Chicago Cubs bound to end 108-year championship drought

As the sun is setting on the 2016 MLB season, October and the World Series is approaching. Playoff contenders are becoming obvious, magic numbers are shrinking and some teams are falling apart, like the defending champions the Kansas City Royals.

Teams like the Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, and Texas Rangers have already locked up a playoff berth and hold commanding leads over the second place teams in their respectful divisions. The Cubs are dominating the NL Central, leading the next closest time by 16 games. However, the excitement is found in this year’s baseball playoff race, namely the wild card race.

In late 2011, the MLB announced it would be adding two wild card teams to the postseason. The two wild card teams in each league face each other in a one-game playoff. The winner of this game advances to meet the top seed in the Division Series. The revised playoff system began in 2012. Many people are not a fan of this set up. You can ask the Pittsburgh Pirates about that.

At this point in the season, there are three teams tied in the National League for two wild card spots. The New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants, who have been a massive tragedy since the All-Star break, are all tied with a record of 80-71.

At the moment the National league appears to have the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants play in the wild card game. I think the Giants will win, then play the Cubs. The Nationals and Dodgers will face each other and Bryce Harper will not perform, causing the Dodgers to triumph. The Dodgers will then play the winner of the Cubs vs. Giants which I believe will be the Cubs. In the NLCS, the Cubs will beat the Dodgers and send themselves to the World Series.

On the other side in the American League, the Blue Jays will beat the Orioles in the wild card game and play the Texas Rangers. The Boston Red Sox will beat the Cleveland Indians and play the Blue Jays in the ALCS. The Red Sox will emerge victorious.

The World Series matchup of 2016 will feature the Chicago Cubs against the Boston Red Sox. Theo Epstein, the former president of baseball operations in Boston, and current one in Chicago, would have a tough time with this.

The Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908, the longest championship drought in sports history. I believe their dominant pitching, led by last year’s Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, will shut down Boston’s talented hitting-David Ortiz, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Hanley Ramirez.

If the Cubs win, members of their team will be famous forever. I bet they would not need to pay for dinner in that city ever again. Will the lovable losers do it? We will see in October.

To read last week’s World of Sports check out, World of Sports: NFL season commences.

This author can be reached via twitter: @alexrurik23.