One team has to win

I read an obituary the other day and the saddest part of the notice wasn’t the death of a 70 something male. The sad part was that this guy grew up in the Midwest and was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan.

How long this guy waited for the Cubs to get back to the World Series and he won’t be around on earth anyway to enjoy it.

I didn’t notice but maybe all of the excitement of a 103 win regular season and being victorious in the NL Division series took its toll. You can wait a lifetime and when it finally comes to fruition you’re gone.

The Cubs haven’t been to the World Series since 1945 and haven’t won it all since 1908.

They are playing the Cleveland Indians who’ve been to the series in 1995 and 1997 but haven’t won the championship since 1948. Whoever wins the World Series will be in for a wild party I’m sure.

Proven managers lead the teams, Joe Maddon for the Cubs and Terry Francona for the Cleveland Indians. Maddon managed the 2008 Tampa Bay team that went to the World Series.

To get there they had to beat the Boston Red Sox in the AL Championship Series, a team that was managed by Terry Francona.

The Rays ran out of luck as they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the series that year.

Francona and Maddon were actually both considered for the Boston Red Sox Manager position in 2004. Francona was named manager of the Red Sox and Maddon took over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Francona would lead the Red Sox to the 2004 and 2007 World Series championships. The 2004 team did the improbable by defeating the New York Yankees four games to three after trailing three games to none.

For those of you that know history Francona helped rid the Red Sox organization of the curse of the Bambino.

The curse went back to the 1919 season when the Boston Red Sox owner traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. It changed the fortunes of two baseball clubs dramatically.

Francona had success with Boston but in the 2011 season after the Red Sox went 7-20 in September and squandered a big lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for a wild card playoff spot, the Sox decided not to renew Francona’s contract option.

And yes, Maddon was the Rays manager at this time.

Francona took a year off from managing until the Cleveland Indians hired him after the 2012 season. In 2013 the Indians had a big turn-around under Francona and made the playoffs. But this year the Indians seemed to put it all together with long winning streaks and just playing great baseball.

Not to be outdone, Maddon’s Cubs had a league best mark with the 103 victories. Two great baseball minds that seem to get the most out of their players may best describe these two individuals.

By the time you are reading this the first two games may have already been decided. And no I will not predict who will win this year’s World Series. But these are the two best teams in the Major Leagues.

After the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA title is it the Indians’ turn to shake up the sports world? Or is it finally time for the curse of the Billy Goat to go away at Wrigley Field?

It should be a lot of fun for these two old baseball clubs and their managers.

Joe Maddon and Terry Francona have faced off against each other so many times that I’m sure it would be difficult to pull off many surprises.

One thing is for certain; one of these teams will have to come out the winner!