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The final games of the 2016 MLB season tonight as the World Series kicks off. This one has more interest than most World Series because of the match-up. The Chicago Cubs who haven’t won since 1908 take on the Cleveland Indians who haven’t won since 1948. These are the two longest runs without a championship in all of baseball and whoever wins this should end up being a pretty big story. Some quick fun facts about this series:
- Satchel Paige was the first black player ever to play in the World Series. He did so for the Indians in the last year they won the World Series.
- Dexter Fowler of the Cubs will become the first black player to play in the World Series for the Chicago Cubs.
- The last Cubs championship was closer to the Holy Roman Empire than it is to the present.
- According to Sportrac, the 2016 payrolls of these teams are the Cubs at $186.4m and the Indians at $114.7m, a difference of nearly $72m. That number is more than the 2016 payroll of the Tampa Bay Rays.
It will certainly make history, but it is that last fact that may decide things. The Cubs start the series as -200 favorites to win it all. You can bet the Indians at +170.
Tonight we also have the kick-off the NBA season with three big games. This will be a great night of sports television.
MLB Betting Tips:
This series, like all series, will come down to pitching. The Indians have the amazing bullpen and the Cubs have the amazing rotation. Both of these teams have amazing defenses that back up their pitching while I’d give the slight edge to the Cubs lineup. Of course, that’s a big if as those bats went very cold in the first two rounds before exploding in the last two games of the Dodgers series. They also went cold last season in the NLCS against a team with great right handed pitching, the Mets. The Indians have pretty good right handed pitching as well in Corey Kluber who should be lined up for three starts in this series.
For the Cubs tonight, it’s Jon Lester who has been a playoff stud his whole career and in this postseason. The thing with Lester is that he doesn’t bother holding runners on at first base. You saw some crazy things in the last round with runners taking 20 foot leads, but not a lot of stealing. I don’t think that will be the case tonight if the Indians get runners on. They are one of the best running teams out there and Terry Francona is one of the more aggressive managers. The baserunning could end up being what decides this one and between that and the crazy crowd in Cleveland, we’re taking the Indians +110.
Which also means that we’re taking the Indians +170 to win the series. Home field advantage and teams who win Game 1 are 107-60 in World Series history are two great reasons why, but the real reason is Andrew Miller and the Cleveland bullpen. If you give this team a lead after five or six innings, the game is over. We’ve seen it against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, two offenses as good or better than the Cubs and we’re going to see it again here.
NBA Betting Tips:
The 2016 NBA season should be great, but let’s be honest: it’s just a long delay until we get the rematch between Cleveland and Golden State. Tonight, both teams show us why.
Cavs -9.5 over the Knicks.
Warriors -8.5 over the Spurs.
