The Detroit Tigers will not have forgotten their last World Series appearance six years back, when they preferred to rest for a week, albeit owing to some bad weather. That approach, however, proved fatal when they were ruthlessly beaten in that series by the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Well, we just tried to come up with something," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "It wasn't like in 2006, where some people would indicate we sat around happy to get there, not doing anything, eating bon-bons.
"That wasn't the case. We ran into bad weather problems in Detroit, so we were really handicapped. So this time we've done some things to try to keep us from being idle for four or five days. I definitely think it affected the last World Series."
Justin Verlander will start Game 1 for the Tigers Wednesday against the Giants' Barry Zito.
Jose Valverde, the Tigers reliever said: "I feel like I haven't played in over two months when you clinch so quick like this and have to wait for the other team."
The Tigers did exceptionally well sweeping the Yankees to reach the World Series. They reached San Francisco on Tuesday and are eagerly awaiting the first game at the AT&T Park.
Alex Avila, the Tigers catcher said: "I loved it because it means we're in the World Series. Someone asked me that question after we won and I was like, 'Would you rather if we had lost some of those games?' It doesn't really matter to me. We did everything we could to stay mentally sharp."
As for the Giants, it's been quite an up-and-down journey. They often rallied from huge deficits to beat their opponents and therefore can never be ruled put. The Tigers know they cannot afford to take the San Francisco Giants lightly - their unpredictability makes them a very dangerous side.
Brandon Crawford, the Giants shortstop said: "You have to throw it all away because it could work in either team's favor. We've been playing every day, so guys might be a little more tired, whereas they've got more rest. Then again, we've been playing, so we've got our timing, where they might not."
Meanwhile the two managers, Leyland and Bruce Bochy hope to study the opponents as quickly as they can. The two teams haven't played each other very often; in fact, they've never played in the postseason.
"I don't really know the Giants that well," Leyland said. "I'm kind of getting a crash course on them. But to be honest, when they were down 0-2 going into Cincinnati having to win three games, for me that was unbelievable.
"So nothing surprised me when they got to the championship series after I saw what they did in the divisional series."
Bochy, too, admits that he needs to study a lot more about their opponents if they aspire to win the championship.
"I'll have to learn a lot about them real soon, to be honest. I know what a great club they are. And we know all about the guy we're going to be facing opening day and their whole staff. They swept the Yankees. That tells you how good they are."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
