Cnotes MLB Best Bets - Trends - News Thru the World Series !

[CNOTES]

World Series


Cubs @ Indians


Arrieta is 0-2, 7.31 in his last three starts, 2-2, 4.11 in five postseason starts. Cubs lost six of his last nine road starts.


Bauer’s finger (stitches from cut) must be healed if he is starting here. Bauer is 0-0, 5.06 in two postseason starts; his start in last series ended in first inning because his finger kept bleeding. He is 0-0, 4.76 in his last three starts; Indians won his last four starts, are 7-1 in his last eight home starts.


Cubs are 7-4 in playoffs this year, 3-3 on road; they didn’t play the Indians this season. Obviously Chicago hasn’t been in World Series since 1945, Indians since 1997. Cleveland is 8-1 in playoffs, 5-0 at home.


Maddon is 24-26 as a playoff manager, 11-9 with Cubs. he lost 2008 World Series with Rays. Francona won World Series with Boston in 2004, 2007; he is 36-19 as a postseason manager.


Keep in mind this game starts an hour earlier (7:00) than last night because rain is expected in the Cleveland area late Wednesday night.

 

[CNOTES]

MLB
Dunkel


Wednesday, October 26


Chicago Cubs @ Cleveland


Game 953-954
October 26, 2016 @ 7:08 pm


Dunkel Rating:
Chicago Cubs
(Arrieta) 14.857
Cleveland
(Bauer) 17.681
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Cleveland
by 3
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Chicago Cubs
-155
7
Dunkel Pick:
Cleveland
(+135); Over








MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up


Wednesday, October 26


Cubs @ Indians


Arrieta is 0-2, 7.31 in his last three starts, 2-2, 4.11 in five postseason starts. Cubs lost six of his last nine road starts.


Bauer’s finger (stitches from cut) must be healed if he is starting here. Bauer is 0-0, 5.06 in two postseason starts; his start in last series ended in first inning because his finger kept bleeding. He is 0-0, 4.76 in his last three starts; Indians won his last four starts, are 7-1 in his last eight home starts.


Cubs are 7-4 in playoffs this year, 3-3 on road; they didn’t play the Indians this season. Obviously Chicago hasn’t been in World Series since 1945, Indians since 1997. Cleveland is 8-1 in playoffs, 5-0 at home.


Maddon is 24-26 as a playoff manager, 11-9 with Cubs. he lost 2008 World Series with Rays. Francona won World Series with Boston in 2004, 2007; he is 36-19 as a postseason manager.


Keep in mind this game starts an hour earlier (7:00) than last night because rain is expected in the Cleveland area late Wednesday night.








MLB


Wednesday, October 26


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


7:08 PM
CHI CUBS vs. CLEVELAND
Chi Cubs are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs's last 6 games
Cleveland is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games
Cleveland is 3-6 SU in their last 9 games when playing Chi Cubs


-----------------------------------------


MLB
Long Sheet


Wednesday, October 26


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


CHICAGO CUBS (110 - 62) at CLEVELAND (102 - 68) - 7:05 PM
JAKE ARRIETA (R) vs. TREVOR BAUER (R)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO CUBS are 1598-1685 (-258.9 Units) against the money line in all games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 1541-1598 (-233.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 1175-1250 (-195.2 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters since 1997.
CLEVELAND is 102-68 (+17.0 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CLEVELAND is 58-28 (+17.1 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
CLEVELAND is 10-1 (+10.8 Units) against the money line in October games this season.
CLEVELAND is 96-64 (+13.6 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CLEVELAND is 72-39 (+20.5 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
CLEVELAND is 8-1 (+8.8 Units) against the money line in playoff games this season.
CLEVELAND is 55-36 (+15.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 29-9 (+17.0 Units) against the money line as a road favorite of -125 to -150 over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO CUBS are 126-74 (+27.7 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons.
ARRIETA is 28-9 (+14.7 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
ARRIETA is 28-9 (+14.7 Units) against the money line in road games in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
CLEVELAND is 38-54 (-32.7 Units) against the money line in home games after shutting out their opponent since 1997.


Head-to-Head Series History
CLEVELAND is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against CHICAGO CUBS this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+1.0 Units)


JAKE ARRIETA vs. CLEVELAND since 1997
ARRIETA is 1-1 when starting against CLEVELAND with an ERA of 8.69 and a WHIP of 1.932.
His team's record is 2-2 (-0.2 units) in these starts. The OVER is 3-1. (+2.0 units)


TREVOR BAUER vs. CHICAGO CUBS since 1997
BAUER is 1-0 when starting against CHICAGO CUBS with an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 1.000.
His team's record is 1-0 (+1.3 units) in these starts. The OVER is 0-1. (-1.0 units)

 

[CNOTES]

MLB


Wednesday, October 26


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World Series Game 2 Betting Preview and Odds: Cubs at Indians
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chicago will look to even the series with Jake Arrieta on the mound in Wednesday's Game 2.


Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians (+135, 7)


Indians lead series 1-0


The Cleveland Indians overpowered Chicago's bats in the opener of the World Series and hope to do so again as they seek a 2-0 series lead when they host the Cubs on Wednesday. Light-hitting catcher Roberto Perez belted two homers while the trio of starter Corey Kluber (nine in six-plus innings), Andrew Miller (three) and Cody Allen (three) combined for 15 strikeouts in Cleveland's 6-0 victory in Game 1.


Perez became only the fifth catcher in World Series history to hit two homers in a single game, joining Hall-of-Famers Yogi Berra (1956), Johnny Bench (1976) and Gary Carter (1986), as well as Gene Tenace (1972). "I was controlling my emotions, I think that was a big part of it," Perez told reporters. "It has been an unbelievable night. I can't describe the words right now." Chicago will look to even the series with Jake Arrieta on the mound and also will need some of its other key offensive players to join Ben Zobrist (3-for-4) in swinging the bat well. "I was not disappointed," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said in his postgame press conference. "I know we had 15 punch-outs, I get it, but the quality of the at-bats were not that bad."

TV: 7:08 p.m. ET, FOX

WEATHER REPORT: Rain is in the forecast for later this evening in Cleveland - so much so that the league decided to move the start time for this game up an hour to 7:08 ET in order to attempt to get the game in before the wet stuff hits. Temperatures will be in the low-40's with a 10 mph wind blowing from right to left. Sounds like a horrible night for baseball.


PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Jake Arrieta (0-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. Indians RH Trevor Bauer (0-0, 5.06)


Arrieta has given up four runs in three of his five career postseason starts, but he believes he's getting more comfortable with the higher-pressure stage. "I think what you really learn with the more experience you get in the postseason is the finer details, controlling the running game, not allowing mental mistakes and not allowing your opponent to capitalize on your mental mistakes," Arrieta said during a press conference. "Because, obviously, at this point in the season, the team that makes the fewest mistakes typically wins the ballgames." Arrieta started one game at Progressive Field as a member of the Baltimore Orioles and picked up the win despite allowing six runs - five earned - and six hits in six innings of a 14-8 victory on Aug. 10, 2010.


Bauer badly cut his right pinkie finger while working on his drone on Oct. 14 and had to leave his Game 3 start in the American League Championship Series against Toronto in the first inning three nights later as the finger began bleeding profusely. He said the cut now is healed and he tested the finger by throwing 20 pitches on Monday without incident. "Threw it with max intent, just like in a game, as close to game intensity as I could possibly get to," Bauer said during a press conference. "There's no pain, no blood. I was able to execute all my pitches to a high level, and I'm really encouraged by it."


TRENDS:


* Cubs are 12-3 in their last 16 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game.
* Indians are 8-1 in their last 9 playoff games.
* Indians are 7-1 in Bauer's last 8 home starts.
* Over is 12-2-3 in Arrieta's last 17 road starts.
* Under is 8-0 in Indians' last 8 playoff games.
* Cubs are 3-12 in their last 15 games with Guccione behind home plate.


CONSENSUS: The public is backing the road team Chicago Cubs in Game 2 at a rate of 58 percent. View Full consensus data here.

 

[CNOTES]

World series record:


10/25/2016 1-1-0 50.00% -50


ats: 1 - 0
o/u: 0 - 1

 

[CNOTES]

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26


GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


CHC at CLE 07:00 PM


CLE +134 *****


O 7.0 *****

 

[CNOTES]

Cubs rip Indians to even series at 1-1
October 26, 2016


CLEVELAND (AP) Jake Arietta made a brief run at a no-hitter and ended another 71-year pause between celebrations for the Chicago Cubs and their faithful fans.


Not only are they back in the World Series, they've won there again.


One more drought quenched, one more to go.


Arrieta carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, Kyle Schwarber drove in two runs and the Cubs brushed off a shutout to even the Series with their first Fall Classic win in 71 years, 5-1 over the Cleveland Indians in Game 2 on Wednesday night.


Arrieta, who pitched a no-hitter earlier this season, briefly invoked Don Larsen's name by flirting with one deep in October before the Indians touched him for two hits and a run. However, the right-hander helped give Chicago just what it needed - a split at Progressive Field - before the Cubbies return to their Wrigley Field den for the next three games starting Friday night.


''It's always crazy good,'' Cubs manager Joe Maddon said when asked how he expected things to be on the corner of Clark and Addison for Game 3. ''But I'd have to imagine a little bit more than that, especially coming back at 1-1. I think the folks will be jacked up about the win tonight.


''It's the finest venue there is in professional sports and maybe in all of sports.''


The Cubs hadn't won in the Series since beating Detroit 8-7 in 1945 to force a decisive Game 7, and after their latest win, hundreds of Chicago fans gathered in the pouring rain in the rows behind their first-base dugout, where they danced and sang. A few waved the familiar white and blue ''W'' flags.


They hope to do it three more times.


The big-swinging Schwarber, who made it back for Chicago's long-awaited Series return after missing six months with an injured left knee, hit an RBI single in the third off Cleveland's Trevor Bauer and had another in the Cubs' three-run fifth - highlighted by Ben Zobrist's run-scoring triple.


In Game 1, Schwarber doubled and walked.


''No, it's not that easy, first off. Baseball's a crazy game,'' he said.


Even the presence of star LeBron James and the NBA champion Cavaliers, sporting their new rings, couldn't stop the Indians from losing for the first time in six home games this postseason.


And Cleveland manager Terry Francona's magical touch in October finally fizzled as he dropped to 9-1 in Series games.


''We gave up nine hits, eight walks, two errors, and we only gave up five runs,'' Francona said. ''For us to win, we generally need to play a clean game, and we didn't do that.''


With rain in the forecast, Major League Baseball moved the first pitch up an hour in hopes of avoiding delays or a postponement.


It turned out to be a good call as the game went on without a hitch and ended after more than four hours as light rain was beginning to fall.


Arrieta and the Cubs provided the only storm.


The bearded 30-year-old coasted through five innings without allowing a hit, and his no-hit bid was the longest in a Series game since Jerry Koosman of the New York Mets tossed six no-hit innings in 1969.


For a brief period, Arrieta looked as if he might challenge Larsen's gem - a perfect game - in 1956 before Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, a die-hard Cubs fan as a kid, doubled with one out in the sixth .


Arrieta has two career no-hitters, in fact, including the only one in the majors this year.


''I knew I hadn't given up a hit all the way to the sixth,'' Arietta said. ''That's really not the focus in a game like this. Whether they get a hit or not really doesn't affect the way you continue to approach that lineup, especially with a five-run lead.''


Kipnis was impressed.


''We didn't get much going,'' he said. ''You have to tip your hat to Arietta. He was awesome.''


Cubs lefty Mike Montgomery replaced Arrieta and worked two scoreless innings before Aroldis Chapman came in and unleashed his 103 mph heat while getting the last four outs in his Series debut.


The teams will have an off day before the series resumes with Game 3 at Wrigley, which will host its first Series game since Oct. 6, 1945, when tavern owner Billy Sianis was asked to leave with his pet goat, Murphy, and a curse was born.


Josh Tomlin will start for the Indians, who will lose the designated hitter in the NL ballpark, against Kyle Hendricks.


Schwarber might also wind up on the bench after two days as the DH. Maddon loves the way he's swinging but isn't sure he's ready to play in the outfield.


''That's something I'm waiting to hear from our guys, from our medical side, because obviously he looks good,'' he said. ''He looks good at the plate. Running the bases he looks pretty good so far.''


And the Cubs finally do, too, as they head home.


Unlike his start in Toronto on Oct. 17, when his stitched cut opened up and Bauer was forced to make a bloody departure in the first inning, his finger held up fine.


The Cubs, though, put a few nicks in him in 3 2/3 innings.


''I just wasn't sharp for whatever reason,'' Bauer said.


The drone accident has brought attention to the quirky Bauer, and one Chicago fan tried to rattle the right-hander by sending a smaller version of the remote-controlled, flying object that cut him.


Bauer posted a photo of it on Twitter, saying ''I see the (at)Cubs fans love me! How nice of them to send me a gift!''


ODDS AND ENDS


Francona's nine-game winning streak was the third longest in history, trailing Joe Torre (14) and Joe McCarthy (10). . The Cubs are 7-1 this postseason when scoring first. ... The teams combined for a Series record-tying three wild pitches. ... Indians RHP Danny Salazar made his first postseason appearance since starting the 2013 AL wild-card game. ... This is the 58th time the Series has been tied 1-1. The Game 2 winner has won the title 29 times.


SHORT REST


Looking ahead, Francona has already decided he'll bring Kluber back on short rest for Game 4. It wasn't much of a decision, really, after the right-hander confounded the Cubs in Game 1, painting the corners for 6 1/3 innings.


UP NEXT


Cubs: Hendricks is coming off his brilliant performance in Game 5 of the NLCS when he pitched two-hit ball for seven innings as the Cubs clinched their first pennant in 71 years. The right-hander led the majors with a 2.13 ERA.


Indians: It will be an emotional night for Tomlin, who will pitch on 12 day's rest with his ailing father, Jerry, in attendance. The elder Tomlin became stricken with a spinal condition in August, when Tomlin was struggling on the mound.

 

[CNOTES]

Rizzo, Zobrist lead Cubs' outburst
October 26, 2016


CLEVELAND (AP) After getting shut out in their first World Series game since 1945, the Chicago Cubs stressed it was no time to panic.


Their at-bats were good, the Cubs insisted. The balanced lineup that propelled them to a National League championship and the best record in the majors was just a swing away.


Three swings, as it turned out.


The first by Kris Bryant with one out in the first inning Wednesday night, a sharp single to center field off Cleveland Indians starter Trevor Bauer that gave the Chicago dugout and the sea of blue-clad fans scattered throughout Progressive Field a needed jolt.


The second came seven pitches later, a double to right from Anthony Rizzo that sent Bryant racing home with the Cubs' first World Series run in 71 years.


The third was in the fifth, a triple to right by Ben Zobrist that gave starter Jake Arrieta all the cushion he needed in a 5-1 victory that tied the Fall Classic at one game apiece heading back to Wrigley Field on Friday.


Perhaps it's only fitting the outburst was started by three players who represent the various stages of Chicago's renaissance under general manger Theo Epstein.


Rizzo, the team's longest-tenured position player, endured 101 losses in his first season with the Cubs in 2012, a six-month bout of misery that led to Chicago taking Bryant with the second pick in the 2013 amateur draft. Bryant's arrival in the majors last spring helped propel Chicago to 97 wins and a spot in the NLCS, leading Zobrist - fresh off a championship with the Royals in 2015 - to sign with the Cubs last winter.


There the three were in the heart of the order Wednesday, scoring four of Chicago's five runs to move the Cubs within three wins of the franchise's first World Series title in 108 years.


Bryant went hitless in his first Series game Tuesday night, though he was hardly alone as the Cubs managed little against Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.


The going wasn't nearly as tough against Bauer, who pitched with the pinkie on his right hand still recovering from a gash sustained while he was tinkering with a toy drone earlier in the playoffs.


Bryant ripped a single up the middle on a 2-2 pitch in the first and scored on Rizzo's double. It was Chicago's first run since the eighth inning of a Game 7 loss to Detroit in the 1945 World Series, a mere 44 years before Rizzo was born.


Rizzo walked and Zobrist singled in the third before Rizzo scored on a single by Kyle Schwarber to make it 2-0. In the fifth, Rizzo led off with a walk and raced home on Zobrist's hard triple into the right-field corner. Zobrist scored to make it 4-0 when Schwarber singled up the middle.


All of a sudden, an October night in Cleveland on baseball's biggest stage felt like so many other games Chicago has played over the last six-plus months. Arrieta dominated, the lineup delivered and the crowd chanted ''Let's Go Cubs.''


All the way back to Chicago, where a chance to make history more than a century in the making awaits.

 

[CNOTES]

Bauer beaten by Cubs instead of by drone
October 26, 2016


CLEVELAND (AP) Trevor Bauer had hoped to pitch a bloody good game. Instead, he had trouble finding the plate and his pitch count rose rapidly.


Nine days after he walked off the mound with his stitched-up right pinkie dripping blood as if in some horror flick, Bauer failed to finish the fourth inning and left the Cleveland Indians with a two-run deficit. The Chicago Cubs went on to a 5-1 victory Wednesday night behind Jake Arrieta, tying the World Series at one game apiece as it heads to Wrigley Field for the first time since 1945.


His postseason interrupted by a sliced finger, the result of tinkering with one of the drones he enjoys flying as a hobby, Bauer never got into a flow against the Cubs. He started six of his first nine batters with balls while scattering pitches high, low and wide. Anthony Rizzo's RBI double in the first and Kyle Schwarber's run-scoring single in the third - his first hit on a 3-0 pitch - built Chicago's 2-0 lead.


Indians manager Terry Francona said before the game he intended to use only three starting pitchers in the Series, bringing Game 1 winner Corey Kluber, Bauer and Game 3 starter Josh Tomlin back to face the Cubs on three days' rest. Bauer needed 87 pitches to get 11 outs, an outing that might cause Francona to rethink his plan.


A 25-year-old right-hander selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks from UCLA with the third overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft, Bauer is somewhat of an eccentric. He prepares for starts by making long tosses of about 300 feet between the foul poles. In an era when his colleagues are trying to refine and master two or three pitches, he throws a four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball, cutter, slider and changeup.


He won a career-best 12 games this year, but his notoriety increased exponentially after he got hurt Oct. 14 when his finger was cut by his toy's propeller, a mishap that delayed his AL Championship Series outing against Toronto. Bauer had the drone at his news conference before his Game 3 start, saying ''I brought my friend to answer any questions about what happened that I can't answer.''


Bauer lasted just two outs against the Blue Jays because the 10 stitches he received didn't hold and he began bleeding on the mound. Cleveland's bullpen strung together 25 outs for the victory.


The odd accident turned Francona into a comedian, too. He said Monday he reserved the right to alter the team's Series roster ''if we have another drone incident or anything with model airplanes or anything.''


Before taking the mound, Bauer tweeted a photo of a small drone and a gift card that read ''Go Cubs Go!''


''I see the (at)Cubs fans love me!'' Bauer wrote. ''How nice of them to send me a gift!''


His offerings to Chicago were generous. Bauer threw 53 of 87 pitches for strikes, allowing two runs and six hits in a 90-minute outing that, well, droned on and on as baseball officials fretted over whether rain would arrive before the final out.


Sprinkles started in the eighth, but the game went on without interruption.

 

[CNOTES]

LEADING OFF: Cubs will face decision on Schwarber at Wrigley
October 27, 2016


What to watch for during today's break before Game 3 of the World Series:


SCHWARBER'S STATUS


Kyle Schwarber has already made an impact in this series after returning from a severe knee injury that cost him almost the entire season. He drove in two runs in Game 2 and has looked so comfortable at the plate that his status for Games 3-5 in Chicago is sure to be a significant topic during Thursday's day off. The Cubs can't use him as a designated hitter at home, so it's a question of whether he can play the field.


Schwarber was in left field for his only two games of the regular season in early April, and manager Joe Maddon said it's possible he could take some flyballs during Thursday's workout at Wrigley Field.


The Indians have a similar issue. They'll have to be creative if they want to keep Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli in the lineup without the DH when the Series resumes Friday night.


THE COUNTDOWN


While Cleveland fans were fired up to host the first two games of this series - especially with Game 1 on the same night the Cavaliers raised their championship banner - the moment when the Cubs take their positions for the first World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945 will be something special. Even the off-day workout, when they take the field with Series patches on their hats, may seem like another landmark moment.


RESTED


The Indians had to throw 196 pitches in Game 2, but the stars of their bullpen - Andrew Miller and Cody Allen - got the night off. With another day off before Game 3, there's no reason manager Terry Francona can't work his top relievers hard again if Cleveland reaches the middle innings with a lead.


STARTERS


Kyle Hendricks returns to the mound for the Cubs in Game 3, pitching for the first time since leading Chicago to a pennant-winning victory in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series at Wrigley. It's been a much longer layoff for Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin, who pitched well in Game 2 of the ALCS against Toronto on Oct. 15 and hasn't made an appearance since.

 

[CNOTES]

Indians' Tomlin to pitch in Series with ailing dad in stands
October 27, 2016


CLEVELAND (AP) While his dad sat on a bucket in their backyard catching, little Josh Tomlin pretended he was pitching in the World Series.


He's about to do it for real.


And his dad, Jerry, recently paralyzed from the chest down following a medical scare that threatened his life, will be there in Chicago watching.


''It will mean everything,'' said Tomlin, who will start Game 3 at Wrigley Field. ''We've talked about this, shoot, since I was 3 or 4 years old. I can remember having conversations with him - `Bases loaded, full count, bottom of the ninth, so and so is up to bat. What are you going to throw him?'''


''Let's go fastball,'' Tomlin said, ''and I'd throw a fastball and on strike three we'd jump up and throw our gloves and stuff like that. It was cool to be able to look back and think, man, I was doing that when I was 4 years old and now I'm actually going to live it and he's actually going to get to see it.


''That's pretty special to me and something I'll never forget for the rest of my life.''


Jerry Tomlin is Texas tough, the kind of rugged guy who never missed a day of work and lives life head on - sometimes going too hard.


''He played football in high school and he always told me he was the guy on the kickoff who would go down there and break up the wedge. He was just crazy,'' said Tomlin, who helped rescue Cleveland's bandaged rotation with strong performances in the AL Division Series against Boston and AL Championship Series versus Toronto. ''He's been working since he was probably 12 or 13 years old until this incident happened.''


In August, Jerry was working at a power plant in Whitehouse, Texas, when he fell ill, his stomach tied in knots. With the pain worsening, he was taken to a hospital where doctors initially thought the problem was being caused by his gall bladder.


That's when things took a critical turn as Tomlin's body went numb. He underwent an MRI and numerous tests, and the 57-year-old was rushed into surgery after he was diagnosed with arteriovenous malfunction, a condition that affects blood circulation near the spine.


Josh Tomlin, already in the midst of one of the worst months of his career, rushed home after the Indians arranged a private jet so he could get there quickly to see his dad and be there for his mom, Elana. The pitcher made the trip fearing his dad might not survive.


The procedure saved Jerry's life, but it has left him in a wheelchair with a long, difficult road to recovery ahead. It's not known if he'll walk again.


After spending nearly two months in a rehab facility in Dallas, he was released last week - on Josh's 32nd birthday. Jerry watched from his living room as the Indians clinched their first AL pennant since 2007.


The Tomlins are incredibly close, their bond strengthened by their love of baseball.


''I talk to him every single day, him and my mom both,'' Tomlin said. ''I've got a great relationship with them. They've been a huge part of my life and a huge part of my success in the big leagues.''


Jerry and Elena will be accompanied to Chicago by Tomlin's aunt and uncle, and they'll stay at the team hotel. Josh intends to spend time with his dad on Thursday night before he faces the Cubs.


While his dad was sick, Tomlin was pitching himself out of the Indians' rotation. He went 0-5 in August with an 11.48 ERA, and while he never used his father's situation as an excuse, it clearly affected his performance.


The ballpark was a sanctuary, giving Tomlin a place to clear his mind and where he felt a connection - with his dad.


''I think he actually thought that being here and with his teammates was helping him,'' Indians manager Terry Francona said. ''I told him many times, the minute you feel like you want to be home, even if it's for your mom, we'll handle this. But he had a lot going on. That was tough.''


So is Tomlin, who stepped up after the Indians lost starters Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco to injuries in September. His team needed him and Tomlin came through, delivering the way his dad taught him.


''He's always coached me,'' Tomlin said. ''I've heard that from a lot of my friends that played for him - he's one of the better motivators. He's very intense. He would yell at you and try to get the most out of you, but he treated you like a man. He expected a lot out of you, but it wasn't like he was mad if you made a mistake.


''If you did things the right way and always gave 100 percent, he was in your corner.''


Jerry Tomlin will be there again when his son pitches on baseball's biggest stage, the one they played on before.


''I'm just looking forward to seeing him,'' Tomlin said.

 

[CNOTES]

World series record:


10/25/2016 1-1-0 50.00% -50


10/26/2016 0-2-0 0.00% -1050


ats: 1 - 1
o/u: 0 - 2

 

[CNOTES]

Friday’s six-pack


Some NFL trends to ponder on a Friday


— Arizona is 22-11-1 vs spread in last 34 non-divisional games.


— Buccaneers are 1-7 in last eight games as a home favorite.


— Detroit is 5-10 in its last 15 games against AFC teams.


— Denver is 20-9 vs spread in its last 29 divisional games.


— Cowboys are 7-19 as a home favorite vs NFC East teams.


— Minnesota covered 10 of its last 12 as a favorite.



Friday’s List of 13: Things I’m looking for this weekend…….


13) Average total in Falcons’ games this year is 61.1; Packers were held to 14-16 in their two losses, scored 23+ in their wins. You do the math.


12) Don’t sleep on Navy-South Florida Friday night; Middies run the ball down your throat but USF has really good speed, so we’ll see. Tough to prepare for the Navy option game. Navy is also 24-10 as a road underdog.


11) Houston is 4-0 at home, 0-3 on the road; Texans have a short week after losing in Denver Monday night. Every Detroit game is close; they’re fun to watch. All seven Lion games were decided by 7 or less points.


10) TCU beat Texas Tech 55-52/82-28 last two years; not like the Red Raiders are any better on defense now, but Horned Frogs are lot younger- they struggled to beat Kansas 24-23 two weeks ago.


9) Jimmy Graham was a great player for the Saints, but in Seattle? Not so much. Seahawks are in the Superdome this week. Interesting game.


8) World Series visits Wrigley Field for first time since 1945. Teams split first two games in Cleveland. Schwarber sits; no DH in NL parks.


7) New England actually has a revenge motive this week in Buffalo. Bills blanked Patriots 16-0 in Week 4, the last game of the Jacoby Brissett era in Foxboro.


6) Baylor-Texas are not friendly rivals; lot of chirping goes back/forth on the recruiting trail. Unbeaten Bears might send Charlie Strong packing with a win in Austin.


5) Cleveland Browns signed QB Joe Callahan this week, who played college ball at D-III Wesley College in Delaware; he had been with Packers/Saints this year and if McCarthy/Payton have an interest in a QB, this kid may be pretty good. Browns have used six QBs in seven weeks, so not like the kid could be any worse.


4) Nebraska is unbeaten and a 9-point underdog in Madison, where they were smoked in last two visits. Badgers have played a very tough schedule so far.


3) Eagles-Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, with two rookie QB’s. Teams that were hot going into their bye week have stumbled a little coming out of the bye. This should be a good game.


2) Clemson-Florida State in Tallahassee is an ACC classic; Seminoles are thin on defense, but coming off a bye (which they badly needed) am curious to see how FSU does. Last time Clemson went to Tallahassee as the higher-rated team? 1989.


1) Huge trap game for the Vikings in Chicago Monday night, with Jay Cutler expected back for the Bears. Minnesota was sloppy (four turnovers) in Philly last week; need to right the ship.

 

[CNOTES]

Game 3 - Indians at Cubs
October 27, 2016


World Series - Game 3
Cleveland Indians (94-67) at Chicago Cubs (103-58)
First pitch: Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: Cleveland +180, Chicago -200, Total: 8 (Over -110, Under -110)


Series Results - Tied 1-1
Game 1) Chicago at Cleveland (-110) - (6-0, Favorite - Under 6.5)
Game 2) Chicago (-155) at Cleveland - (5-1, Favorite - Under 7.5)


With the World Series tied at one game apiece, the Indians and Cubs head to Chicago for Game 3.


After getting shut out in Game 1, the Cubs (103-58) leveled the World Series at 1-1 with a 5-1 victory over the Indians (94-67) in Game 2.


Now, after two games in Cleveland, the series shifts to Wrigley Field, where the Cubs went 57-24 during the regular season and have gone 4-1 in the postseason.


The Cubs will have the clear pitching edge in Game 3. Kyle Hendricks (16-8, 2.13 ERA during the regular season) will start for the Cubs, and he’ll be opposed by RHP Josh Tomlin (13-9, 4.40 ERA during the regular season).


In three starts this postseason, Hendricks has pitched to 1.65 ERA in 16 1/3 innings.


Tomlin has won both of his postseason starts this month, allowing three earned runs in 10 2/3 innings (2.53 ERA).


Hendricks absolutely loves pitching in Chicago; he’s gone 10-3 with a 1.49 ERA at Wrigley this season (postseason included).


The Indians went just 41-39 on the road during the regular season, but have gone 3-1 away from Progressive Field in the postseason.


SS Francisco Lindor (13-for-38, 3 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI) and 3B Jose Ramirez (9-for-34, 2 2B, RBI) went a combined 6-for-14 in the first two games, and C Roberto Perez (6-for-30, 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI) hit a pair of homers in Game 1.


Manager Terry Francona needs his power hitters—1B Mike Napoli (7-for-34, 3 2B, HR, 2 RBI) and DH Carlos Santana (5-for-35, 2 HR, 2 RBI)—as well as 2B Jason Kipnis (6-for-39, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI) to produce in a lineup that doesn’t have a ton of punch.


OF Coco Crisp (3-for-18, 2 HR, 3 RBI) is the only player on the Indians’ roster who has faced Hendricks; he’s 0-for-3 against him. Tomlin has never faced the Cubs.


2B/LF Ben Zobrist (11-for-44, 4 2B, 3B, 4 RBI) has gone 5-for-8 with a double, a triple and an RBI through the first two games, and DH/OF Kyle Schwarber (3-for-7, 2B, 2 RBI) has gone 3-for-7 with a double and two RBIs. It remains to be seen how much Schwarber—who returned for the World Series after not playing since April 7—will play in Chicago.


Schwarber, who was Joe Maddon’s designated hitter in the first two games, really struggled in the outfield last season, and it’s unclear how he’ll be used in the National League park.


1F Javier Baez (15-for-47, 4 2B, HR, 7 RBI), 1B Anthony Rizzo (10-for-47, 3 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI), 3B Kris Bryant (14-for-47, 5 2B, HR, 6 RBI) and CF Dexter Fowler (12-for-51, 4 2B, HR, 4 RBI) went a combined 5-for-33 with 11 strikeouts in the first two games, and if they continue to struggle the Cubs will have trouble scoring runs.


Only three Cubs have ever faced Tomlin: Zobrist is 2-for-19 against him with a double and a homer, C David Ross (3-for-14, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) is 0-for-1 and C Miguel Montero (1-for-9, HR, 4 RBI) is 2-for-5 with a double. Hendricks has never faced the Indians.

 

[CNOTES]

Schwarber won't play field at Wrigley
October 27, 2016


CHICAGO (AP) Cubs star Kyle Schwarber won't be in the starting lineup for the three World Series games this weekend after he was denied medical clearance to play the outfield following his return from knee surgery.


Schwarber tore a pair of knee ligaments on April 7 and returned in Tuesday's Series opener. He was 3 for 7 with a double, two RBIs and two walks as the designated hitter in the first two games at Cleveland, but with the shift to Wrigley Field, there will be no DH.


Chicago president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says it's too soon after the injury for Schwarber's knee to be fully tested, especially with quick moves required to play the outfield. He says: ''There was too much risk.''


Schwarber will be used as a pinch hitter. He says it's ''not disappointing at all'' and ''it was a long shot at the most.''


-----------------------------


Schwarber's success no surprise to some
October 27, 2016


FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) Kyle Schwarber's big-time World Series impact for the Chicago Cubs is no surprise to New York Jets wide receiver Jalin Marshall.


The two were football teammates at Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio, with Schwarber a hard-hitting linebacker while also serving as a power-hitting slugger for the baseball team.


''He was a bad man,'' a smiling Marshall said in the Jets' locker room Thursday. ''He used to always do the craziest stuff. He was one of those guys that, no matter what happened, he was going to do what he could to make the team win. It seems like that's what he's doing now and it's working out for him.''


He can say that again.


Schwarber tore the anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee in April while playing the outfield for the Cubs. He was thought to be sidelined for the year but returned in time to play in the World Series. He doubled in Game 1 against the Cleveland Indians as a designated hitter, becoming the first major league position player to get his first hit of the season during the World Series. Schwarber drove in two runs in Game 2, but he was denied medical clearance Thursday to play the outfield.


Since there's no DH in National League ballparks, Schwarber will be limited to pinch-hitting duties during Games 3-5 in Chicago.


A reporter for the Dayton Daily News tweeted a photo Thursday of Schwarber and Marshall from their high school playing days, posing with their backs against each other.


''It feels like it was just yesterday,'' Marshall said. ''I can still hear him hitting the ball all the way from the football complex. He's always been like this. Our last football game playing together was against Braxton Miller and we didn't win, but we were pretty good that year.''


Miller, now a wide receiver for the Houston Texans, was the quarterback of the Huber Heights Wayne team that beat Schwarber, Marshall and the previously undefeated Middies, 21-0 on Nov. 6, 2010.


Schwarber went on to play baseball at Indiana University and was the fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft. Marshall was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State this spring and serves as New York's primary kick returner.


''Kyle was a big mentor to me growing up,'' Marshall said. ''We stay in touch and have a pretty good relationship. We have some close mutual and family friends. I always wish the best for him and I hope he keeps doing well.'

 

[CNOTES]

Cubs fans take Amtrak through night
October 27, 2016


ABOARD THE LAKE SHORE LIMITED (AP) As the Amtrak train slowly chugged through the Ohio night, past factories along the Lake Erie shore illuminated by pinkish lights, Marvin Thomas stretched across a pair of seats, proudly wrapped in a blue satin Cubs jacket.


The 51-year-old Chicagoan had made the trek to Cleveland for the Cubs' first World Series games in 71 years, and now it was time to go home following Wednesday night's 5-1 victory over the Indians, which tied the Series 1-1.


''Ernie Banks lived down the street from us when I was a kid,'' said Thomas, who paid $800 a ticket to attend Games 1 and 2. ''This is the most unbelievable feeling I've had outside my children being born. There was no way I wasn't going to be here.''


Salvador Cardenas, a 28-year-old dentist from Aurora, Illinois, paid $746 to stand along a rail in left field during Game 2. He high-fived other Cubs fans at Cleveland Lakefront Station before the trip home.


''I had to call all my patients off. I said: `Hey, got to do this! I got to go to the World Series!''' he exclaimed. ''I'm a die-hard Cub fan, so I felt like that came first.''


European soccer fans jam trains for high-profile matches. England supporters urinated in the aisle en route from Bologna to Venice after an extra-time win over Belgium at the 1990 World Cup, and Italian tifosi chanted until they were hoarse at the Kaiserslautern train station after a 1-1 draw against the United States at the 2006 tournament in Germany.


But only about two dozen Cubs fans boarded Amtrak trains 49/449 at 3:45 a.m. Thursday for the 341-mile trip to Chicago's Union Station, far fewer riding the rails than during the 2009 Acela Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia or the 1983 Phillies-Baltimore Orioles matchup. And there was none of the hoopla of the Union Pacific's nine-hour 1985 World Series special from Kansas City to St. Louis that included Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Bob Gibson plus Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft and former Gov. Kit Bond.


The Lake Shore Limited, which began service in 1975, originates from New York City and Boston before joining in Albany, New York, and its stock includes sleeper compartments and a club diner.


Most passengers tried to sleep through the night on a journey scheduled to take seven hours. After a 4-hour, 4-minute game, the train also had pace issues and did not pull in until 10:45 a.m. CDT.


When the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908 and even when they last appeared in 1945, the train was the standard method of big league travel. The 1946 Yankees were the first team to charter flights regularly, boarding a Douglas DC-4.


In the weeks after V-J Day, Major League Baseball still used its special wartime Series format, with three games scheduled in one city and four in the other, rather than the usual 2-3-2 that began in 1924.


Chicago headed home with a 2-1 Series lead after winning Game 3 by a 3-0 score at Detroit's Briggs Stadium behind Claude Passeu's one-hitter. The Tigers boarded a special train at 4:30 p.m., according to Arch Ward's account in the Chicago Tribune, followed by the Cubs at 4:45 p.m. and a newspaper man's special at 5:30 that included several reporters just back from stints as war correspondents.


These days, chartered jet planes are the mode in vogue, and the Cubs had time to sleep in their own beds before heading to Wrigley Field to meet the media at 1:45 p.m. Thursday. The Indians were set to be at the 102-year-old brick-and-ivy ballpark by 5 p.m. to get dressed in the cramped visiting clubhouse for an evening workout.


Thomas, who works in pharmaceutical sales, attended his first game at Wrigley Field when he was 8 years old. He had tickets for the World Series in 2003 - only to watch the Cubs blow a 3-1 lead against the Florida Marlins in the NL Championship Series. His then-10-year-old son, Marvin Thomas III, could not console him.


''I cried. I'm not going to lie. My son was like, `It'll be OK.' I just told him to go back to his room.''


When Cardenas arrived in Cleveland at 5:45 a.m. Wednesday, he walked to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, found a bench in front and fell asleep with his Cubs blanket covering him. An Indians fan took pity on the chilly morning and added a second blanket, telling him to leave it there when he was done napping.


Later at the Hall, Cardenas saw Cubs owner Tom Ricketts.


''I was like, `Hey, Tom!' like I knew him,'' Cardenas said. ''He waved to me. He said hello. He smiled.''

 

[CNOTES]

Prof gives free pass to student for WS
October 27, 2016


CLEVELAND (AP) An Ohio college student who ditched class to head to the opening game of the World Series in Cleveland has won a reprieve from his professor by being honest.


Ohio University professor Damian Nance says Charlie Turner checked into his Tuesday class by swiping a card, but wasn't there when Nance took attendance at the end of the session.


Turner came clean after Nance emailed him, asking for an explanation. Turner told the professor his father had gotten him tickets to the game against the Chicago Cubs and that he left for Cleveland after checking in. He included a picture of himself and his brother at Progressive Field.


Nance responded by calling it ''an impeccable excuse,'' and added ''no repercussions.''


Nance tells The Associated Press he let Turner off the hook, not because he's a big Indians fan, but because the student ''fessed up.''

 

[CNOTES]

Indians set to move DH Santana into Wrigley's left field
October 27, 2016

CHICAGO (AP) Playing left in Wrigley Field isn't easy under normal circumstances.


Carlos Santana is about to find out what it's like - in Game 3 of the World Series with the wind blowing out to Waveland Avenue, millions watching on TV and well-oiled Cubs fans breathing down his neck.


Go get `em, kid.


Unable to use Santana as his designated hitter with the World Series switching to the fabled National League ballpark for the next three games, Indians manager Terry Francona is planning to move his DH into left field on Friday night.


It's risky, but Francona feels it's the right choice for his club. Santana has only played four innings in left during his career, and that was in 2012 during a 14-1 loss.


''I have anxiety about it,'' Francona said as he sat on the brick wall near Cleveland's dugout Thursday night. ''I don't know how else to say it, and if he messes a ball up, I'll take responsibility because I don't think it's fair to put it on him. But you try to figure out, `OK, what's our best way to win?' If we don't play him out there, that's the best way to have nobody second guessing me.''


Santana took some fly balls during Cleveland's workout with bench coach Brad Mills standing nearby and offering him tips on tracking balls into the gap and chasing grounders into the corner, where he'll have to deal with the iconic ivy that's fading fast with winter approaching.


Francona said there was only one thing that would stop him from making the switch.


''If he just can't do it. If he looks at me and says, `I don't want to do this' or something like that,'' he said.


The Indians could play Coco Crisp or Brandon Guyer in left, but they don't hit like Santana. He hit 34 homers and drove in 87 runs during the regular season, and although he's hitless in six at-bats in the Series and batting just .179 in the postseason, Francona is confident the switch-hitter will warm up.


''He's a really good hitter,'' Francona said, adding he has spoken to Game 3 starter Josh Tomlin about playing Santana in left. ''You can't run away from your guys at this time of year. If guys go oh-for the first two games, and you sit them, they'll never do well.''


A former catcher, Santana has also played first and third and the Indians are certain he has the athleticism to handle left. But there's no way of knowing how he'll do until they put him out there.


''He's quick enough,'' Mills said. ''And he can move enough. We've talked to him about seeing balls off the bat. We might have to play him maybe a little deeper or something along those lines, just to have him come in so reading the ball, he has more time to read the ball that way. Those things. When you haven't been out there, keeping that focus on there a lot of times is tough, but at least he's got the wall behind him.''


Wearing a stocking cap as he sat in the warmth of the Indians dugout on a chilly evening, Santana said he's ready for his new assignment.


''I'll be fine,'' he said. ''Tito, he told me don't put on any pressure, play your game, play hard, stay focused and concentrate, and that's it.''


The Indians don't have many other options, and first baseman Mike Napoli quickly removed himself from consideration despite playing 11 games in the outfield for Texas.


''It was a circus last year with me out there,'' he said, ''so I wouldn't go out there in this situation.''

 

[CNOTES]

Cubs' Schwarber draws inspiration from boy with illness
October 28, 2016


CHICAGO (AP) Kyle Schwarber signed a baseball for Campbell Faulkner, and Faulkner gave Schwarber a green wristband. Twin acts of kindness, and a friendship was born.


The slugger with the big Ohio heart, and the sunny boy with a life-threatening illness. A bond that made each of them better.


Some 1,700 miles away from Wrigley Field, Faulkner and his family are soaking up every moment of Schwarber's comeback from a major knee injury. The 10-year-old Faulkner - ''If you ask him, he's two hands,'' his mother Carrie says - stays up to watch his buddy in the World Series, and Schwarber proudly wears his Campbell's Crew wristband while he tries to help the Chicago Cubs to their first championship since 1908.


''He's a kid who can always put a smile on my face,'' Schwarber said.


Faulkner has a rare mitochondrial disease. His body doesn't know how to use food and oxygen properly.


Doctors knew something was wrong with Faulkner just days after he was born. The youngest of Carrie and Shane Faulkner's four children never cried and was never hungry.


On Day 4, he was labeled ''failure to thrive,'' Carrie Faulkner said. He got his first feeding tube in his stomach when he was 4, and a second tube at 7.


''On the outside he looks perfect,'' Carrie Faulkner told The Associated Press in a phone interview. ''On the inside, it's just a train wreck, it's a disaster in there.''


So when Carrie Faulkner heard about what Schwarber said after one of the biggest games of his life, she just lost it. Moments after Schwarber hit two RBI singles in Chicago's 5-1 victory over Cleveland in Game 2 on Wednesday night, he was asked about his green wristband, and the son of a retired Ohio police chief jumped on the question like a belt-high fastball.


''Yeah, Campbell Faulkner, he's a kid that I met down in Arizona. He's got a rare genetic disease, and I met him my first spring training,'' Schwarber said. ''Really young, smart kid, and he's just always got a big smile on his face.''


Schwarber kept right on going.


''We stay in contact through email. He's a smart kid, man,'' he said. ''The kid's, I think, got an IQ of like a college kid for being so young. That tells you how smart he is. And that's a person you want to look up to right there.''


A day later, Carrie Faulkner was still floored.


''I don't even have words,'' she said Thursday. ''I have tears. ... Oh my heavens what an amazing man to think of my son at that moment.''


For Campbell, it was no big deal. After all, they're friends. ''It made me feel good, and I knew that he was thinking of me,'' he said.


Faulkner and Schwarber met last year during spring training. Faulkner was a guest of an organization called Steve's Dream, which provides tickets to Cubs' spring training games to families.


The Faulkners were tailgating when Schwarber stopped and signed a ball for Campbell, who returned the favor with the wristband that made Schwarber a member of Campbell's Crew - a support group for Faulkner with its own Facebook page and Twitter feed .


Schwarber promised to wear the green band, and the connection only grew from there. Schwarber got Faulkner his own Dinger Bat. They exchanged autographed pictures and started emailing each other.


''He'll just give me, like, support, and he'll say he's praying for me,'' Faulkner said.


Faulkner was at Chase Field in April when Schwarber got hurt in an outfield collision with Dexter Fowler, spraining his ankle and tearing two ligaments in his left knee. He was ruled out for the year, just three games into the season.


A crestfallen Faulkner was quiet when he got home. He took his hat off, put it in his lap and prayed. Then he sent an email to Schwarber pointing out he had ''a lot of doctors'' and offering to help the slugger get in touch with them.


''Campbell literally went into protective mode to take care of Kyle,'' Carrie Faulkner said.


And that's when that one fleeting moment in the heat of spring training returned to Schwarber in a major way. As Schwarber embarked on the long, difficult process of rehabbing a major injury, he found inspiration in the example of his precocious friend in Arizona.


''It means a lot,'' Schwarber told the AP. ''I wasn't going through near as much time as what that kid's going through his whole life right now. That just gives me that extra motivation going through this rehab that I still have to go through after the season.''


Schwarber made it back quicker than anyone expected, surprising everyone with the Cubs. Following an encouraging checkup on Oct. 17 in Dallas, he was cleared to hit. He spent a few days in the Arizona Fall League, enough time for a short visit with Faulkner, before rejoining the NL champions in time for the World Series.


He is still not cleared to play the field, making him a pinch hitter for the next three games. But he took the news in stride.


''Not disappointing at all,'' a smiling Schwarber said. ''It was a long shot at the most.''


It was an answer Faulkner would have loved.


''You look up to him,'' Schwarber said as he walked behind home plate at Wrigley. ''He's a great role model and definitely lives life to the fullest.''

 

[CNOTES]

Cubs back in World Series, goat curse back on forefront
October 28, 2016


CHICAGO (AP) Chuck Logan heard about it from his dad for years. Bill Sianis was born into it. And Lennie Merullo was there the day it happened and lived with it for the rest of his life.


The ''it'' is the Curse of the Billy Goat, the story of a Chicago tavern owner who supposedly put a hex on the Cubs after the team refused to let his pet goat into Wrigley Field during the 1945 World Series - despite the fact that the goat had a ticket.


The memories of those three men are about a real event that has turned into an enduring tale that has only grown taller throughout the years - one that may not explain why the Cubs are returning only now to the World Series after 71 years, but one that does get at what it means to be a fan of a team with the longest championship drought in major American sports at 108 years.


This story begins with Logan. His dad was a Wrigley Field usher and he mentioned a few times over the years that he refused to let a tavern owner named William Sianis into Wrigley for Game 4 of the `45 World Series, but he never made a big deal out of it.


''I just assumed he was one of 20, 30 guys saying, `No, you can't come in with that goat,''' said Logan, 73. A few years after his father died in 2001, Logan's cousin spotted a newspaper photograph of a lone usher standing between William Sianis and Murphy the goat at a Wrigley turnstile, and called to say he thought the usher was his dad.


The usher was, in fact, Olaf Logan.


The photo dovetailed into the popular story about the curse: Sianis, hoping to bring the Cubs luck, showed up to the game with Murphy, with the goat even sporting a ''We Got Detroit's Goat'' blanket on his back.


There, in the photograph, the 32-year-old usher stood at the turnstile apparently telling Sianis he can't come in. Murphy is standing on its hind legs, its front legs draped over the railing, a look of apparent disappointment on its face. The Cubs, of course, lost Game 4 and the Series in seven games. They haven't been back until now.


The usher story is what Logan told Lennie Merullo, the last surviving member of the 1945 Cubs team, when the 97-year-old Merullo returned to Wrigley to celebrate the ballpark's 100th anniversary.


Merullo, his son said, ran with it.


''My dad was giving him all kinds of grief, telling him if he hadn't done that they'd have won,'' said Len Merullo Jr., who watched his father, who died last year, tease Logan.


A Cubs historian tells a slightly different story. According to Ed Hartig, Sianis actually got into the ballpark with a goat, which is strange enough. Even more amazing, once inside - and Hartig said there is a photo of this - Sianis and Murphy somehow got onto the field to stroll among the players warming up for the game.


Ultimately, they took their seats. The problems started when, after a rainy morning, the sun came out. That was good for the players but not so good for fans sitting near a drying goat.


''People started to complain about the smell,'' Hartig said. Sianis and his goat were shown the door.


Bill Sianis, who backs the story about his great-uncle being turned away at the gate, said that whatever happened, his namesake was miffed and made sure he told the Cubs' owner just that.


''He went back to the tavern and after they lost the Series he sent a telegram to P.K. Wrigley that read simply, `Who stinks now?''' said Sianis, whose great-uncle died in 1970.


As the Cubs plummeted in the standings over the next few years, reporters asked Sianis if he'd put some sort of curse on the team.


''He said as long as they don't let the goat in, they will never win the World Series,'' Bill Sianis said. And with that, a curse was born.


Whatever happened at the gate was not captured by a photographer. Logan said the original photograph he saw showed his dad but did not identify him. A few weeks ago, he said, the same picture ran in the paper - this time with his father's name below it along with the words ''re-enactment.''


Hartig contends that what Sianis really wanted was publicity for his tavern and he recognized that getting kicked out of the ballpark could accomplish that goal just as much as being allowed to stay.


''Maybe,'' Hartig suggested, ''he told the Cubs, `Hey, take my picture and I'll go quietly.'''


There have been many chapters since then, from black cats to fans eager to reverse the curse .


Merullo said his dad didn't talk about the curse much, but he suspects he thought there was something to it. ''He was Italian, they're all superstitious,'' he said, chuckling.


Logan, who played football at nearby Northwestern, doesn't believe in curses. But, like many Cubs fans wistfully remembering the loved ones who died without ever seeing the team win it all, he finds himself thinking about his parents and siblings he's lost.


''I wish I could enjoy this story about my father with them,'' he said.


As for Sianis, he's not about to let go of a curse that's been anything but a curse for business.


''We could say that it's over, but what's the point if they don't win it?'' he said.

 

[CNOTES]

MLB
Long Sheet


Friday, October 28


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


CLEVELAND (102 - 69) at CHICAGO CUBS (111 - 62) - 8:05 PM
JOSH TOMLIN (R) vs. KYLE HENDRICKS (R)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO CUBS are 32-9 (+16.1 Units) against the money line in home games in night games this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 39-15 (+13.1 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
CHICAGO CUBS are 35-14 (+16.0 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
HENDRICKS is 27-13 (+13.5 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
HENDRICKS is 18-6 (+12.6 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons. (Team's Record)
CLEVELAND is 102-69 (+16.0 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
CLEVELAND is 10-2 (+9.8 Units) against the money line in October games this season.
CLEVELAND is 23-5 (+17.3 Units) against the money line when playing on Friday this season.
CLEVELAND is 13-3 (+10.3 Units) against the money line when playing with a day off this season.
CLEVELAND is 96-65 (+12.6 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
CLEVELAND is 72-40 (+19.5 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
CLEVELAND is 8-2 (+7.8 Units) against the money line in playoff games this season.
CLEVELAND is 42-30 (+13.3 Units) against the money line in road games after a loss over the last 2 seasons.
CLEVELAND is 55-37 (+14.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
TOMLIN is 21-10 (+11.1 Units) against the money line in all games this season. (Team's Record)
TOMLIN is 11-5 (+7.4 Units) against the money line in road games this season. (Team's Record)
TOMLIN is 20-10 (+9.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season. (Team's Record)
TOMLIN is 20-8 (+12.5 Units) against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
TOMLIN is 17-5 (+11.8 Units) against the money line after a loss over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
CHICAGO CUBS are 1599-1685 (-257.9 Units) against the money line in all games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 856-785 (-152.1 Units) against the money line in home games since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 177-205 (-51.6 Units) against the money line when playing with a day off since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 1542-1598 (-232.7 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 1176-1250 (-194.2 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters since 1997.
CHICAGO CUBS are 772-827 (-186.2 Units) against the money line after a win since 1997.


Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO CUBS is 1-1 (+0.0 Units) against CLEVELAND this season
2 of 2 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season . (Under=+2.0 Units)


JOSH TOMLIN vs. CHICAGO CUBS since 1997
No recent starts.


KYLE HENDRICKS vs. CLEVELAND since 1997
No recent starts.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------








MLB
Short Sheet


Friday, October 28


Chicago Cubs at Cleveland, 8:05 PM ET
Tomlin: CHICAGO CUBS are 1-3 SU when playing in the 3rd game of a playoff series
Hendricks: CLEVELAND INDIANS are 13-3 SU when playing with a day off








MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up


Friday, October 28


Indians @ Cubs


Tomlin is 3-0, 2.50 in his last three starts, 2-0, 2.53 in two postseason starts. Cleveland won his last three road starts.


Lackey is 2-1, 3.79 in his last seven starts, 8-5, 3.26 in 22 postseason starts. Cubs won six of his last seven home starts.


Cubs are 8-4 in playoffs this year, 4-1 at home; they didn’t play the Indians this season. Obviously Chicago hasn’t been in World Series since 1945, Indians since 1997. Cleveland is 8-2 in playoffs, 3-1 on road.


Maddon is 25-26 as a playoff manager, 12-9 with Cubs. he lost 2008 World Series with Rays. Francona won World Series with Boston in 2004, 2007; he is 36-20 as a postseason manager.







MLB


Friday, October 28


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Trend Report
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8:08 PM
CLEVELAND vs. CHI CUBS
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cleveland's last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs
Cleveland is 3-7 SU in their last 10 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs's last 6 games when playing Cleveland
Chi Cubs are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games when playing Cleveland