One team that lost 119 games three years ago faces a team that won barely more than half its games this season for the right to capture baseball’s most coveted trophy.
“It’s a great baseball story,” Tigers coach Andy Van Slyke said Friday. “It’s without the New York teams, which people are going to find hard to accept.
“[But] all the personal and professional stories are written like fiction but happen to be true. And the conclusion of what is going to take place is well worth sitting through every commercial with Tommy Lasorda.”
All humor aside the 2006 best-of-seven World Series opens Saturday night at Comerica Park with ample story lines.
The same franchise that lost nearly 75 percent of its games in 2003 now carries the expectation of winning its first Series since 1984 after winning seven consecutive postseason games. They oppose a team that won only 83 games and was stretched to seven games before holding off the New York Mets for its second National League pennant in three seasons.
Naturally, the Tigers are confident, despite not having played since last Saturday.
“I don’t think we have lost it,” said the Tigers’ Justin Verlander, who will oppose Anthony Reyes in a Game 1 showdown of rookie pitchers.
“I think the time away from the field was beneficial for us. The past couple of weeks have been stressful, action-packed. The mental side might have been fatiguing. To take a break from that, gather your thoughts and get ready, it might be advantageous for us.”
Tigers manager Jim Leyland downplayed his friendship with his Cardinals counterpart, Tony La Russa, but was forthcoming about the merits of his club.
“We’re for real,” said Leyland, who was on La Russa’s staff with the White Sox in the 1980s. “We deserve to be here. We proved that.”
The parallels between the two clubs extend to their health.
Leyland said reliever Joel Zumaya has recovered from a right wrist injury and will be available to pitch Saturday night, and Sean Casey is likely to start as the designated hitter.
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols said he ready despite a nagging hamstring injury.
“It’s bothering me, but I’m OK,” Pujols said with his arms folded. “I’m in the World Series, so I don’t think about it.”
Both teams didn’t care to dwell on the fact they had losing records in September before rebounding.
They also downplayed the significance of rookie starters for the opener, a World Series first.
Leyland trusts Verlander will possess the stuff that helped him win 17 games. That allows Leyland the luxury of going with veteran left-hander Kenny Rogers to start Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 6.
“You know how big [the Series] is, but you keep it in perspective,” said Tigers starter Nate Robertson, who was pushed back to Game 3. “If you let the atmosphere, what it means and what kind of stakes are involved come into the picture, you get in trouble.
“We’ll be ready and focused.”
Reyes, 25, was only 5-8 during the regular season, including a loss to the Sox on June 22 in which he gave up only one hit in eight innings. In his only postseason start, he lasted just four innings in a 12-5 loss to the Mets in the NL Championship Series.
“If your stuff is good enough in the regular season, it’s good enough in the postseason,” Reyes said.
Teammate Randy Flores added, “I’m not going to say anything to him. Anthony is a big kid and knows what he’s doing.”
The Cardinals thrive on the scrutiny surrounding their 83-78 regular-season record.
“We’ve been the underdog in every series,” closer Adam Wainwright said. “Why change now?”
The Tigers swept the Cardinals in a three-game series in late June at Comerica Park, part of an eight-game losing streak that began with three losses to the White Sox.
But Pujols remembered a conversation he had with Leyland before the final game.
“I told [Leyland], `You guys have the team to play in the World Series. The next time I want to see you is in the World Series,'” Pujols recalled saying. “And here we are.”
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mgonzales@tribune.com
