Cubs, Indians have evolved since 2016
Teams look a lot different than they did in historic World Series 2 years ago
It hasn’t yet been two years since Kris Bryant, unable to suppress a grin, fielded a ground ball off the bat of Michael Martinez and tossed the ball to his pal Anthony Rizzo to finish off the seemingly impossible: the first Chicago Cubs’ World Series championship since 1908.
Seismic shifts in the world of baseball and beyond have occurred since Nov. 2, 2016. That day’s USA TODAY featured a headline wondering if, with the anticipated election of Hillary Clinton, two men would ever appear on a presidential ticket again. The Sports section pondered the reason for falling NFL ratings — oversaturation was the quick verdict in the pre-anthem kneeling era.
As for the Cubs and Cleveland Indians? A lot has changed for them, too — from rosters to organizational matters to the game around them. They split a twogame series in Cleveland this season and Tuesday night met for the first time at Wrigley Field since Game 5 of the World Series. A look at what’s different between the two clubs:
The Cubs are younger — are they better?
Oh, sure, those on hand for that clincher aren’t reversing their age — Jon Lester is now 34, and World Series MVP Ben Zobrist turns 37 Saturday and lacks a consistent place to play. Yet the Cubs have managed to remain a force — they defended their National League Central title and reached the NL Championship Series last year — while turning over significant portions of their club.
Most notably, the pitching rotation looks different and not so ancient. It’s easy to forget that four of the Cubs’ five
2016 primary starters were on the wrong side of 30: Lester, Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel and 37-year-old John Lackey.
Lester and Kyle Hendricks remain, but the other spots are now manned by
28-year-old Tyler Chatwood, 29-yearold lefty Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish, who at 31 begins a six-year, $126 million contract.
Is younger better? We’ll see. The Cubs led the NL in ERA in 2016, and they’re atop that category again this season. Yet the rotation carried more of the load two years ago, when it ranked fourth in the NL. This year’s bunch ranks sixth, with a 3.73 ERA. The new trio will have to pitch better or likely pay a price: Chatwood (1.49), Quintana
(1.47) and Darvish (1.43) are all posting unsightly WHIPs, rates that will make staffwide prosperity difficult if they don’t improve.
The outlook is sunnier on the position player side, where every regular is younger than 30 — even Rizzo is just 28. And the most significant absence from
2016 — center fielder Dexter Fowler, who was 30 in 2016 — has been ably replaced. Albert Almora, 24, has a wonderful .311/.370/.434 slash line while trailing only Lorenzo Cain among major league center fielders in defensive runs saved. Meanwhile, catcher Willson Contreras no longer shares time with Miguel Montero and totes a .844 OPS.
Andrew Miller is not the same
The relief pitcher who dominated opposing hitters and the conversation — winning American League Championship Series MVP honors — is hitting several roadblocks in his age-33 season. Miller spent two weeks on the disabled list with a hamstring strain and was out of action in a weekend series at Houston after his back tightened up. And he’s gotten hit — giving up back-to-back doubles and walking three in coughing up a lead against the Tigers last week.
He was automatic from 2014 to 2017, posting a 1.72 ERA and a staggering 421 strikeouts in 261 innings. This year, his strikeouts per nine innings have gone up, to 16.2, but his WHIP is 1.54 and his ERA has doubled to 3.09.
David Ross is a media mogul
Well, that hasn’t changed, as the affable backup catcher was always a go-to for reporters seeking big-picture perspective. Naturally, in retirement he’s been tough to miss: As a competitor on Dancing with the Stars, on the mic as an ESPN game analyst and as a Cubs special assistant, his bald head gleaming as he leans against the batting cage before games.
Indeed, the Cubs clubhouse is a far different place than it was in 2016. Arrieta could be counted on to play bad cop when needed in the media and along with Lackey and Ross formed a salty and formidable trio.
That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a clubhouse vacuum. Rizzo was and remains a vocal leader, and 2016 MVP Bryant has not been shy to impart his views on the game and the ballclub. Lester remains as the chairman of the old guard. Outfielder Jason Heyward’s grace and consistency regardless of his batting average continues to set an example.
Trevor Bauer is a star
Two years ago, Trevor Bauer was a curiosity with a cut on his finger and a
4.19 ERA, best known nationally as the dude who hurt himself repairing a drone during the ALCS and for clashing with teammates as far back as high school (Mike Montgomery) and college (Gerrit Cole).
He remains one of the game’s most compelling figures and now is one of its best pitchers.
The man not afraid to troll the greatest pitching staff in the game or stridently defend his progressive training techniques has hacked his ERA to 2.59 — backed up by a 2.78 Fielding Independent Pitching mark — while striking out
67 batters in 59 innings.
He’s halfway to his first All-Star berth and just one-third of the way to what could be a career-defining season. Yet if he keeps this up, he might make believers out of all the haters and losers.
There are no free rides
For two tortured franchises, it’s easy to forget the Cubs and Indians relatively cruised to the playoffs, Chicago winning the NL Central by 171⁄ games and the In
2 dians the AL Central by eight.
And while both are firmly in the hunt this year, both are likely in for some dogfights.
The Cubs’ 25-19 start leaves little room for complaint — yet they’re still looking up at the Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central, with the pesky Pirates in a dead heat. While it’s too soon to look at wild-card standings, the Cubs would be out of the money there, too, and teams such as the Phillies and Braves are starting to suggest they might have staying power.
The Indians? Their sticky spot is of their own doing, as they’re under .500 yet still leading the AL Central. The Twins are just a game back and, with the East and West divisions both topheavy, Cleveland can more or less kiss off the wild card already.
So get ready for both clubs to take the long way home — which, in a sense, is how both franchises have always done it.