2006 World Series: Team of Destiny?

[Porter]

This season's match up between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals is a really intriguing match up Why you might ask? If you followed this season, the similarities between on how both teams got to this point are very staggering. This overview will tell the tale of the two teams paths to the world series.

In 2004, the Tigers was the laughing stock of the world. After a whopping 116 losses for the season, there was very little hope for the Tigers to just compete. Alan Trammell was a nice guy and an icon for this motor city team. The players lost the confidence in even playing game to win and didn't really respond to Trammell's system. So the Tigers management went out and got Jim Leyland to manage the team. Leyland, who took an unknown team like the 97 Marlins to the world series title and had a really good Pirates team in the 90's, was brought for one reason and one reason only. That was to win. They came flying out out the gate right away winning their first five games of the season. But soon after those five games, the Tigers proceeded to go 11-9 throughout the rest of April. Leyland spoke up saying that basically the Tigers need to step up and be ready to play the game at all times, sensing that his team was going back to their old ways. His players responded by winning 43 of its next 63 games. Soon, the Tiger faithful was thinking something that would have been foreign two years ago, playoffs. After being as many as 36 games above .500, The Tigers started falling apart systematically. This coupled by the strong runs of the Twins and White Sox. The Tigers were setup to repeat the 95 Angels and blow the playoffs all together. But a pivotal series win over the White Sox on the 18th of September put them in clear sailing for the playoffs. The collapse did cost them the division to the Twins by a game and the daunting task of trying to beat the Yankees in the LDS. Things didn't look good as the Yankees overwhelmed them in the opening game of the division series. The doubters started to wonder if the Tigers was just a flash in the pan. The Tigers responded by winning the next three games behind, what was well known around the league, their young pitching. They carried that momentum by sweeping an A's team that impressively handled the Twins in a sweep. So the Tigers, behind that filthy and unfair pitching, will try to make Detroit a true title town by winning the world series. I mean they already have the NBA, NHL, and WNBA titles within the last couple of years.

The Cardinals didn't have the 116 loss season. In fact, they were the Braves of this decade so far. They couldn't get over the hump and win the big one. Picked by many people to win the NL in the preseason, The Cardinals figured they had enough firepower (especially on offense) to get back and finish what they started. They also started hot out the gate by going 17-8 in April. But injuries to Rolen, Edmonds, Eckstein and Pujols slowed the Cardinals down. Soon they were fighting for their playoff lives with the surprisingly balanced National League. After holding off the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds for the division title. They had the lowest win total for division winner with just 83 wins. That alone would have been 4th place in the AL Central. Many People, including myself, wrote the Cardinals off against the Padres in round one. The Cardinals went out and won the series in four games. They beat the Padres on good pitching, something they struggled with outside of Cris Carpenter in the regular season. Next up on the menu was the New York Mets. The Mets, clearly the best team in the NL at the time, was expected to handle the Cards in an very easy fashion. Instead, the series turned out to be a classic seven game series. Something straight out Hollywood, back and forth in every game. Yader Molina, Jeff Suppan and Adam Wainright carried them to a 3-1 win in game seven to punch their ticket to the World Series. Their offense can hold their own with the best of pitching. But can their pitching match up with the Tigers, especially in the bullpen? How will the hitters adjust from seeing the Mets 86-89 MPH fastballs to the 103 MPH heat of Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander?

For the most part, this series could end up either being a classic or another domination from the Tigers (who have won seven straight games). It just seems like this series is going to be closer than general opinion. Ill stick with the Tigers winning in six games. This should be the best world series in recent memory of this decade.

[jaxter]

It is always challenging task to go for world series.You should determine for you target.I was a tough season for all the teams.I think nobody could forget Tigers performance In 2004,Really it was terrible.