MLB

Who will make the difference in the World Series?

USATODAY

Buster Posey, above, has become “that guy,” teammate Tim Lincecum says.

Five players who can make a difference in the World Series
Giants players to watch: Posey, Lincecum
Tigers players to watch: Verlander, Cabrera, Jackson

BUSTER POSEY, San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants won the National League West by eight games in large part because Buster Posey had an MVP-level season.

They reached their second World Series in three years even though Posey hasn't had anywhere close to an MVP-type postseason.

Normally a disciplined hitter, Posey went out of the zone more often than usual against the St.Louis Cardinals' tough pitching in the National League Championship Series and wound up hitting .154. He and No. 5 hitter Hunter Pence (.179) combined for four RBI against the Cardinals.

But not only did the Giants overcome deficits of 2-0 in the division series and 3-1 in the NLCS, they also outscored the Cardinals 20-1 in the final three games.

"It definitely allows me to relax. I'm sure it allows Hunter to relax some, too," Posey said of the rest of the offense's output. "For us to win six elimination games in a row, you know you're going to have to get contributions from everybody on the team."

And as a catcher, Posey's contributions go beyond what he does at the plate. Two of the critical plays of the division series entailed Posey throwing out Cincinnati Reds baserunners.

Of course, Posey also delivered that series' signature hit, a grand slam off Mat Latos that accounted for most of San Francisco's scoring in a 6-4 victory in the clincher.

He also is the team's clear leader and now more vocal than when he was a rookie two years ago and helped the Giants win the World Series.

"Buster's always going to be that guy who's aged beyond his years. He's just really mature and really professional," Tim Lincecum said. "But he has grown in that he has gone from that guy who wasn't necessarily saying that much back in the day to a guy who will say stuff now. He is that guy."

-- Jorge L. Ortiz from San Francisco

***

JUSTIN VERLANDER, Detroit Tigers

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, above, has won all three playoff starts this year, striking out 25 in 24 1/3 innings. “He’s the ace for us,” teammate Anibal Sanchez says.

Justin Verlander will be the first Detroit Tiger to touch the baseball in this World Series, a fact that cedes him a great amount of control over tonight's Game 1.

But Verlander's influence figures to permeate beyond tonight's start.

"We have to follow him," says Anibal Sanchez, who will start Game 3 of this Fall Classic against the San Francisco Giants. "He's the ace for us."

Indeed, there's a reason Verlander is the reigning American League Cy Young winner and Most Valuable Player. It's about setting a tone that lasts on days he does not pitch, a vibe far easier to concoct in the compressed intensity of a playoff series.

If the Tigers win their first World Series title since 1984, it will probably happen because Verlander dominated tonight and perhaps in a potential Game 5, as he did in lifting the Tigers out of a perilous Division Series with the Oakland Athletics.

It sounds simple enough, especially since Verlander has won all three playoff starts this year, striking out 25 in 24 1/3 innings, and is 41-13 with a 2.52 ERA over the last two seasons.

But Verlander also remembers his first World Series start in 2006 after he won the AL Rookie of the Year award and earned a Game 1 start against a seemingly overmatched Anthony Reyes of St. Louis.

Verlander gave up six earned runs in five innings. Reyes allowed two in eight innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals shocked the Tigers, winning in five games.

"I think I had a rude awakening in the years after that, and it allows me to appreciate it all the more that I'm getting the opportunity to start Game1 again," Verlander said.

Perhaps inwardly, he's calm. To the rest of the world, he looks like a man ready to seize command of a series.

"Every day he takes the ball," notes Giants ace Matt Cain, "he says, 'Hey guys, I'm going to shut these guys down. Just give me a couple runs."

-- Gabe Lacques from San Francisco

***

MIGUEL CABRERA, Detroit Tigers

Miguel Cabrera is the first player to win the Triple Crown in 45 years.

This World Series figures to favor pitchers, with games taking place in two spacious venues, San Francisco's AT&T Park and Detroit's Comerica Park.

Yet if there is one hitter who has the ability to make this World Series his personal showcase, it is Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

"He can do anything," Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez says. "I mean, anything. He is unbelievable."

Cabrera became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI. However, the feat barely created a ripple among his teammates, and it seemed to be downplayed in the national news media.

"It was a great accomplishment, but Miggy really didn't do anything this season that he hasn't done the last three or four seasons," Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon said.

"He's the best hitter in baseball. He hits for average. He hits home runs, even though we play in a pitcher's park. He gets the big hits."

Now Cabrera gets a chance to play on a national stage, and his teammates believe he will step up his game. Cabrera has gone 10-for-36 (.278) with one home run in the postseason.

He is 7-for-44 (.159) with one home run in his career against the pitchers who figure to be on the Giants' World Series roster.

The lone home run came against Matt Cain, who is scheduled to start Game 4, and it is Cabrera's only hit in six at-bats against the right-hander. Cabrera is 2-for-8 vs. Game 1 starter Barry Zito, 1-for-3 vs. Game 2 starter Madison Bumgarner and 1-for-5 vs. Game 3 starter Ryan Vogelsong.

Nonetheless, his teammates believe in him. "He'll do something big in this series," Sanchez said. "He's a great player, and great players rise to the occasion."

-- John Perrotto from San Francisco

***

TIM LINCECUM, San Francisco Giants

Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum was the ace in the team’s 2010 World Series run, but he’ll come out of the bullpen this time against the Tigers.

Tim Lincecum has allowed three hits and one run in three postseason relief appearances covering 8 1/3 innings, whereas he yielded six hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings in his one playoff start, and it could have gone much worse.

The decision, therefore, pretty much made itself.

The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner may still play a meaningful role in the World Series — he won Game 4 of the Division Series as a reliever — but it will be coming out of the bullpen.

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced the rest of his rotation after tonight's starter Barry Zito, and it won't include Lincecum. Madison Bumgarner will take the mound for Game 2 in what might have been Lincecum's spot.

"He gives us another weapon there," Bochy said of Lincecum. "He's resilient. I can use him back-to-back days. I can use him three or four innings if necessary. If something happens, I can start him."

Lincecum in a relief role no longer comes as a shock, and he even warmed up during Game 7 of the NL Championship Series before Cain straightened out as the Giants went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0.

But it does stand in sharp contrast to the 2010 postseason, when the Giants won the World Series with Lincecum earning the victory in the three series openers, as well as the clincher against the Texas Rangers.

He said the physical adjustment is mostly a matter of not throwing as much on the side. How about his psyche? "Mentally, even before (Bochy) said what was going on, I went into it accepting whatever role he might give," Lincecum said. "And that was just keeping an open mind to that."

-- Jorge L. Ortiz from San Francisco

***

AUSTIN JACKSON, Detroit Tigers

Getting rid of his leg kick as he started his swing helped Austin Jackson see the ball.

When it comes to contributions on offense and defense, there might not be a more valuable player on the Detroit Tigers than center fielder Austin Jackson.

"The main goal for you as a leadoff hitter is getting on base," Jackson says. "I knew I hadn't (done) that as well as I'd like last season. I knew that I needed to make a change."

Determined to improve on the .249 average and .317 OBP he posted in 2011, Jackson sought help from hitting coach Lloyd McClendon. The solution was the elimination of his leg kick as he started his swing.

"I was able to see the ball really better," he says. " I was laying off tough pitches that I would normally swing at with the high leg kick."

As a result, Jackson struck out less and walked more. He set career highs with a .300 average, 16 home runs and 66 RBI and improved his OBP (.377) – which helped set the table for Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.

"Getting on base for those guys is key. Whether it's getting on first, second, third … those guys are able to knock you in because they hit the ball in the gaps or over the fence," he says.

Jackson's success has continued in the postseason with a .297 average and .350 OBP.

However, his defense in center field is just as — if not more — important.

Jackson's speed is a huge asset in spacious Comerica Park.

"You really need a center fielder who is able to run balls down in the gap," says the Tigers' Max Scherzer.

According to FanGraphs.com, Jackson leads AL center fielders with 95 plays made "out of the zone" — or above and beyond what an average center fielder usually makes.

Says left fielder and designated hitter Delmon Young: "The thing that separates him is he's got a power bat in there, too."

-- Steve Gardner from San Francisco

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