On January 1, 1902, Michigan beat Stanford 49-0 to win the first Rose Bowl Game. In fact, their victory was so overwhelming that this was almost the last Rose Bowl Game -- the next one wasn't played until 1916. But on January 1, 1972, a very young Go Heath saw Stanford get its revenge with a 13-12 Rose Bowl win over Michigan. Between those two Rose Bowls, on December 22, 1957, the Detroit Lions -- who trailed 24-7 at the half -- beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-27 in a one-game playoff for the championship of the NFL's Western Conference.
And really, except for a bunch of hockey games between the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks, which presumably mean something to hockey fans, that's about it for sporting history between Detroit and San Francisco. A quick check on YouTube yielded only this controversy over post-game handshakes after last year's 49er/Lions game.
It is surprising that the Giants and Tigers have never met in the World Series before, because these are two of the original 16 franchises that launched the World Series, and they've each had quite a bit of success. Here are their appearances in the Fall Classic, with their championships in bold:
New York Giants (4-10): 1905, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954
San Francisco Giants (1-3): 1962, 1989, 2002, 2010
Detroit Tigers (4-6): 1907, 1908, 1909, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984, 2006
Ladbrokes, the London betting site, is going with the Tigers in this series. They'll give you odds of 3 to 2 if you'll take the Giants, but only 4 to 7 if you want Detroit. This is no doubt driven by respect for Justin Verlander, who is a heavy favorite to beat Barry Zito in Game 1 tonight. But I like this Giants team, and I think they will be tough to beat.
For me, the best thing about the Giants being in the World Series is that I get to hear the incomparable Jon Miller call the games on XM Radio. I still don't understand why ESPN let him go.
ReplyDeleteWith two outs in the bottom of the first, Pablo Sandoval crushes a fast ball into the center field seats to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. A great start for the Giants. If they beat Verlander tonight, the odds will shift significantly in their favor.
ReplyDeleteA huge two-out rally for the Giants in the bottom of the 3d. Angel Pagan hits what appears to be the third out -- a soft grounder to third. But the ball HITS THE BAG and bounds off into the outfield, and Pagan scoots all the way to second with a very odd double. Then the red-hot Marco Scutaro fouls off one great pitch after another before slapping a single to center on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to score Pagan.
ReplyDeleteSuddenly, Justin Verlander has already thrown 60 pitches -- and he's still in the third inning. At this rate, he won't make it to the seventh.
This is what Buck Martinez tried to tell us A's fans when Coco Crisp homered to lead off Game 1 and each Oakland batter was taking Verlander deep into his pitch count in the first several innings. Then Verlander never gave up another run, and, when Leyland finally pulled him, Verlander was so tired that his last pitch was 96 miles per hour. After that game, I decided I that TBS should've gone with Fran Healy.
DeleteAnd on Verlander's 61st pitch, Pablo Sandovar HITS HIS SECOND HOME RUN OF THE NIGHT, an opposite field shot to left. Giants now lead 4-0.
ReplyDeleteAfter being so dominant in the AL playoffs, Verlander is having all kinds of problems in this game. Fangraphs now gives the Giants a 91 percent chance of winning this game.
I guess we A's wore Verlander out.
DeleteMore great two-out hitting for the Giants. With a runner on second and two outs, Barry Zito -- the pitcher -- comes to the plate. He slices a groundball between short and third for a single into left that scores the runner and puts the Giants up 5-0.
ReplyDeleteOn ESPN radio, the very good Dan Schulman just pointed out that this is the fourth straight game in which Giant pitchers have driven in a run.
When Barry Zito came up with Oakland, you just knew he was going to pan out because his name is so weird. I'm sure A's fans in the late '60s and early '70s had the same feeling about "Vida Blue."
DeleteThe Tigers bring in Al Alburquerque to pitch the bottom of the 5th, as Verlander is done for the day. But Sandoval HITS HIS THIRD HOME RUN OF THE GAME, and the Giants are up 6-0.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Nelson Cruz until last postseason, and I've never heard of Pablo Sandoval until this one.
DeleteSandoval becomes the first player to his three home runs in one World Series game since . . . Albert Pujols did it last year.
ReplyDeleteZito finally tires in the top of the 6th, giving up one run on a double to Jackson and a single by Cabrera. But Tin Lincecum comes in with two out and two on to shut the door. San Francisco leads 6-1 going into the bottom of the 6th.
ReplyDeleteLincecum, of course, I have heard of, and it's so odd to think he's not part of the Giants' starting rotation for the series.
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