With the World Series set to start this Tuesday, October 25th, we will finally have the anticipated matchup of the American League's best and the National League's premiere squad. No matter what way you swing it, these are two franchises that unquestionably deserve to be in this years festival, and one of them will obviously come out on top to take the crown home. Whether you're a life long American League team supporter, or a Senior Circuit expert, everyone is rooting for these two teams to come out on top.
It would most likely be more of a feat to see the Cleveland Indians take home the prize, due to the fact that their payroll is 26th in all of Major League Baseball, sitting at $83.7 million, compared to Theo Epstein's Cubs having a comfortable $116.2 million to work with. Terry Francona will lead his talented roster into the World Series riding a 3-0 shutout win of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Champion Series all the way back on October 19th.
Joe Maddon on the other side of things has an equal amount if not more to brag about when coming to the table at the World Series. His club went 103-58 on the year, capturing the NL East Division title, and the NL Pennant, all while managing a very young and raw overall team. Most of the Cubs success was due largely to the pitching staff spinning out an incredible season, where all five starter for the Cubs registered ERA's under 4, with two of them having ERA's below 2.50.
The success has continued for the Cubs into the playoffs, and they will now look to try their hand with the Indians, who are able to field just as dominant, if not better of a rotation, with one of the leagues best arms at the end of their bullpen; Andrew Miller. He is paid closer money, but has adapted to the role of being able to come out of the bullpen at any point, in any game, while at the same time inheriting runners that in the postseason, none of have scored. In over 11 innings pitched thus far in the playoffs, Miller has given up no runs while racking up the strikeouts, thanks to his outstanding slider, electric fastball, and great game calling by Roberto Perez. Hard-thrower Bryan Shaw and closer Cody Allen have just been complements to Francona's bullpen, as the staff as a whole, starters and relievers combined, has an astronomical amount of talent that is attempting to put together a World Series for the AL Central champs.
The Cubs feature of young hitters and pitchers can be both a sweet and sour swirl when it comes to the prime-time stage under the lights in Cleveland. Most players had career years, such as Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jon Lester, and Kyle Hendricks, and the fact of the matter is that the Cubs have vastly outperformed their statistics this season. This has continued for much of the playoffs, but Rizzo and fellow shortstop Addison Russell have endured long postseason slumps, while Jake Arrieta has not been his usual dominant regular season self.
With the World Series kicking off this Tuesday, it will be interesting to see which squad takes home the hardware. It is expected that most experts will pick the favored Cubs to win this years World Series, but the underdog determination of the Indians may prove to be more powerful than initial expected. Both clubs definitely have the talent to contend for and win the title, but the real question is which squad contains the intrinsic smarts and instincts to secure the win in this years fall classic.
Projected Outcome:
Game 1: Lester (CHC) vs. Kluber (CLE) in Cleveland, Cubs 3-1 Indians
Game 2: Arrieta (CHC) vs. Bauer (CLE) in Cleveland, Indians 5-2 Cubs
Game 3: Hendricks (CHC) vs. Tomlin (CLE) in Chicago, Indians 2-1 Cubs
Game 4: Lackey (CHC) vs. Merritt (CLE) in Chicago, Cubs 6-2 Indians
Game 5: Lester (CHC) vs. Kluber (CLE) in Chicago, Indians 4-3 Cubs
Game 6: Arrieta (CHC) vs. Bauer (CLE) in Cleveland, Indians 2-1 Cubs
Cleveland Indians Win 2016 MLB World Series 4-2 Games vs. Chicago Cubs
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