World Series positional breakdown: Cubs vs. Tribe

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Updated: October 24, 2016

You know as well as we do that the World Series is going to be dominated by history. You’ll see the years 1908 and 1948 just about everywhere. One way or another, one of these two teams is going to end a painfully long drought.

There’s a place for all that, of course, but at its core, this is also a pretty fascinating baseball series. On one hand, Chicago is the undisputed best team in baseball, with hardly a weakness to be found. On the other, Cleveland continues to defy the odds presented by a tattered starting rotation, with manager Terry Francona continuing to deploy his bullpen in nontraditional ways to maximize leverage and effectiveness.

World Series gear: Cubs | Indians

• World Series Game 1: Tuesday 7:30 p.m. ET air time/8 p.m. game time on FOX

Only one team is going to walk away with the title, but despite the forces of history that pushed the Cubs to this spot, it’s not like Cleveland came this far to just roll over, either. Let’s break down the 2016 World Series, position by position.

Game Date Time (air time/game time) Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 25 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 2 Oct. 26 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX Gm 3 Oct. 28 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX Gm 4 Oct. 29 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 5 Oct. 30 8 p.m. CLE @ CHC FOX *Gm 6 Nov. 1 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX *Gm 7 Nov. 2 7:30 p.m./8 p.m. CHC @ CLE FOX * If necessary | All times listed ET • World Series coverageShop for postseason gear: Cubs | Indians

CatcherRoberto Perez has caught every inning for Cleveland so far, earning high praise from Tribe pitchers for his excellent pitch framing and game-calling, and that matters. Still, after hitting just .183/.285/.294 (58 wRC+, where 100 is league average) during the season, he hit only .174/.269/.348 in the postseason. Meanwhile, Chicago’s Willson Contreras has not only been impressive behind the plate as well, his bat (.282/.357/.488, 126 wRC+ in the regular season, .400/.429/.550 in 21 postseason appearances) is a threat, and David Ross’ impressive throwing skills are perhaps the No. 1 reason Jon Lester can survive his inability to throw to first. Throw in the fact that it was actually Miguel Montero who hit the biggest homer of the postseason for the Cubs so far, and this group of Chicago catchers outweighs the valuable skills Perez provides for his pitchers.Advantage: Chicago

First base Remember when Anthony Rizzo was in an October slump and everyone was panicking? It seems so far away now after he had eight hits — including two home runs and two doubles — in the final four games of the NLCS, and it’s a good reminder that performance over long periods of times outweighs what happens over a few days. Rizzo has been one of the five or so most valuable players in baseball over the last three seasons (per FanGraphs WAR), averaging .285/.386/.527 (148 wRC+) over that time, and although Mike Napoli (.239/.335/.465, 113 wRC+ in 2016) was a quietly excellent signing for Cleveland, he’s a very good player being compared with a superstar.Advantage: Chicago

Second base Don’t worry, Cleveland fans, this won’t be a Chicago sweep, or close to it. Although the endless exploits of Javier Baez may be one of the biggest stories of the postseason, his spectacular plays have helped mask some simple fielding mistakes and the fact that he wasn’t even a league-average hitter this season (.273/.314/.423, 94 wRC+). Jason Kipnis, meanwhile, just put up his second consecutive excellent season (.275/.343/.469, 117 wRC+) and fourth in the last five. We may look back on this October as the month Baez burst onto the national stage, but for now, Kipnis is still the better …

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