Supremely confident Cubs have familiar feel, even after World Series Game 1 loss
The Cubs' locker room after Game 1 was a reminder of Game 3 in the NLCS
CLEVELAND -- As I walked through the Cubs' clubhouse in the wake of their 6-0 loss to the Indians in Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday, I couldn't help but think back to Dodger Stadium.
In Game 3 of the NLCS, the Dodgers beat the Cubs 6-0. Throughout the visiting clubhouse, Cubs players were asked about their level of concern, if they were confident the offense coul get back on track, things up that alley. To a man, the response was very convincing. So convincing, in fact, that I wrote about it even though I hadn't, at the time, planned on it.
The Cubs were down 2-1 in the NLCS to what many considered an obviously inferior team. Weren't they gonna choke? Would they play scared? Would the weight of this supposed curse start to show?
Much like Dexter Fowler responded when someone that night asked him if he was worried ...
Nah.
The Cubs outscored the Dodgers 23-6 in those final three games of the NLCS, all Cubs wins -- including a beatdown of Clayton Kershaw.
So forgive them for not being worried about losing a game in the World Series.
The vibe was almost exactly the same. Whether it was Fowler or Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo or David Ross or Addison Russell or Kyle Schwarber, every offensive player who spoke with the media had a similar demeanor.
Everything is completely fine.
Wanna hear from a non-offensive player? How about Game 1's losing pitcher, Jon Lester.
"Just like L.A., everybody counted us out after Game 3," Lester said. "They said we were the worst best team in baseball. We're not giving up."
Let us keep in mind that the Indians probably had to have Game 1 -- really, they probably need all three Corey Kluber starts to win the series -- and this really isn't anything different than a status quo type game. Plus, the Cubs don't worry about winning games, they win series.
In fact, if you go by series wins, the Cubs were 34-14-3 in the regular season and are 2-0 so far in the playoffs.
"We don't lose many series and this one is a little bit longer," Javier Baez said. "We just gotta go out and play our game and we'll be fine."
One contrast from Game 3 of the NLCS from where I sit is that the Cubs actually came very close to making some things happen offensively. In Game 3, they were dead in the water pretty much all game. It was a team that looked totally lost at the dish.
Given the opposing pitchers -- studs Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen -- the Cubs weren't terrible in Game 1.
"I'm a believer," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "I know we're going to be fine. You're right, they pitched really, really well tonight. Kluber was outstanding. Up and down the lineup overall I saw a lot of good things among a lot of our hitters tonight. How about [Ben] Zobrist's great night? How about Schwarber having not played all year had some really good at-bats. I thought Javy had some good at-bats. [Willson] Contreras coming off the bench was fine. David Ross worked good at-bats. I mean, I'm not disappointed by any means except for the fact that we did not win. I thought we came out ready to play. They pitched well."
All of this is true.
Zobrist was 3 for 4 with a double. Schwarber's night was a big positive. Perhaps biggest of all, the Cubs threatened twice against Miller.
In the seventh, they loaded the bases with no outs. Zobrist had singled against Kluber, but then Schwarber walked off Miller before Baez singled. Miller worked his way out of it because he's the ultimate boss, but it was a threat.
Another one happened in the eighth. A Bryant walk and Zobrist single gave the Cubs runners on the corners with two out before Schwarber struck out.
So the Cubs didn't get the job done in either of those situations, but they put themselves in position to come through with a big hit. That's something, at least.
"We had some things to build off of," said Ross, who struck out to leave the bases loaded in the seventh.
He's right, though.
This wasn't Game 3 of the NLCS, where the Cubs' offense looked helpless. Even several of the outs were a bit loud. They made solid contact. Things just didn't break their way.
With an opportunity to win Game 2 and then head home with Kyle Hendricks waiting to pitch Game 3, you'll have to forgive these Cubs for not being too worried about the 1-0 deficit.
After they saw something similar last round, the offense scored almost eight runs a game while the team went 3-0 to reach the World Series.
So it's a good idea to avoid overreaction in a seven-game series. Combining the regular season and postseason, the Cubs are 110-62-1 in 2016, so there's a reason for the confidence.
















