World Series 2016: 5 reasons Cubs complete comeback
The Chicago Cubs are on the brink of elimination, but they are far from done. Here are five reasons the Cubbies complete the World Series comeback.
Not since the 1985 Kansas City Royals controversially shocked the St. Louis Cardinals has a team managed to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series. With their Game 5 victory on Sunday night, the Chicago Cubs are one step closer to becoming just the sixth team in MLB history to climb out of the grave and win the World Series.
The Cubs won Game 5 behind a dominant performance from Jon Lester, eight outs from Aroldis Chapman, and a three-run outburst in the fourth inning, sparked by a Kris Bryant home run. Now, the Cubbies will have to go on the road and take two more games from the Cleveland Indians.
The odds are long, but the Cubs are a talented bunch with a manager who is capable of handling the pressure of a must-win game. Here are the five biggest reasons the Cubs will complete their comeback and make sure the lengthy title drought ends at 108 years.
5. The Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead
The Harambe meme has mostly run its course, but the Internet is still quick to remind us that the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers, of course, were the team that shut down Steph Curry and the 73-win Warriors. Unless you believe in karma (and believe me, the city of Cleveland did everything in its power to perpetuate the Warriors jokes), what does that have to do with a baseball team in Chicago?
The recency of the Cavaliers’ comeback from a similar position should matter to the Cubs. It gives them a script to follow, and a belief that such a comeback really is possible. Like the Cubs, the Cavaliers also had to take care of business on the road to complete the comeback. While the singular talent of LeBron James played a big part in the ability of the Cavs to flip the script on the Warriors, his leadership was also instrumental in uniting the team.
Comebacks in basketball and comebacks in baseball are different beasts, with one player capable of taking over a game, but the locker room dynamics are similar. The Cubs have looked lost at the plate in the World Series, chasing over 50 percent of pitches outside the strike zone in their Game 3 and 4 losses. That is shockingly bad from a team that led all of baseball in walks during the regular season. With their backs against the wall, the Cubs must continue regrouping and having patient at-bats as they did in Game 5.
The comeback is possible, and the Cubs have to believe. If that means Joe Maddon cues up a team viewing party of NBA Finals Game 7, so be it. And of course, there’s always the universe which is sure to be looking to knock Cleveland back down to its rightful place as a hard-luck loser.