Although I would have loved to see the Dodgers back in the Fall Classic, there's no doubt the Cubs making it to the World Series is a feel-good story. I do hope they win, but Cleveland was absolutely dominant in the playoffs. The Cubs better be ready or they're gonna run into a buzz saw.
I've found that in most recent years, the "hot" team that races through the playoffs and gets a 6 day layoff before the World Series (like Cleveland this year, or Colorado in 2007), has lost the momentum by the time the games resume, but I guess we'll see. We'll also see the battle of the two great Yankees closers for most of the year, as Chapman and Miller have been instrumental in getting their teams this far. The Yankees got some great young players in exchange, and re-signing one of them isn't out of the question yet.
From 2012 (and yes, I know it wasn't a sweep or a game 7, but still):
There have been three previous World Series between one team which swept their league-championship series and the other needed to win a Game 7, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In all three cases, the team that played in the Game 7 “annihilated” the team coming off the sweep. One of those annihilated teams was the 2006 Tigers, who lost in five games to the Cardinals after sweeping Oakland.
And indeed, the Tigers lost to San Francisco in 2012.
From 2014:
• More recently, however, since 2006, five teams have had long layoffs entering the World Series. Only one -- the 2008 Phillies -- went on to win it all. The '06 and '12 Tigers, '07 Rockies and '09 Phillies all went on to lose the World Series, and among those teams, only the '09 Phillies managed to win Game 1 and send the series to at least six games.
Plus, the Cubs are clearly the better team, not that the best team always wins.
No by-name mention of Steve Goodman, who only wrote and performed the song?
To an extent, it was autobiographical; Steve had just gotten the word from his doctors that his cancer was terminal, and this song was the immediate result.
It wasn't long after that that Steve came up with "Go, Cubs, Go!", which became the semi-official team fight song, and remains so to this day (That was the song you heard non-stop when the Cubs won last night, by the way.).
8 comments:
Go Cubs! This is the year at last.
Hey, the Red Sox did it after 86 years, and the White Sox after 88 years, so why not the Cubs after 108 years?
Although I would have loved to see the Dodgers back in the Fall Classic, there's no doubt the Cubs making it to the World Series is a feel-good story. I do hope they win, but Cleveland was absolutely dominant in the playoffs. The Cubs better be ready or they're gonna run into a buzz saw.
I've found that in most recent years, the "hot" team that races through the playoffs and gets a 6 day layoff before the World Series (like Cleveland this year, or Colorado in 2007), has lost the momentum by the time the games resume, but I guess we'll see. We'll also see the battle of the two great Yankees closers for most of the year, as Chapman and Miller have been instrumental in getting their teams this far. The Yankees got some great young players in exchange, and re-signing one of them isn't out of the question yet.
From 2012 (and yes, I know it wasn't a sweep or a game 7, but still):
There have been three previous World Series between one team which swept their league-championship series and the other needed to win a Game 7, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In all three cases, the team that played in the Game 7 “annihilated” the team coming off the sweep. One of those annihilated teams was the 2006 Tigers, who lost in five games to the Cardinals after sweeping Oakland.
And indeed, the Tigers lost to San Francisco in 2012.
From 2014:
• More recently, however, since 2006, five teams have had long layoffs entering the World Series. Only one -- the 2008 Phillies -- went on to win it all. The '06 and '12 Tigers, '07 Rockies and '09 Phillies all went on to lose the World Series, and among those teams, only the '09 Phillies managed to win Game 1 and send the series to at least six games.
Plus, the Cubs are clearly the better team, not that the best team always wins.
Gotta admit that I'm rooting for the Cubs. I'm a National League guy from way back, though it's tough now that the Astros are in the American League.
I usually root for the American League, but I rooted for the Giants all three times they won and I'm definitely rooting for the Cubs this time.
No by-name mention of Steve Goodman, who only wrote and performed the song?
To an extent, it was autobiographical; Steve had just gotten the word from his doctors that his cancer was terminal, and this song was the immediate result.
It wasn't long after that that Steve came up with "Go, Cubs, Go!", which became the semi-official team fight song, and remains so to this day (That was the song you heard non-stop when the Cubs won last night, by the way.).
I'll be cheering for the Cubs in the Series.
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