‘2016 the year the magic returned to the north side of Chicago!’
The Cubs management has built a team that, not only has the ability to win the World Series, but I believe the entire team knows they belong at the very top. They look hungry to bring the trophy back to Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs pitching has hands down been the best I’ve seen in my time following the team. The pitchers know that they’re good. On top of that they they have faith in the position players who have backed them up well by scoring runs at crucial times. What pitcher couldn’t love that combination? 2016 is the year the magic returned to the north side of Chicago! Marcus
‘The pitching has never let us down’
Chicago Cubs have done whatever it has taken to get this far, and their mentality has impressed me all season. They’ve worked good counts, got on the bases and moved runners from second to third by keeping the ball on the right side of the field. The pitching has never let us down and when the pressure was on against the Los Angeles Dodgers the Cubs never looked like faltering. There’s no reason why they can’t claim the World Series now, if they keep their great form and team spirit going. Luke
‘It has been a real team effort’
I’m not surprised at all that the Cubs have made the World Series. The brilliantly constructed roster Theo Epstein and his team have put together arrived a year ahead of schedule in 2015, when they reached the NLCS. Once they made a scorching start this year most Cubs fans have pretty much just been waiting for the playoffs to start. I’m pretty confident that they can finish the job in the World Series too.
The defence and depth of the Cubs squad has been key this season. Everything has gone our way this season built on solid defense and an impressive depth from the bottom of the rotation. I felt that the a fiercely competitive bench would be the key against the Los Angeles Dodgers and so it proved. The ability to rely on every member of the team has made a huge difference, and it has been a real team effort to reach the World Series. If we maintain those high standards, then we’ve got every chance of beating the Cleveland Indians. But it will be a tough series, and while my heart is hoping for the Cubs, my head says that it’s too close to call at present. Padraic Halpin
‘This is the year of the sporting underdog so anything can happen’
I never refer to the team as the Indians. They’re my great love, but even I can see that it’s time the name and logo were amended. I’m used to Cleveland not winning anything but this is the year of the sporting underdog so anything can happen. Logically there’s no way a team that has suffered as many setbacks as the Tribe should have any right to contend but there they are. They’re 24th out of 30 MLB teams in terms of payroll, they lost their star player Michael Brantley for the entire season, they lost their numbers 2, 3 and (short-term) 4 pitchers for the post season, and they put players in the oddest positions. Vin Scully once said of Kirk Gibson’s World Series HR, “In the year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened”. It would be quite nice to wheel that out again!
For the future, the Tribe really only have three free agents leaving at the end of the season. Coco Crisp and Rajai Davis are both platoon players so probably won’t re-sign, and Mike Napoli is the third. He might, given all the ‘Party at Napoli’s’ hoopla, re-sign for another year, particularly as he doesn’t seem to be money-motivated. There’s not a whole lot coming through the farm system - they traded a lot of it away for Andrew Miller, and what a good decision that seems to be - but hopefully they’ll have a healthy Brantley, a resurgent Yan Gomes, and a 1-2-3 pitching staff of Kluber, Carrasco and Salazar again. I don’t see the Tribe being any worse next season, so hopefully they’ll be in contention. Colin Harris
‘Some recent years have been a little slow’
I have followed the Indians for about 10 years now, and this is the best I’ve seen them. One aspect that set the 2016 Indians apart from previous year is a rock solid sense of self belief. Momentum is an incredible force in the post-season. The Indians do not have the best roster on paper. From an outsiders perspective, I think this makes Cleveland a very interesting place. I’m surprised at our success this season, and also a little relieved. It’s a little soul destroying to follow a team through 162 games with less than a 50% win rate. Some recent years have been a little slow.
I’m hoping for a World Series win but, for me, making it this far is probably enough. I hope, whether we win or lose, the core of the team can be retained. Success can bring change. Big players like Jason Kipnis, Corey Kluber and Josh Tomlin need to play a big part if we are to bring more unlikely sporting success back to Cleveland. Donovan Mooney
‘I’m very surprised by our success’
I grew up in Los Angeles but my mom is from Cleveland and the one sport she really enjoys is baseball. It was easy as a kid because there were excellent Indians teams in the mid-1990s, while the local Los Angeles teams, the Dodgers and Angels, were mediocre to put it kindly. If their excellent pitching continues, the Indians definitely have a strong chance in the World Series this year. I’m very surprised by our success because I thought the depleted starting rotation would make it almost impossible for us to get this far.
Being a small market team, and therefore unable to afford big contracts, I’m skeptical about how long the success will last. Andrew Miller and Corey Kluber need to pitch well and Francisco Lindor needs to keep up his excellent hitting and defense. If those three are playing well, you need to be perfect to beat the Indians. Samuel Stalls
