World Series 2012: Detroit Tigers Should Be Rooting for Giants in NLCS

The Detroit Tigers have already stamped their ticket to the 2012 World Series; now they should be rooting for the San Francisco Giants to do the same, or at least make the series competitive.

The Tigers will go into the Series with a ton of momentum. Sweeping the Yankees is no small feat, and Detroit received a huge boost to its chances of winning it all when they completed the sweep on Thursday night. However, their chances will be even better if they can get a little help from San Francisco.

Here's why the Tigers (and their fans) should be rooting for the Giants for the remainder of the series.

Rest Advantage

Either way you look at it, the Tigers will come into the World Series well-rested. That's the reward for sweeping a team in the League Championship Series.

However, how much rest their opposition will get comes down to how well the San Francisco Giants play.

Regardless of how long the NLCS goes, the World Series begins October 24. Should the series end in St. Louis tonight, the Cardinals would have four days of rest to prepare for the World Series, and Detroit's advantage from sweeping the Yankees would be effectively neutralized.

A win tonight for the Giants would at the very least force a Game 6, pushing the maximum days of rest that the Cardinals get to three. If the Giants can push it to a Game 7, the winner will get one day of rest before turning around for Game 1 of the World Series.

Pitching Matchups

Detroit has dominated this postseason with a 7-2 record, and that's in large part to a rotation of starting pitchers that has been ridiculously good.

Justin Verlander has been lights-out as expected, with a 0.74 ERA in three postseason starts with a WHIP of 0.62. While no one has an ace pitching better, the Tigers also boast a red hot Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez, who all have an ERA below 2.00.

In short, neither the Cardinals or Giants can match up pitcher-for-pitcher with the Tigers, but the Giants rotation's inconsistencies makes them an ideal matchup for the Tigers.

The Cardinals three-deep rotation of Kyle Lohse, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright have all shown flashes of brilliance in the post season and would give the Cardinals a chance against the potent Tigers lineup.

However, the Giants starting rotation has struggled even in the playoffs. San Francisco's team ERA of 4.39 is the second highest of any team that played in this year's playoffs and that is largely due to the struggles of Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner as starters. Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Lincecum have been respectable, but respectable won't cut it against the Tigers.

Home Field Advantage

Home field advantage will go to the winner of the NLCS. That is completely out of the Tigers' control. However, if San Francisco comes back to win the series, home field advantage won't mean much.

The Giants haven't taken advantage of their home games throughout the playoffs. Against Cincinnati, the Giants dropped both games in San Francisco before coming back to win three straight on the road to advance to the NLCS. While the comeback was impressive, it showed that the Giants aren't necessarily better at home.

In the current series with the Cardinals, the Giants dropped a crucial Game 1 at home before coming back to win the next one at home. For the playoffs, the Giants are 1-3 at home. If the Tigers are going to need to win a series while playing the majority of the games on the road, they're better off traveling to San Francisco.