White: Giants set to unleash new version of 'torture'
- Prediction: Giants win in six games
- Why? Pitching prowess will boost the Giants
- This series will be played in two spacious ballparks. Advantage Giants
SAN FRANCISCO -- Skip the debate about whether the better team or the hotter team has the advantage going into the World Series — the San Francisco Giants are both. Deeper, more well-rounded, more fundamentally sound — that should pretty much sum up the Giants' talent edge over the Detroit Tigers.
To seal the deal, the Giants are on a roll — without even playing at their highest level yet — and most of their players know exactly what it takes to finish the job, just like they did in the 2010 World Series against the Texas Rangers.
They've come back from two games down to win both their series, avoiding elimination six consecutive times. And four of those victories have come on the road. No moment is too big for these guys.
The Giants have embraced broadcaster Duane Kuiper's description of the team's brinksmanship — torture, he calls it. It can be torture for the opposition. Don't think twice about what play you're going to make. C'mon, prove you can execute that throw to the plate.
The Giants will put the pressure on, slash the ball the other way, hit and run. It's all about energy generated from the top of their order. No. 2 hitter Marco Scutaro, the National League Championship Series MVP, hit .500 in that series.
In a World Series that will be notable for its elite-level Venezuelan participants — start with third basemen and pals Miguel Cabrera and Pablo Sandoval — 36-year-old Scutaro could be the most important one.
And the Giants have the perfect opponent.
One of the highlights of Comerica Park is the statues of Tigers greats including Ty Cobb and Al Kaline. The Giants won't have to wait until they get to Detroit for Game3 to see statues. Just watch the Tigers on defense.
Detroit is ranked near the bottom of the majors in nearly every defensive measure, including number of plays made outside a fielder's normal range and the number of bases opponents advance on the outfielders' throwing ability.
This series will be played in two spacious ballparks. Advantage Giants.
They'll turn up the heat. Hey, Detroit, these aren't the hacking, flailing New York Yankees at the plate, hoping they run into a home run. The Giants don't need homers. They were last in the majors. Who cares?
The Giants can score. Can they ever, with the kinds of innings that drive opponents nuts and, when it's in San Francisco, make the crowd even nuttier.
They tied an LCS record with four four-run innings in the first six games against the St.Louis Cardinals. Then they tacked on a five-spot in Game7.
And then there's the pitching, the reason the Giants won two years ago, the reason they were supposed to be good this year.
The Giants' pitching is back. The Cardinals had a run and 19 hits over the final 27 innings of their series. Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong have been the two best pitchers on the staff and, suddenly, there was Barry Zito shutting out St. Louis in a must-win game.
Wait until big swingers Cabrera and Prince Fielder get a load of his stuff. Zito's average pitch speed was 79.4 mph this year, slower than knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Those Tigers guys can swing and miss twice at some of the lefty's curves.
And even if Justin Verlander and the Tigers rotation can match the Giants, the bullpens are the difference. While Jim Leyland lights up and otherwise frets over opponents lighting up Jose Valverde and Phil Coke and whoever else Leyland hopes he can trust, Giants manager Bruce Bochy deftly maneuvers lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez with righties Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo.
No contest there.
Then there's Bochy. You know he wears a size 81/8 hat, right? There's plenty going on in there. He has found the right blend of calmness and urgency for postseason success — and he'll do it again over the next week.