MLB

World Series, first glance: Cubs and Indians battle each other - and history

Jorge L. Ortiz
USA TODAY Sports

CHICAGO – Bottles of beer and champagne kept getting carted into the Chicago Cubs’ madhouse … er, clubhouse, and just as soon as they went in, they got emptied out in non-stop spraying.

David Ross and Anthony Rizzo celebrate Game 6 win.

These kind of postseason celebrations usually simmer down after a while, but the Cubs’ partying continued unabated long after they had secured a World Series berth Saturday night with a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

When you trace your last World Series appearance to 1945 and your last championship to 1908, you’re entitled to keep it going longer than the norm.

The Cubs, though, are not the only ones left standing seeking to reward generations of frustrated fans. In fact, their World Series matchup with the Cleveland Indians pits the two major league franchises that have waited the longest for a title. The Indians haven’t earned a ring since 1948, the year Harry Truman upset Thomas Dewey to win the presidential election.

Believe it: Cubs are in the World Series, as generations rejoice at Wrigley

“That city’s hungry for championships,’’ Cubs utilityman Ben Zobrist said. “They won one in basketball this year and they would love to do nothing more than to win one in baseball too. We know we have our work cut out for us. They’ve played really well in the postseason so far and they have a really good team. So do we. It’s going to be a fun matchup.’’

The Indians have been underestimated much of the year and especially in the playoffs, and that figures to continue now.

Not only will they be tabbed as heavy underdogs against the Cubs, but even the extent of their fans’ suffering will be downplayed. After all, the Indians only measure their championship drought in decades, not centuries.

The Cubs’ 71-year World Series gap is the longest spell for any team in the four major American sports in between trips to the crowning event.

Cubs have been waiting decades for this moment

Cleveland played for the title in 1954, ’95 and ’97, coming closest the last time, when the then-Florida Marlins prevailed in 11 innings in Game 7.

While the Cubs’ pursuit of their first championship in 108 years looms as the dominant theme of this Fall Classic, there are several other intriguing storylines worth exploring.

One involves the managerial matchup between two-time World Series winner Terry Francona of the Indians and the Cubs’ creative, risk-taking Joe Maddon.

It just so happens some of the key members of Chicago’s current brass, including president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer, were in the Boston Red Sox front office when Francona won those titles. So they know what to expect from Francona, who has deployed his bullpen expertly all postseason.

“He’s going to do everything he can to win that night’s game,’’ Hoyer said. “Joe manages the same way. I love that. Tito’s aggressive. I thought he set the tone for the whole postseason in Game 1 against Boston when he went to (Andrew) Miller in the fifth inning or so. He’s going to win that night’s game. He’s going to worry about tomorrow night the next night. Players respect that.’’

Especially considering how the depleted Indians won seven out of eight playoff games against the favored Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

Three days removed from their five-game dusting of the Blue Jays in the ALCS, it’s still astonishing to realize the Indians blanked such an explosive offense twice and held it to eight runs total – all the while missing three starters.

Cleveland’s sensational bullpen has accounted for close to half the team’s 71 innings in the postseason – 32 1/3 to be exact – fashioning a 1.67 ERA. ALCS MVP Miller, deployed as a fireman to douse any incipient sparks, has struck out 21 in 11 2/3 innings while allowing five hits and no runs.

The Cubs will counter with a more classic staff, one fronted by a rotation that led the majors with a 2.96 ERA in the regular season and features two strong Cy Young Award candidates in Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, along with the most recent NL recipient in Jake Arrieta.

“Winning tonight meant we didn’t have to fire any extra bullets tomorrow,’’ Hoyer said, happy that the Cubs will have Lester and Arrieta fully rested for the first two games. “All season the rotation has been really good. They’ve gotten into the sixth or seventh inning over and over.’’

Hendricks went beyond that Saturday, tossing 7 1/3 brilliant innings while facing just one batter above the minimum.

By clinching Wednesday, the Indians have been able to rest their taxed bullpen, and they will have their own Cy Young candidate, 2014 AL winner Corey Kluber, loaded and ready for Tuesday’s Game 1.

Chicago will probably counter with Lester, who has gone 2-0 with an 0.86 ERA in three postseason starts, in what has that makings of a pitchers’ duel.

“Lester’s been lights-out all year,’’ shortstop Addison Russell said. “To see his stuff get better game by game, pitch by pitch, inning by inning, it’s just been a tremendous ride.’’

Besides having a decided edge in hype, the Cubs bring into the series a more potent offense, and one that found its groove after enduring back-to-back shutouts at the hands of the Dodgers.

While the Indians managed a meager 12 runs in five games against the Blue Jays, Chicago averaged nearly eight over its last three games, as the likes of Anthony Rizzo and Russell heated up to join the consistent Kris Bryant and NLCS co-MVP Javier Baez in a powerful attack.

That figures to be too much for the Indians to shut down, but then again, the same thing was said about the Red Sox and Blue Jays.

The lesson here: Underestimate the Indians at your own risk.

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