CHICAGO — The first thing to know about the upcoming two series between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs (two in Chicago and two in Cleveland) is that, as of Monday, June 15, the immediate attentions of their each town’s sports fans are more fixed on the Cavaliers and Blackhawks than on the Indians and Cubs.
The Cavs, of course, just lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors. Both head back to Cleveland for Game 6 on Tuesday night.
The Chicago Blackhawks, who defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals Saturday, host the Lightning Monday night. The Hawks have a 3-2 lead in the tense Finals Series, so Monday night Chicago could be celebrating a championship, although with all the rain that has fallen, is falling, and is forecast in Chicago, celebratory dancing in the streets could be curtailed.
There’s no risk of hockey getting rained out, but the Indians, who have not had a single postponement all season, could be hearing the late, great Cub Ernie Banks’ famous quip, “Let’s play two,” … that is if they don’t get rained out on both Monday and Tuesday.
The big city of Chicago is plenty big enough, and sports-minded enough, to support two major league baseball teams, the NFL’s Bears, the NBA’s Bulls and the NHL ‘sBlackhawks. All of Chicago’s teams, except for the Cubs, have enjoyed some dancing in the streets at some point in the not-too-distant past. The Cubs, however, have not won a World Series championship since 1908. They last appeared in a World Series in 1945.
The Cubs actually started off their existence as the Chicago White Stockings. They became the Cubs in 1907 and are the oldest currently active American professional sports organization with a continuous existence in the same city for their entire history. They and the Atlanta Braves are one of the two remaining charter members of the National League.
The modern era of Cubs baseball can be divided roughly into three periods, each defined by their owners. The Wrigley era (as in the chewing gum Wrigleys), from 1921-1981, the Tribune era, from 1981-2008, and the Ricketts era, 2009-present.
The Cubs’ ballpark may be more famous than the baseball team. Wrigley Field was built in 1914 and initially named Weeghman Park, then later called Cubs Park from 1920-1926 and then, in 1927, it became Wrigley Field. It has a seating capacity of just over 41,000. It is truly amazing how, in America’s throwaway culture, Wrigley Field has continued to exist, thrive and improve.
The Ricketts family is originally from Nebraska. J. Joseph (Joe) Ricketts, born in 1941, founded Ameritrade and Forbes estimates the Ricketts family wealth to be about $1 billioon. Joe’s son, Tom Ricketts, who, during his college years, met his future wife in the bleachers at Wrigley Field, is now the principal owner. Since purchasing the Cubs and the ballpark in 2009, the Ricketts family has been working hard to pursue renovations to Wrigley Field. From the beginning, Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel announced there would be no public funding of the renovations, but a five-year, $575-million, privately-funded series of renovations is well under way. The many changes include infrastructure improvements, somewhat expanded bleacher seating, and a 5,700-square-foot Jumbotron in left field.
Wrigley sits in an increasingly vibrant, dense urban setting. The ballpark’s uniqueness and charm are difficult to match in the modern era of American sports, but even more astounding is the loyal support of Cubs fans. Given the long and sustained tradition of losing baseball, it seems difficult to define what, exactly, gives the Cubs such a loyal following. Is it the historic, ivy-covered walls of Wrigley? The surrounding community? Is it the national audience that developed with WGN’s early national broadcasts in the cable TV era? Is it the tradition of supporting the lovable, losing underdog Cubs? The pure love of the grand ol’ game? Maybe it’s a combination of all of the above, but in any case, it’s an experience not to be missed by baseball fans no matter what part of the country you come from.
Ah yes, the actual game of baseball … The Indians and Cubs have played only 14 games in their interleague history. Each team has seven wins.
Not long after being one game under .500, the Indians have gone 4-6 in their last ten games and are now 29-33, 6 1/2 games out of first place. In their just-ended series, the Tigers once again gave the Tribe a thrashing, taking another two of three.
The Cubs have a young and promising team and, like the Indians, are led by a manager who might actually be good enough to have an impact on his team’s record. Joe Maddon has made some rather bold pronouncements about his team’s potential for reaching the playoffs this year. The Cubs are in third place in the National League Central Division with a record of 33-27, seven games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, the best team in baseball with a 41-21 record. Although the season is not yet half over, it’s looking more and more like the Cubs’ chances of making the postseason will be greatest as one of the NL wild card teams.
General manager Theo Epstein announced when he assumed control of the Cubs that the team would be initiating a five-year plan that would involve deconstructing the roster, developing one of the best minor league systems in the game, and building from the ground up. That was in October 2011. The plan is working. The roster Epstein has built has an impressive stable of solid (and in some cases, exceptional) talent.
Cuban-born right fielder Jorge Soler is a big, athletic outfielder who can run well, throw well, and hit for power. Third baseman Kris Bryant is a phenom with tremendous power in his easy swing. He was the first player to hit one off the new Jumbotron at Wrigley, and he has even shown some surprising speed for a big guy. Infielders have found that they can’t take their time throwing to first because Bryant might embarrass them by beating the throw.
Second baseman Addison Russell is another of the Cubs’ top four prospects who are now regulars on the major league roster and is actually considered by some to have the best shot at becoming the long term answer at shortstop.
Anthony Rizzo has been outstanding. The fifth year veteran is the Cubs leading offensive player, hitting for average and power (currently at .307 and 11 home runs). He also has ten stolen bases and is excellent defensively.
The Cubs acquired ten-year veteran catcher Miguel Montero from Arizona during the off season and he has proven to be an outstanding handler of the pitching staff.
The Chicago’s pitching staff is anchored by 31-year-old ace Jon Lester. He pitched on Sunday so the Indians won’t face Lester either in Chicago or in Cleveland.
Pitching matchups for the two series:
In Chicago:
RHP Jake Arrieta (6-4, 3.16, 83 Ks) vs. Trevor Bauer (5-3, 3.53, 75 Ks)
LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (0-1, 4.84, 21 Ks) vs. Shaun Marcum (3-1, 4.09, 30Ks)
In Cleveland:
Danny Salazar (6-2, 3.54, 87 Ks) vs. RHP Jason Hammel (5-2, 2.81, 80 Ks)
Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 4.38, 85 Ks) vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 3.80, 59 Ks)
Comparing pitching stats of the American League and National League comes, of course, with a big, fat asterisk due to the fact the NL does not employ the designated hitter. But that aside, the Cubs are looking like the better staff thus far in 2015. Both their starters and relievers have better ERAs, opposing batting averages, and WHIPs than their Cleveland counterparts. Indians pitchers strike out more batters than any other team in the majors, but the Cubs are not far behind.
Comparing offenses comes with that same asterisk, but again, the Indians’ stats are better in almost every category than the Cubs’. But neither the Cubs (23rd in the majors) nor the Indians (27th) hit very well with runners in scoring position.
The fact remains, however, that the Cubs have been above .500 for most of the season and are trending in a positive direction. The Indians, on the other hand, seem to have an aversion to that .500 mark.
My brother-in-law, Matt, has been a Cubs season ticket holder for fifteen years. He lives across the street from former Cub Ryan Dempster, whom Matt describes as a very friendly guy in the neighborhood. As a civil engineer, Matt has even worked on projects on Wrigley Field. And thus far in the tenures of Theo Epstein and Joe Madden, he thinks there is a great deal to look forward to, to be optimistic about, to be excited about. We’ll be attending Monday night’s game together if the rain ever stops. Although when it comes to witnessing championship games, as rare as they are, Matt might just leave early to look in on that other team, the one playing on ice.
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The post Next Up: Indians vs. Cubs, two at Wrigley, two in Cleveland appeared first on Waiting For Next Year.