jones hasn't given up a run in five appearances this postseason (three saves).
PREDICTION
Oh, the subplots. There's the one about the managers and longtime buddies, Jim Leyland of the Tigers and Tony La Russa of the Cards. And the Yankees pitching rejects, Rogers and Weaver. The whole idea of another wild-card entry winning the Series title will be examined. (If the Tigers win, they'd be the fifth to win the Series since the wild card was instituted.) The rematch of the historic '68 Series. The Series coming back to Detroit. La Russa's postseason troubles. (He's still looking for his first Series win in St. Louis, in his 11th year). No New York teams after many predicted a Subway Series. (Why is that a bad thing again?)

When we get down to the baseball at hand, though, what we have are the well-armed and well-rested Tigers against a team that scrambled through a titillating Game 7 in the NLCS just to get here. And the Tigers -- who, by the way, can bash with the best -- have home-field advantage, too. The Cardinals' pitching is better than you probably think, and if someone around Pujols hits, they can make this a Series. But the Tigers, after stumbling at the end of the regular season, are a team that looks unstoppable. Tigers win in six games.

Search