There have been title droughts in sports, then there has been the notorious Chicago Cubs title drought and the tragic city of Cleveland. As many know by now, it has been 108 years since the Cubs have won a World Series title. To put that in perspective, that was 12 years before prohibition, but it’s not just the Cubs that make this World Series interesting, but their opponent is no regular to the Fall Classic ether. What many Chicago sports fans don’t know about the Indians is that they have the second longest World Series drought in baseball in front of the Cubs. The last time that they won the World Series was in 1948, 68 years ago. In 1948 our president was Harry S. Truman, so yeah, this World Series is very significant for the city of Cleveland as well. In adding the numbers up, the two have a combined 176 years since they have won a championship, which makes this the most intriguing World Series of recent history. One of those streaks will end, but now the question is what time will be so lucky to end their fatal drought.

What in the world has gotten into Cleveland? Many have doubted their postseason credibility all year, but look at where they are today. They are four wins away from being champions of baseball. In the past I have analyzed how the Indians have got to the playoffs, but now the question is how they have gotten to the spot that they are at today.

One of the biggest reasons is that the bullpen is the best of its kind. Andrew Miller has been lights out for the Indians this season. The once Yankees closer has been switched to a reliever position for Cleveland. He was dominant in the regular season and is beginning to turn the heads of many in the postseason. Miller has come in as relief this postseason six times and has not allowed a single run. Miller, who was also the ALCS MVP, a rare honor for a reliever to receive, isn’t the only tool that Cleveland’s bullpen has. Cody Allen, Cleveland’s closer, has been fantastic as well. He has not allowed a single run this postseason and has gotten a save for the Indians every time that they have needed him.

The starting threats that the Cubs will have to face consist of Corey Kluber, who is getting the start in game one, Josh Tomlin, and Trevor Bauer, all of which can go deep into the game.

Behind the Indians strong pitching staff consists of some excellent role players who may not be getting as much credit as they deserve. At second is Jason Kipnis, a former Northbrook resident and graduate of Glenbrook North High School. He has maintained a good resume at second throughout the year with minimal errors, not to mention he constantly flashes the leather. One of the most impressive players on the diamond, in my opinion, is Francisco Lindor. This guy can do it all at the shortstop position. He is young, talented, and very well could be the next Derek Jeter. The offense for the Indians has been good enough to get them to the spot that they are at today, but could use some work. It has seemed that their defense has primarily has led them to the spot they are at today.

It will be interesting to see how the Indians offense fairs when they go up against the Cubs’ strong rotation. The biggest offensive x-factor in this series for the Indians you need to look out for is Lonnie Chisenhall. Chisenhall has come up in the clutch in some Indians’ games in the past, which Cleveland will need heading into the World Series. He has hit .269 along with a .296 OBP. Watch for him to break out in this year’s Fall Classic. Other strong offensive tools that the Indians have consist of Mike Napoli and Yan Gomes.

The Indians are the subject of one of the most peculiar teams I’ve seen make it to the World Series in quite some time. Cleveland seems to be that one quiet kid in your class that grew up to become a millionaire. Although Cleveland is great in mostly every category of baseball, they will need to play on par if they want to have a chance at beating the North siders.

Cubs fans have waited, waited and then waited some more for a World Series to be brought back to Chicago. It has been 108 total years since the last time that the Cubs won, so what makes this team different than the past 108 Cubs teams that have tried to win the World Series? Well, many things.

To begin with, the Cubs’ defense is one of the best in the history of baseball. Not often is it that you see the whole starting infield of an MLB All Star game be made up of just one team. Anthony Rizzo has continued to shine at first base, rarely letting balls get by him unless they are completely egregious throws that an average player cannot catch. Rizzo has also built up a resume so good that he is one of the two players that is being considered for National League MVP. Most of the year the Cubs second basemen has been Ben Zobrist. Although towards the end of the season his position has changed as Javier Baez has taken over the second base position and he has been incredible at it. He has made some plays at second that people didn’t think were humanly possible before like throwing a ball sideways in mid air and still accurately getting it to first. If Baez continues on the track that he is going on now, he could be on the way to being one of the best second basemen to play the game. At third base is the likely NL MVP and one of the Cubs’ fan favorites Kris Bryant. Bryant has also only committed two errors at third base this year, just another reason why he deserves to be the MVP. In the outfield the most standout player is Dexter Fowler, who could presumably cover the whole outfield if he wanted to. The man has insane speed and is not afraid to lay out for any ball that is about to drop in centerfield. Fowler hasn’t had an MVP like season, but was one of the Cubs five starting All Stars.

The Cubs’ pitching has been the best that it has even been. Up and down the Cubs rotation, pure talent and potential exists. Pitchers like Jon Lester, who was the NLCS co-MVP along with Javier Baez, have significantly helped the Cubs get to the world series. This postseason Jon Lester has only allowed two runs, which gives him a 0.86 ERA.  Following Lester in the Cubs typical rotation is Kyle Hendricks. He is (1-1) in the postseason and has maintained a 1.65 ERA this postseason. After Hendricks deals last year’s Cy Young award winner, Jake Arrieta, followed by John Lackey who has pitched the most postseason games of any current pitcher. The Cubs have a significantly better rotation than the Indians do, so as long as the Cubs are scoring runs they can stop the Indians.

The Cubs bullpen has been splendid. The 25 man roster bullpen features Mike Montgomery who the Cubs got in a midseason trade. He has received a lot of playing time in the playoffs, especially when the starting pitcher does not make it through the first five or so innings.

The Indians may find their most trouble when they get into the late innings if the game is tied or the Cubs are leading. Aroldis Chapman has proved to baseball fans that he will be one of the best closers to play baseball. Chapman can throw constantly in the Triple Digits which makes it tough to hit for opposing players and he has registered three saves this postseason.

This postseason the Cubs have had their ups and downs offensively, which makes them a very difficult team to predict. In the NLDS the Cubs’ bats mostly stayed hot excluding game one when they were only able to score a run. Once the NLCS rolled around the Cubs bats became cold for a couple games. In game one the Cubs won 8-3. The following night, however, they couldn’t score a single run. Game three was the same story as they were shutout for the second straight night. The Cubs went 18 innings without scoring a run. Luckily, the Cubs knew how to fix their scoring drought. The following game the Cubs put double digits on their opponents. The Cubs lineup is almost always changing, but no matter what it looks like it’s always dominant. Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Dexter Fowler amongst others have been the most potent contributors to the Cubs’ offense. Joe Maddon is also expected to DH a player who hasn’t hit for the Cubs since April. That would be none other than Kyle Schwarber, who is coming off of an ACL injury. If the Cubs can stay hot throughout the series on offense their chances for winning the World Series will be very high. The last thing that the Cubs want to find themselves in is another hitting slump.

I’ve had some doubt in the Cleveland Indians throughout the regular season and now in the postseason. I never thought that they would be able to get past the first round of action, but they did that in dominant fashion by sweeping the Red Sox. The next series I thought that the Blue Jays would be able to get by Cleveland, but what did the Indians do? They beat the Jays in five games. Now they have hit the end of the road. They get to play the toughest team in baseball for the most prestigious award that a team could receive. The Indians are a quality team, but in my opinion they just do not have the talent to beat the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs have a stronger offense, starting pitching staff, and defense than the Indians do. I think that the Cubs will win the series in six games on the road in Cleveland. I have no doubt Cleveland will battle their hearts out for their city, but they just don’t have the talent to beat the Cubs. This year is the year. After the World Series concludes there will be no next year. The Cubs will win their first World Series in 108 years.