There are very few things that get my wife interested in
sports. The only truly reliable trick is to have a Detroit team do well.
Imagine my luck, then, that the Detroit Tigers entered the World Series as
heavy favorites among the various
experts.
Before parades down Woodward became a realistic option, the San Francisco
Giants showed up with all the momentum that comes from winning a decisive game
7 and swept Detroit.
Momentum, no wait,
rest!
Once it became apparent that the Giants would be taking
the series – somewhere late in game 3 – the notion that San Francisco had
momentum and Detroit was rusty started to seep into coverage. Nevermind that
the narrative before the series was that Detroit’s opportunity to get rested
and get Justin Verlander lined up to pitch games 1 and 5 (Ha! Game 5!) would
give the Tigers two guaranteed wins with favorable matchups for the rest of the
series.
So which is it? Do teams benefit from a long layoff
before the World Series to get their rotation set and heal nagging injuries
from the long season and postseason? Alternatively, do they build momentum and
roll from a dramatic seven game series win to a sweep of the World Series (I
mean generally, obviously that is what happened this time)?