by the SDI Staff
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| Starting Pitching The Tigers seem to have the advantage in this category going in. With Justin Verlander being able to go 2 times, Detroit has their rotation set up in order. Also the Giants are relying on Barry Zito to possibly go twice against Verlander. |  |
 | Relief Pitching San Francisco, at this stage, has the upper hand. With Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez to bolster the back end of the bullpen. For Detroit, Jose Valverde has struggled at the end of the season and post season, and Leyland may have to go to a committee. |
| Offense There is no doubt the Tigers have much more pop, with Cabrera, Fielder and Delmon Young. Despite Marco Scutaro and how hot he has been, the Giants have struggled at times during the year to score runs. |  |
 | Defense This one really easy. The Tigers have a lot of problems on defense. they do have speed in CF with Austin Jackson, but the Giants have speed all over, great glove men and Buster Posey behind the plate. |
 | Manager This one is a lot tougher to decipher than you think. Jim Leyland has a ton of experience, but Bruce Bochy has been to 2 prior World Series. And this is Leyland's third appearance as well. Both managers are loved by their players and both have nearly identical winning percentages. It's a push. |  |
 | Intangibles The Giants have the advantage here. After being down 3 to 1 and coming back to defeat St. Louis, you have to like what that brings to the table. The Tigers have power, and that can be a series changer at times (see Nelson Cruz), but San Francisco can ride the wave of momentum. |
| Prediction Verlander and the power of the Detroit Tigers is too much to overcome.  In 6 |
