Like many people, I am looking forward to this Chicago Cubs-Cleveland Indians World Series. One of these teams is going to end a long drought while the other will prolong their agony.
Believe it or not, I actually predicted a Cubs-Indians World Series - last year. While the Cubs reached the NLCS, the Indians were not contenders in 2015.
When I was at The American Spectator I would write my annual MLB Predictions. I never came anywhere near predicting the World Series. This year I picked a Minnesota Twins-Los Angeles Dodgers' Fall Classic. While the Dodgers did reach the NLCS, the Twins finished with the worst record in MLB. My best pick in 2015 was Jake Arrieta winning the NL Cy Young Award. That was a leap of faith.
It is fitting that both the Indians and Cubs would have deep connections to another franchise that went through a lengthy drought of its own - the Boston Red Sox. Of course, I am specifically referring to the 2004 Red Sox which won a World Series for the first time in 86 years. The manager was Terry Francona who is now managing the Tribe while the GM was Theo Epstein who is now the President of the Cubs. Somehow I think being President of the Cubs is more fun than being President of the United States.
Should Francona (affectionately known as Tito) lead the Tribe to the World Series after doing so with the Red Sox in 2004 and in 2007 there will be call to enshrine him into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ditto for Epstein should the Cubs win. As it stands, I think both men deserve a plaque in the Hall.
The other interesting dynamic is Indians reliever Andrew Miller and Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman. Both men started the season as teammates with the New York Yankees and now face off against each other in the late innings of this Series. Regardless of how it ends, Miller and Chapman will be the two hottest free agents in MLB this off-season.
In 2015, I picked the Indians to prevail over the Cubs in six games. But now that it has come to pass, I have to give it to the Cubs in five. The Indians haven't played in six days. That's just too long a layoff while the Cubs 72-hour layoff is just about right.
So I say the Cubs in five with Dexter Fowler being your World Series MVP.
Whoever wins, this World Series will provided a much needed respite from this awful election and its consequences.
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