World Series Game 1, Cubs at Indians, 8:08 p.m. Fox
One-hundred seventy-four combined seasons of misery is about to end for one beleaguered baseball fanbase.
The World Series begins tonight in Cleveland as the Indians and Cubs seek to end long title-less droughts for their franchises. The Indians last won a World Series in 1948, and the Cubs' last one came, infamously of course, in 1908, and they haven't even been to the World Series since 1945, fighting off such things as the Billy Goat Curse and the Bartman Game. Cleveland was last in the World Series in 1997 and held a lead in Game 7 in the ninth inning before a blown save left the Marlins victorious and the Indians heartbroken.
Cleveland went 94-67 in the regular season and bolted through the playoffs, sweeping the Red Sox in the ALDS and dispatching the Blue Jays in the ALCS in five games. Their batting average leader in the regular was Jose Ramirez (.313), and he is hitting .222 in the postseason. The Indians are being led in the postseason by Francisco Lindor, who is batting .323 with four RBIs. Lonnie Chisenhall also has four RBIs.
UVa alum Brandon Guyer, a Cavalier in the mid-2000s, is on the Indians' roster after being traded from the Rays in August. He's a bench player but is hitting .375 (3 for 8) in the postseason.
Chicago posted an MLB-best 103-58 record in the regular season and has experienced a little more trouble in the postseason than the Indians. Still, they haven't had to take a series to the end yet, beating the Giants in four NLDS games and then the Dodgers in six in the NLCS, despite falling behind in that series, 2-1. Their batting average leaders in the regular season were Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo at .292. Bryant is hitting .333 in the postseason and Rizzo .225. Willson Contreras carries a .400 average in the playoffs and four RBIs. Javier Baez has posted a .342 postseason average and seven RBIs. Bryant has six and Rizzo five.
The expected pitching matchups are as follows: Game 1 - Indians' Corey Kluber (2-1, 0.98 ERA in postseason) vs. Cubs' Jon Lester (2-0. 0.86), Game 2 - Trevor Bauer (0-0, 5.06) or Josh Tomlin (2-0, 2.53) vs. Jake Arrieta (0-1, 4.91), Game 3 - either Tomlin or Bauer vs. Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 1.65), and then John Lackey (0-0, 5.63) for the Cubs in Game 4 vs. TBA for the Indians and the rest of the series.
Bauer hopes to pitch Game 2 or Game 3 after injuring his hand repairing a drone. His bloody finger became one of the enduring images of the postseason. He only pitched 2/3 of an inning in Game 3 of the ALCS before being pulled, but the Indians won.
Terry Francona is the Indians' manager, and the Cubs are guided by Joe Maddon. Francona won two titles with the Red Sox in 2004 -- the one that broke their curse -- and 2007. Maddon has been to one World Series, with the Rays in 2008.
One of the interesting aspects of the series is the ties to the Red Sox. Francona was their manager for several years and Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, was the youngest GM in the history of baseball when Boston hired him at 28 in 2002. He helped build the Sox' dynasty and is now hoping to the do the same with another once-moribund franchise. For my money, he will go down as one of the best baseball executives, and one of the best front-office leaders in all of sports, if Chicago can win a World Series. Maddon has no direct ties to the Red Sox but often had to deal with those great teams as Tampa Bay's manager in the AL East.
If you want tickets to any of the games, be ready to pay a pretty penny, especially at Wrigley Field. Reports have come out in the past couple days that standing-room only tickets are going for more than $2,000 while box seats are going for several thousand more. At least one was listed on StubHub for just shy of $1 million. A woman living in California was offering a weeklong stay at her ski lodge at Big Bear Lake for a pair of tickets.
The baseball playoffs have had pretty good ratings, buoyed mostly by the Cubs. They are expected to give a big boost to World Series ratings, which have dipped in recent seasons. Everyone wants to see if the lovable losers from northside Chicago can finally win a championship. The Indians would be the darling underdogs in any other matchup, but not this one (at least their Cavaliers won the NBA title). As for the series itself, the Cubs are the favorite. I just hope the series goes to an epic Game 7. I'll take Chicago.
Series: Cubs 4, Indians 3
One-hundred seventy-four combined seasons of misery is about to end for one beleaguered baseball fanbase.
The World Series begins tonight in Cleveland as the Indians and Cubs seek to end long title-less droughts for their franchises. The Indians last won a World Series in 1948, and the Cubs' last one came, infamously of course, in 1908, and they haven't even been to the World Series since 1945, fighting off such things as the Billy Goat Curse and the Bartman Game. Cleveland was last in the World Series in 1997 and held a lead in Game 7 in the ninth inning before a blown save left the Marlins victorious and the Indians heartbroken.
Cleveland went 94-67 in the regular season and bolted through the playoffs, sweeping the Red Sox in the ALDS and dispatching the Blue Jays in the ALCS in five games. Their batting average leader in the regular was Jose Ramirez (.313), and he is hitting .222 in the postseason. The Indians are being led in the postseason by Francisco Lindor, who is batting .323 with four RBIs. Lonnie Chisenhall also has four RBIs.
UVa alum Brandon Guyer, a Cavalier in the mid-2000s, is on the Indians' roster after being traded from the Rays in August. He's a bench player but is hitting .375 (3 for 8) in the postseason.
Chicago posted an MLB-best 103-58 record in the regular season and has experienced a little more trouble in the postseason than the Indians. Still, they haven't had to take a series to the end yet, beating the Giants in four NLDS games and then the Dodgers in six in the NLCS, despite falling behind in that series, 2-1. Their batting average leaders in the regular season were Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo at .292. Bryant is hitting .333 in the postseason and Rizzo .225. Willson Contreras carries a .400 average in the playoffs and four RBIs. Javier Baez has posted a .342 postseason average and seven RBIs. Bryant has six and Rizzo five.
The expected pitching matchups are as follows: Game 1 - Indians' Corey Kluber (2-1, 0.98 ERA in postseason) vs. Cubs' Jon Lester (2-0. 0.86), Game 2 - Trevor Bauer (0-0, 5.06) or Josh Tomlin (2-0, 2.53) vs. Jake Arrieta (0-1, 4.91), Game 3 - either Tomlin or Bauer vs. Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 1.65), and then John Lackey (0-0, 5.63) for the Cubs in Game 4 vs. TBA for the Indians and the rest of the series.
Bauer hopes to pitch Game 2 or Game 3 after injuring his hand repairing a drone. His bloody finger became one of the enduring images of the postseason. He only pitched 2/3 of an inning in Game 3 of the ALCS before being pulled, but the Indians won.
Terry Francona is the Indians' manager, and the Cubs are guided by Joe Maddon. Francona won two titles with the Red Sox in 2004 -- the one that broke their curse -- and 2007. Maddon has been to one World Series, with the Rays in 2008.
One of the interesting aspects of the series is the ties to the Red Sox. Francona was their manager for several years and Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, was the youngest GM in the history of baseball when Boston hired him at 28 in 2002. He helped build the Sox' dynasty and is now hoping to the do the same with another once-moribund franchise. For my money, he will go down as one of the best baseball executives, and one of the best front-office leaders in all of sports, if Chicago can win a World Series. Maddon has no direct ties to the Red Sox but often had to deal with those great teams as Tampa Bay's manager in the AL East.
If you want tickets to any of the games, be ready to pay a pretty penny, especially at Wrigley Field. Reports have come out in the past couple days that standing-room only tickets are going for more than $2,000 while box seats are going for several thousand more. At least one was listed on StubHub for just shy of $1 million. A woman living in California was offering a weeklong stay at her ski lodge at Big Bear Lake for a pair of tickets.
The baseball playoffs have had pretty good ratings, buoyed mostly by the Cubs. They are expected to give a big boost to World Series ratings, which have dipped in recent seasons. Everyone wants to see if the lovable losers from northside Chicago can finally win a championship. The Indians would be the darling underdogs in any other matchup, but not this one (at least their Cavaliers won the NBA title). As for the series itself, the Cubs are the favorite. I just hope the series goes to an epic Game 7. I'll take Chicago.
Series: Cubs 4, Indians 3
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