Chicago Cubs the clear Vegas favorite to win 2016 World Series

“They’ve been on the biggest stage and (there) are a lot of rings over there in that clubhouse”, catcher David Ross said. “The hardest part this week is the down time“.

Free the hounds already.

The fun didn’t last long as a stronger Atlanta Braves team made quick work of the Cubs in the NLDS, outscoring them 15-4 in a quick three-game sweep.

“Their pitching was unbelievably good”, manager Joe Maddon said of the Giants on Thursday. For Bryant and the Chicago Cubs, this year has been all about winning the World Series. The Cubs are led by budding superstar third baseman Kris Bryant, the probable NL MVP after having 39 homers and 102 RBIs in his second big-league season.

The San Francisco Giants look to build on their wild card victory over the Mets as they head into Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs in game one of the NLDS. The Giants lost three out of four, but their pitching kept them in a series in which they hit a combined.106 and scored 10 total runs. It’s two good managers, also. But that hardly makes it impossible. Teams don’t like facing him in June, July and August and they absolutely dread going against him in October. It matters not just that they had the best record, but that their statistics support why.

The Cubs had baseball’s best record in 2016 at 103-58. Long-suffering fans are hoping for their first title since 1908, and the atmosphere at Wrigley Field figures to be charged when the Division Series opens Friday night.

The last time the San Francisco Giants won a wild-card game, two years ago in Pittsburgh, I dutifully marched down to the visitors’ clubhouse at PNC Park and, shielding myself from the spray of Budweiser, tried to find people with whom to discuss this accomplishment, not to mention what they thought of their upcoming opponent, the Washington Nationals.

“Obviously, they have a talented group over there, there’s no question”, Hudson said.

Nothing fazes the Giants. A game with Madison Bumgarner can nearly be counted as a guaranteed win for the Giants at this point. They are as dependable in autumn as a steel rake. Not this time. They showed up for spring training bolstered by the additions of Heyward, Zobrist and Lackey, and with a neat new slogan coined by Maddon: “Embrace the Target”. The Wynn is offering the Cubs at 2-1 against the playoff field, a -240 favorite. The Giants will go with 18 game victor Johnny Cueto. Samardzija pitched six-plus seasons for the Cubs before getting traded in 2014 to Oakland in a deal that brought Russell to Chicago. The Giants needed a four-game winning streak just to reach the postseason, and a wild card shutout to get to Wrigley Field.

The Giants’ sustained success is exactly what the Cubs are hoping to string together.

While the policy is in line with the regular season, the club is reiterating warnings of counterfeiting, secondhand sellers and the perils of posting the “extremely valuable” tickets on social media ahead of the playoffs. “We know once get in a short series anything can happen”. The Chicago Cubs think their time is now.

“The Cubs are a pretty substantial loss for us, not just for that prop but also for the [World Series] futures”, Wynn executive director Johnny Avello said. The Cubs got out of jams in the 11th and 12th innings. Sure. Should the Cubs fear the Giants? No. That does not mean the team that gets there is lucky. Through eight innings, Syndergaard (and Addison Reed) matched zeroes with Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, regarded by many as “the best playoff pitcher of his era”.

This isn’t 1989 and Will Clark isn’t walking through the Giants clubhouse door.

Man oh man has it been a tough run for the Chicago Cubs.

“Playing for the city of Chicago is awesome, ” outfielder Chris Coghlan said. “So I think that’s what every team wants, not just us. You’re chasing history. There is nothing better”.