World Series: Detroit Tigers Have Work To Do Before 2013


Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

The Detroit Tigers wake Monday morning in shock after being swept from the World Series by the dominating pitching of the San Francisco Giants. There are many things that went wrong in the series for Detroit but you can’t discount how well San Francisco pitched all series long.

The two main culprits are Prince Fielder and Jhonny Peralta, who went a combined 2-for-29 in the series as the Tigers hit .159 as a team with just 20 hits over the four-game series. Fielder looked like the pressure of trying to win a World Series that his father Cecil couldn’t do in Detroit got to him while looking lost at the plate. Peralta had been a hitting machine in the American League Championship Series, hitting two home runs while batting .389. In the World Series though, Peralta had just one hit in a ninth-inning home run during Game 1.

I would be mistaken if I didn’t bring up the pitching especially the epic meltdown this postseason of Jose Valverde. Valverde only got to pitch in Game 1 and looked terrible during it. Valverde will be looking for a new job in 2013. The other pitching problem was Justin Verlander, who is 0-3 in World Series starts now with a 7.20 ERA after getting hammered by Pablo Sandoval in Game 1 and never getting another chance to pitch in the series. It is obvious that Verlander should have started Game 4 Sunday night to at least give the Tigers a chance at home to make it not a sweep.

It’s going to be a long winter in Motown while the Tigers figure out what to do with Victor Martinez coming back and what the 2013 starting lineup and pitching staff are going to look on April 1 in Minnesota.

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