World series preview

What does it take to break a curse? For the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs, the answer is to simply win this series. For Cleveland, that would end a 67-year drought. For the Cubs, it’s been 107 years, as you’ve probably already heard. For those of you keeping score at home, those are the two longest World Series title droughts in all of Major League Baseball.

But the series goes far deeper than that. You have two managers on the front lines of the ‘new’ tactics of baseball. You have Joe Maddon for the Cubs, who shifts his lineup around like it’s a Rubiks Cube, and you have Terry Francona, who’s not afraid to deploy his best reliever anywhere from the fifth inning on. You have what was inarguably the best team throughout the regular season in Cubs, who went 103-58. On the other side, you have what has inarguably been the best team in the playoff in Cleveland, who’s lost only once while dispatching the Red Sox and Blue Jays en route to the AL pennant.

You have Kyle Schwarber, last year’s playoffs darling for the Cubs, who has returned and been placed on the roster for the World Series (though he’ll probably serve as a designated hitter, at most). You also have one of Cleveland’s best pitchers, Danny Salazar, making the World Series roster after being injured since early September. You even have Dexter Fowler set to be the first African-American Cubs player to play in a World Series, as the last time the Cubs were here in 1945, African-American players weren’t even allowed to play (Jackie Robinson broke the barrier in 1947). You have arguably the best, young pool of talent in the MLB with the Cubs and Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, and others. Yet Cleveland isn’t too shabby themselves, featuring Francisco Lindor leading the way.

This series has a ton of storylines and regardless of who wins, those storylines will be welcomed by anyone outside of the losing city. But only one team will win. Only one curse can be broken.

Cleveland is tough. They’re gritty. They’re one of the best base-running teams in the MLB. Their pitching staff is immaculate, especially with all-star reliever Andrew Miller extinguishing any possible rallies anywhere from the fifth inning to the end of the game.They’re fine winning 2-1 and probably will in a game or two in this series. But there’s too much talent on this Cubs team. Their pitching staff can stand right next to Cleveland’s, with Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, and Kyle Hendricks manning a stellar rotation. The difference is their lineup. The already mentioned Bryant, Rizzo, Fowler and Russell combine with the newly returned Schwarber, Javier Baez, Ben Zobrist, and others to form a perilous lineup for any pitcher to have to face. Just ask Clayton Kershaw.

Cubs in 6.