Cleveland Indians
By Cole Bredahl
The Indians breezed their way through the American League to the World Series, finishing the regular season with a 94-67 record and winning the Central Division. While I don’t expect them to breeze through this series, I do expect their winning ways to continue en route to a championship.
Cleveland has been absolutely dominant this postseason. The Indians have been near unstoppable, sweeping the Red Sox in the division series and beating the Blue Jays 4-1 in the championship series. Their brilliance can be credited to superb defense. In eight postseason games, Cleveland averaged 1.88 runs allowed. A team that allows less than two runs a game is very difficult to beat.
Their elite pitching staff is led by stud Corey Kluber, who boasts an 18-9 record and a 3.14 ERA on the year. Further, Cleveland’s bullpen is nothing short of spectacular. With reliever Andrew Miller and closer Cody Allen, it seems there is no offense this pitching staff can’t suppress.
Strong defense is just the beginning for Cleveland. The clutch hitting definitely plays a role in the team’s success as the Indians found their stride in the batter’s box at just the right time. They received unlikely contributions from players who normally do not contribute greatly to the offense, like Brandon Guyer and Lonnie Chisenhall.
Finally, the team is led by the great Terry Francona. With the legendary manager, the team has all the tools to win a championship.
Sorry, Cubs fans, this is not the year. But hey, there’s always next year.
Chicago Cubs
By: Austin Shone
Every day, it seems there’s a new clip on the WGN of some 100-year-old Cubs fan who has been waiting to see their beloved team win the World Series, or a new set of twins being named Clark and Addison. The faith of Cubs fans has been tested for years, but the wait is finally over.
The Chicago Cubs made quite the run this postseason. After earning the number one seed, they rallied to finish the Giants in four and ended their even-year magic. The Dodgers came next as the Cubs went through a bit of a slump but awoke to break down Clayton “Kurse-shaw.” The Indians are next. Although the city is confident coming off a Cavaliers championship, the Cubs are in town to quell the noise.
Kyle Schwarber returns to the Cubs in the World Series for the first time this April, and though he was the designated hitter in Cleveland, he has the potential to impact the games as a pinch hitter in Chicago. Offense is the Cubs’ strong suit, and I don’t think the likes of Josh Tomlin and Trevor Bauer will be able to carve up the heart of the Cubs lineup like Kluber did. The key to this series for the Cubs is scoring runs early, and making Cleveland play catch-up.
The starting pitching staff is where the Cubs have the biggest advantage. If Jake Arrieta can return to his Cy Young form and Kyle Hendricks can keep runs off the board like he has, the Cubs are in great shape. The bullpen is extremely formidable with Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon and Aroldis Chapman. If a lead is built, it will be tough to lose.
Joe Maddon really knows how to manage, and his guys love playing for him. This team is loaded and its at-bats are always competitive. The Cubs will win this series in seven, and they’ll do it for all the people that have supported them through all their losing seasons.
