CLEVELAND: The 2016 World Series is set. The Indians will go head-to-head with the Chicago Cubs, owners of the best record in baseball this season.
The Cubs tore through the National League en route to 103 wins, capturing the attention of the baseball world as they try to end one of the most well-known title droughts — which dates back to 1908 — in all of sports.
The Indians have gone through baseball’s best lineup and arguably baseball’s most intense homefield advantage. Now, they’ll face the team that’s been perched atop the power rankings nearly the entire season.
Game 1 is 8 p.m. Tuesday at Progressive Field.
“They’re obviously built for October,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of the Cubs. “And I think they’ve known that for quite a while. They had a heck of a year and they’re going to be a handful. Their starting pitching is tremendous. They catch the ball. They’re athletic. This will be fun to see how we can do against them. I think we’re excited about that.”
The Cubs’ title drought is sure to make this World Series a ratings bonanza for Fox and other media outlets. The Indians have a drought of their own that dates back to 1948, but they aren’t concerned about it, nor are they interested in being swept up in the storylines.
“I think that stuff is for fans,” Francona said. “I think fans enjoy talking or commiserating, however you want to put it. I don’t feel responsible for the fact that my dad couldn’t win. That was his fault.
“We’re going to have our hands full playing against the Cubs. And trying to go back and win for years, that doesn’t help. If it did, we’d do it. But I think those are more types of things that fans like to talk about, as they should. It’s a fun part of baseball.”
The Indians and Cubs are also trying to make some history of their own instead of worrying about the past.
“We can’t concern ourselves with that. I can’t imagine they are,” Indians reliever Andrew Miller said of the atmosphere of playing World Series games at Wrigley Field and Progressive Field. “It’s been a pretty long time since Cleveland won a World Series. I know they got a taste of it in the lat ’90s, but these 25 guys and their 25 guys didn’t experience that process. We just want to win the World Series.”
The Indians still have quite a few questions regarding how their starting rotation will line up in the World Series. The only aspect known in full is that Corey Kluber will start Game 1, as announced Sunday night by Francona.
Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin will then start Games 2 and 3, but the order is still to be determined and dependent on Bauer’s stitched-up pinkie finger. Game 3 comes after an off-day, so it would be a two-day difference in giving him additional time to heal.
“We’re going to hold off as long as we can with Trevor, just to get the most information we can,” Francona said. “If it works out right, we’d like him to pitch second. But, if the doctors or the trainers deem that those next two days would really give him a better chance, then we could move him back. So, we’ll see.”
Game 4 remains a complete mystery. The Indians have several options as to who could start that game, including but not limited to Ryan Merritt, Danny Salazar, Kluber on short rest or a bullpen game.
“It’s going to be TBA after Game 3 probably the rest of the way, for obvious reasons,” Francona said. “It’s not that difficult to figure out. Kluber’s certainly an option. It could be a lot of things, so we’re just kind of keeping it open. We found out the last series that that’s probably a good way to do it.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.