That's right kids, we're down to four as the LCS round kicks off this week and we have a couple dandy matchups for you all!
Today we will be looking at the matchup between the #1 seed, Jitter Indians and the #5 seed, Willie Cubs.
It's amazing how the right angle can really play tricks on you with people's heights, right? Well, first let's dive into how these two teams did against each other this season:
|
Head-to-Head |
Cubs |
Indians |
|
Wins |
2 |
6 |
|
ERA |
4.52 |
2.15 |
|
WHIP |
1.67 |
1.09 |
|
K/9 |
4.76 |
3.94 |
|
OBP |
.313 |
.375 |
|
SLG |
.290 |
.466 |
|
BA/RISP |
.152 |
.282 |
Wow! The numbers are brutally in favor of the Tribe this season, dominating pretty much every category. We have to use these for something, we can't just completely toss them aside, but it is the playoffs and there are some other things we will get to, but first let's focus on those pitching numbers and the Indians seeming dominance of the Cubbies!
Five of the eight starts for the Indians against the Cubbies, belonged to Candelaria, Palmer and Urrea and those gentlemen combined for a 2.47 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP, while going 2-1. Urrea is not slated to start any of the first four games and is likely to stick in the bullpen, but of the three he is the one who kind of struggled the most, posting a 4.73 ERA against the Cubbies. Also the Candyman posted a FIP over five on the regular season against the Cubbies, so maybe they're due to finally break on through against the Tribe's pitching?
Offensively the Tribe has weapon after weapon and the Cubs are gonna have to really work to contain them, especially Bobby Bonds and Reggie Smith who have done a bulk of the damage. It bears, or maybe Cubs, mentioning that the series in Cleveland was a bit better for the Cubbies, holding the Indians to a .340 OBP and a .416 SLG. Still not a great OBP if you're on the pitching side of things, but there was less pop, at least?
Pulling from that though, it still seems like an uphill battle for the Cubbies, so let's try and find some bright spots as their skipper sees if he has what it takes to get back to the Series.
At this point, it's time to address the elephant in the room.
These two managers met in the LCS last year and played what was, arguably the most exciting, thrilling, intense and captivating playoff series in Salt City Strat history. It's a short history, granted, but nevertheless. For those not there for that series, it was a doozy! Not only did it go seven games, but only one game was decided by more than three runs and only two were decided by more than two runs. Plus, it featured the Jitter Indians winning game three, 8-1 to take a three games to none lead in the best of seven, before the Willie Twins stormed back to win four straight and move on to the the World Series! Not only all that, but they had to win three of those four, facing aces Kevin Brown and Kenny Rogers in three of those matchups.
This isn't to say this series will be that dramatic, but I wouldn't just look at the season series and write off the Cubs, by any means. Despite what the Indians pitching has done this season, remember the Cubs were right near the top of the league in OBP and runs scored. Not to take anything away from the Indians pitching which has been good all season, but I have a feeling the Cubs bats will carry over a little bit of their momentum from the LDS, but will their skipper bring his playoff magic as well.
What we know for sure is that he is bringing El Nino Espinosa, who is lined up to start games one, four and seven. A rocky second half, was actually concluded with Nino dazzling in his last regular season start, in Cleveland, tossing eight scoreless innings. In fact, in his two starts against Cleveland this season, he has allowed just one run over 14 innings. That's not too shabby, my friends! Espinosa is also coming off a couple of brilliant outings in the LDS, allowing one run over 15.1 IP. So dating back to his last regular season start, in his three outings he has allowed just one run over 23.1 IP. Is there another pitcher that has looked that good?
Okay, well, in any event, the Cubbies hope he can keep the strong performances coming as they head to Cleveland for Game one.
It sure is a lot to think about, and certainly is a tough one to predict. While our prognostications have been spot on thus far this one is by far the trickiest to predict. I think we get another good one, but the Indians avenge last year's LCS loss...Indians in seven!
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