The Fall Classic is set. The question is simple — who is going to win?
Chicago Cubs
It’s going to happen.
Javier Baez is too good at second base. Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks have been too good on the mound. Kris Bryant has been too good at the plate. The trio taking turns behind the plate has been contributing more than anyone thought.
These Cubs, the ones who will be remembered for oh so long, are the ones to finally break that godforsaken curse.
It seems like Chicago has been through the toughest part, right? It beat the Giants in an even year, something no team had done the previous three chances. It took down Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher in the game and one of the best of all-time.
On top of a roster that has shape-shifted to cause problems against lefties and righties and made late-game pinch-hitting situations that much easier on manager Joe Maddon, reports say Kyle Schwarber is almost a certainty to make the Cubs’ roster.
Schwarber, after all of his postseason heroics last season, blew out his knee in the third game of the year. Now he’s miraculously back, just in time for the Fall Classic? I dare anybody to bet against that story.
The idea of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series is almost too much to wrap my head around.
Every game, I see Baez do things that aren’t even possible in the field, watch Hendricks pull the string time after time on the mound, and then realize that those guys aren’t even the superstar studs on the team.
With Anthony Rizzo heating up and Bryant hitting all postseason, this team is the one that will finally break the curse.
— Blake Dowson
Cleveland Indians
Before I go dive into why Cleveland has a chance to take down the Cubs, I must say that I am 100 percent rooting for the lovable losers on the North Side.
Cleveland already had its championship glory with the Cavs winning the NBA title; there isn’t another team in professional sports that needs a championship more than the Cubs, and I hope they are crowned the winners.
That being said, the Indians are clearly the hottest team in baseball right now. The Tribe’s trio in the back end of the bullpen (Andrew Miller, Brandon Shaw, and Corey Allen) has proven to be the difference-maker during the Indians’ postseason run.
Miller is having a historic postseason — he hasn’t allowed a run and has struck out 14 batters in only 11 innings.
Terry Francona has also had a Hall of Fame-worthy postseason. He has used his bullpen in the right situations and is the second best (if not the best) manager in baseball right now.
Francona has two World Series rings and knows how to keep the underdog’s hopes alive. This is the last guy the Cubs wanted to see on the top step of the opposing team’s dugout.
Beyond the physical aspect of the game, there is one thing that could mess with the Cubs’ chances: Baseball’s deities hate the Cubs.
Doesn’t it feel like the Cubs’ road to the World Series has been just a little too easy? First, they take out the Bay Area dynasty, which has won three World Series trophies in the last six years.
Then, they go and rough up the best pitcher in the last eight years to cruise to the World Series. It just seems too good to be true.
— James Kay