There’s been a lot of previewing and a lot of anticipating and a lot of planning, and today, we get to actually watch some baseball get played.
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Like Washington’s Turner, LA’s Seager is a rookie who hasn’t played like one all year long, so why start now? Too much family time!
Mediacom customers buzzing with Chicago Cubs playoff fever will need to go elsewhere for their Saturday fix against the San Francisco Giants.
Take from these incredibly small samples what you will: Kris Bryant is 3 for 5 and Addison Russell is 3 for 6 with two doubles. It’s also interesting to note that the Giants’ last World Series title in 2014 started off with them winning the Wild Card play-in game on the road like they did last night in NY against the Mets.
“He’s a cowboy”, Maddon said Thursday. “We think that’s fair”. For me, I’m excited to have that opportunity and never matters where it’s at or what time of day it is. That’s been the thing. Did he go to the “Theo Starbucks” on Racine?
Defensively, Giants second baseman Kelby Tomlinson put on a clinic, robbing Ben Zobrist in the fourth inning and Anthony Rizzo in the seventh. Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester smiles during a news conference Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016, in Chicago. “I’m not very anxious”.
Jon Greenberg: The easy pick here is Cubs in four. The game is scheduled for a primetime 9:00 p.m. start time where it will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.
Every Chicago team in the four major sports but the Cubs have won a championship: the Chicago White Sox (two titles), Blackhawks (six titles), Bulls (six titles) and Bears (nine titles).
Lauren Comitor: Cubs in five.
The Cubs embraced the target throughout the regular season and say that will not change in October. It became known as “Wrigleyville” in the 1980s when real estate agents renamed the area to capitalize on the Cubs’ popularity, and it is undergoing another transformation thanks to a multiyear renovation to the ballpark and its surroundings by the Ricketts family.
Lester fell short of his first 20-win season but still had his best winning percentage (.792), matched his 2010 career high in victories and had quality starts in all 15 home games this season. That is until you look at the Giants’ starting pitchers. The Cubs have reached expectations at every point. However, it would not come back to haunt them as they managed to lock up the National League Central from the Cardinals. Could this be the year they end the curse? Madison Bumgarner and Jake Arrieta are the starters for Game 3.
This is also a series when we’ll see multiple members of the 2008 World Champions Phillies begin a pursuit of their second World Series rings.
The past five years the Cubs have been rebuilding their farm system.
Bochy acknowledged there is “no question” the Giants’ rotation is deeper than it was two years ago when they won a title largely on the strength of Bumgarner, who threw 52 2/3 postseason innings with a 1.03 ERA. You had the Brooklyn Dodgers finally beating the Yankees in 1955, and inspiring the unforgettable front page at the Daily News, with Willard Mullins’ cartoon and this headline: “Who’s a Bum?” “I think speaking for Dusty, myself, what it means to the game of baseball, to society”.
However, will it be enough to break the curse? This stat could loom large as the final five games between the clubs during the regular season were all decided by one run.
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It’s hard to find weaknesses for the Cubs, but with their tendency to blow out opponents comes with the inability to win close games. One of the few big-ticket free agents from last winter who delivered on his contract, Cueto went 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA and ranked third in the NL in innings pitched.
