The ALCS continues with Game 4 on Thursday following Wednesday’s rain out, and that means that we are going to be making our baseball picks and playoff predictions for the game between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees.

We knew that the Yankees were in a whole heck of a lot of trouble after Game 1 of the ALCS, and that continues to ring true. It is anyone’s guess as to who is going to be in the lineup and where they are going to be batting in the order for Manager Joe Girardi, and that type of inconsistency drives us nuts. Of course, it’s the fact that the Yankee bats have been consistently horrid that has caused Girardi to have to make such insane changes. Remember that if you took over 1.5 hits in this series for all three of Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, and Robinson Cano, you’d be a loser on all three accounts.

The first inkling that we have is that CC Sabathia should never be a de facto pick ‘em in a playoff game. After all, he is coming off of a game in which he went the distance in beating the Baltimore Orioles in Game 5 of the ALDS, and that was his fifth straight start going at least eight innings. However, we absolutely love the man that he is playing against tonight, Max Scherzer, who has had plenty of rest with just one start under his belt since September 23rd. Scherzer knows that he can go out there and give it everything that he has, knowing that he is finished pitching until the World Series anyway, and he has a rested bullpen behind him that can bail him out if need be. And in the end, if this game is lost, there are still three more chances to close out the men from the Bronx.

But all of that is why we are taking Detroit right now. The Yankees are a mess, and everyone knows it. There’s just no two ways around it. Sabathia can go out there, giving up one run in eight innings and lose 1-0. And the might be exactly what ends up happening.

New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers Game 4 Pick: Detroit Tigers -102

The 2012 MLB playoffs continue on Tuesday in Detroit, where the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees are going to do battle with one another. Don’t miss our MLB playoff picks and our Yankees vs. Tigers Game 3 ALCS predictions for the baseball playoffs!

Even the mighty Yankees might not be able to get out of this one. It wouldn’t be the first time that we saw the Bronx Bombers come back in a series to win after losing the first two games at home, but this is a heck of a lot different challenge. This year, the team isn’t hitting, but more importantly, it has a brutal set of pitching matchups ahead. Granted, winning this game can give CC Sabathia a chance to level this series on Wednesday, but that’s a task that is a heck of a lot easier said than done.

Justin Verlander is going to be on the bump in this one, and that means that it is going to be awfully tough for this struggling lineup to score any runs. Verlander has now led his team to six straight victories, but the best of the bunch came in Game 5 against the Oakland A’s five days ago. In that game, Verlander went the distance and allowed just a total of five base runners. He struck out 11 and didn’t allow a run, making sure that the bullpen didn’t have a chance to blow it on him. Phil Hughes is the sacrificial lamb that is going to have to figure out how to beat Verlander on the road. That’s a tough enough task for anyone, let alone someone who probably is the fourth best option that his team has in the rotation.

Here’s the problem with backing Verlander in this one: Anything can happen in any given day. New York’s bats aren’t going to continue being this bad. It might look like this is an impossible task against Verlander, but a team this good doesn’t ultimately deserve to be a +170 underdog against anyone.

New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers Pick: New York Yankees +170

Our 2012 MLB playoffs picks continue on Sunday night in New York, where the New York Yankees battle it out with the Detroit Tigers. Join us for our MLB predictions for what should be a remarkable Game 2 of the ALCS.

The Yankees are in some serious trouble right now. Manager Joe Girardi had already made up his mind that he was going to throw both Hiroki Kuroda and CC Sabathia on short rest for Games 2 and 3 in this series so he could bring them both back on regular rest for the prospective Games 6 and 7. However, the Yanks are going to have to win at least two of the next four to make sure that that is even remotely relevant, and it is clear that this series is going to be going back to Motown with the Bronx Bombers in bad shape even if they win this one.

Not only is Kuroda going on short rest and pitching in an afternoon game, which takes away another three hours of rest time before pitching again, but he is also going to be doing it with a bullpen that has thrown a lot of innings of late. Every pitcher except for Joba Chamberlain threw last night for the Yankees, including the only other man that could have been an option to start, David Phelps. Now to make matters worse, Derek Jeter’s season is over after he broke his ankle in the 12th inning last night. Goodness knows what Manager Joe Girardi is going to be able to do with this game.

Anibal Sanchez isn’t the greatest pitcher in the world, but at least he has the majority of his bullpen available for him. There is a serious need for a closer for sure for Detroit after Jose Valverde melted down for the second time in the last four nights, but at least that’s just one man that needs to be replaced, not seemingly an entire team. Barring some more heroics out of Raul Ibanez and the sorts, this is going to be the continuation of devastation for the Yankees.

Detroit Tigers @ New York Yankees Pick: Detroit Tigers +122

The ALCS continues with Game 1 on Saturday, and that means that we are going to be making our baseball picks and playoff predictions for the game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers might have been the team that had the day off on Friday, but in the end, there was just no rest for the wary, as they had to travel to New York right away on very short notice to prepare for the first two games of the ALCS.

Whereas we were all hoping to get the chance to see Justin Verlander pitch against CC Sabathia to start this series off, the two are going to have to wait until Game 4 to see each other, and that will be the only time that they do. Instead, it’s up to Andy Pettitte and Doug Fister to start this series off, and presumably, they will both pitch in Game 5, assuming that there is a Game 5. Both men pitched well in their first starts of the playoffs, but the difference is that Fister’s seven innings were good enough for a ‘W’. Pettitte’s seven innings dealt him a defeat.

The truth of the matter is that we think Manager Joe Girardi made the right call by sticking Alex Rodriguez on the bench, and the Yankees might be a better team for it. They might not win this series, but Pettitte on the mound in the Bronx in his career has been en fuego. Even though we know that he is ancient by baseball standards, he also has the ability to do a heck of a lot of damage over the course of seven innings or so, and the moment is never too big for him. Fister and the Tigers will drop this first game.

Detroit Tigers @ New York Yankees Game 1 Pick: New York Yankees -125