Tuesday, October 25, 2016
The 2016 World Series
The most
anticipated World Series in the history of the event opens
tonight in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians played host to the National
League champions, the Chicago Cubs from Illinois. It is the baseball
championship that will be, especially for Americans, a wonderful
distraction from another battle taking place in their country. There
is a presidential election in a couple of weeks in the United States,
and most Americans are weary from the frenzy leading up to election
night. It has been a long, nasty, and arduous campaign for both the
Democrats and the Republicans.
The Indians
and the Cubbies have spent some time preparing for the event. The
Cubs have not seen a World Series banner raised in their home ball
park in 108 years. They left their Spring Training camp with more
anticipation in that regard than ever before. It has only been 75
years for the Indians. Both teams are mighty hungry.
In April, I
touched on the fact that we might see the Cubs in the Fall Classic.
The management of the team had placed a very strong roster on the
field, and had given themselves a chance at the title.
Understandably, there are those unanticipated factors that can derail
a team before they ever get to the final: injuries, suspensions,
slumps, and countless other distractions that will add up to failure.
Both the Indians and the Cubs have managed to survive the tests of
time, up until the present.
A brief tale
of the tape will shed a little light on what to expect over the next
week of baseball. Bear with me.
Behind the
plate, I like Willson Contreras from the Cubs. He is batting .400 in
the post season, and handles pitchers well. Roberto Perez is doing a
fine job behind the plate for the Tribe, but his .174 batting average
is anemic. Both teams have outstanding pitching, from start to
finish. And both teams need to send “Thank You” cards to the New
York Yankees after the season is over. The Yankees traded away two
pitchers during the season. Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman are the
best relievers in baseball. Chapman consistently throws pitches to
the plate clocking at over 100mph for the Cubs, and Miller is not too
far behind.
Corey Kluber
starts for the Indians, most effectively. Trevor Bauer hopes his
finger will heal before the Series concludes. The Blue Jays caught a
break when he could not get out of the first inning against them;
however, Cleveland had enough in the tank to put the Jays away quite
handily. John Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Jake Arrieta are the
starters for the Cubbies, and will likely make the difference in this
Series.
The Cubs
have so many wonderful young players. They are destined to remain
contenders for many years: Anthony Rizzo is a quality first baseman;
Alex Rodriguez flatly stated that second sacker Javier Baez is headed
to the Hall of Fame; Addison Russell is only 22, but is a wonderful
shortstop; Kris Bryant just completed a season worthy of MVP status;
and the Cubs have advantages in the outfield as well.
Eddie Robinson
Eddie Robinson is the last surviving member of the Indians team that won the World Series in 1945. He is now 95 years old, and still enjoys the game. He is waiting for the Tribe to call him, and invite him to the Series.
But Blue
Jay fans took notice of the power and speed of the Indians recently,
as the Jays limped to defeat winning only one game out of five. This
will be a Series to remember, one not to miss. It will be chilly
baseball weather. Let's hope the rains hold off.
And that is
why it is dubbed, “The Fall Classic”. Enjoy.
James Hurst
October 25,
2016
# posted by James Hurst @ 7:47 AM 
