Detroit Tigers ready to take on San Francisco Giants – MLB News Update
Detroit Tigers had to wait for the National League Championship Series winners for at least five days and they might find themselves a bit rusty in the World Series finals against the San Francisco Giants.
Tigers’ made their last World Series appearance against the St Louis Cardinals in 2006. Back then, they lounged around for nearly a week before getting beaten comprehensively.
Manager Jim Leyland will be aware of the threat the Tigers must face in the World Series. To keep the players focused on the task at hand, the skipper arranged seven innings games for the Tigers with the instructional League opponents.
“Well, we just tried to come up with something,'' Leyland said Tuesday. ''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,'' the manager said. ''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.''
''I feel like I haven't played in over two months when you clinch so quick like this,'' Tigers’ reliever Jose Valverde said.
Ace Justin Verlander has also been taking part in training sessions on regular basis and it will not be wrong to say that he is ready for the Giants’ challenge. Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera are also working hard to keep their muscles warm.
Leyland believes it was the bad weather that took the World Series title away from them in 2006. In an interview with a leading sports website, he stated that the Tigers are doing everything they can to stay away from being complacent for four or five days.
Verlander, who displayed some top quality throwing skills against the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees, will be starting the game for the Tigers on Wednesday against Barry Zito from the Giants. It will be interesting to see if the 2011 Most Valuable
Player can help his side start the series on a winning note.
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