The 2016 World Series begins on Tuesday night, with the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians opening the best-of-seven series in Cleveland, Ohio.
We've already previewed the series, explained how the teams were built, and noted the odds. Now it's time for some good ol' predictions, courtesy of our MLB staff here at CBS Sports.
| R.J. Anderson | Mike Axisa | Jonah Keri | Dayn Perry | Bill Reiter | Matt Snyder | |
| WS Winner |  | | |  | | |
| Games | 4-2 | 4-2 | 4-2 | 4-2 | 4-2 | 4-2 |
Pick explanations
Anderson (CUBS): The Cubs are the more talented bunch. Anything can happen over seven games, but when in doubt, take the better team.
Axisa (CUBS): The Cubs have been the best team in baseball all season and they're much healthier than the Indians right now. If Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar were 100% healthy and in the rotation, I think this would be a really fun series. I still have the Indians pushing the Cubs to six games, but I think the injuries -- don't forget Michael Brantley either! -- finally catch up to them in the World Series.
Keri (CUBS): Indians win both of Corey Kluber's starts (with big assists from Andrew Miller and Cody Allen), but lose the rest. Too much starting pitching, too much hitting depth, too much defense for Cubs to be denied.
Perry (INDIANS): Kluber is rock-solid in two full-rest starts, the Tribe gets useful innings from Danny Salazar, the offense hangs runs on the Cubs' right-handed starters, Andrew Miller continues to dominate, and Francona out-maneuvers Maddon when it comes to the bullpen.
Reiter (CUBS): The magic continues, Bryant and Rizzo overpower Cleveland's starting pitching, and Lester-Hendricks dominate
Snyder (CUBS): They've been the best team from the first day of the season and haven't even lost three straight games since before the All-Star break. No reason to get cute here. The better team, who has proven to be mentally tough on several occasions this postseason, gets the job done.
So, there you have it. Almost everyone is thinking Cubs, and nobody is thinking the series goes longer (or shorter) than six games.
