I thought I'd channel my inner Harry Doyle and talk some Indians for a bit. I guess I'm going through withdrawal after three straight nights of the live game threads. I'm glad the series is headed back to Cleveland and the Indians have a chance to win in front of the home crowd.  Given how many heartbreaks that city has had, they deserve to experience something great first hand.  But I am very concerned about the matchups  for 6 and 7. Arrieta was damn near unhittable in game 2...literally. I think we broke up the no-hitter in the sixth and by then, the game was well in hand for the Cubs. Tomlin was no slouch in game 3 so the pitching matchup isn't nearly as lopsided as it was last night.  I think the big question is whether we can finally figure out how to hit Arrieta, and if so, can we manufacture enough runs to grind out a lead before going to the bullpen. If I'm being honest, I'm not feeling great about getting a win tomorrow.  But then, I never feel great about getting wins when it comes to the Indians. I expected this series to be over in 5 with the Cubs on top. Let's hope I'm wrong again.

If not, that brings us to game 7. The pitching matchup should be in our favor with Kluber going against Hendricks (I'm guessing). I was surprised that we fared so well against him the first time. I admittedly don't know much about Hendricks so I'm going off what everyone else says. I still think Kluber is the better pitcher, but again, the matchup isn't nearly as lopsided as Lester vs Mauer. My concern with Kluber is twofold. First, this is his second consecutive game on short rest. Adrenaline will only take him so far. Is fatigue going to be an issue? The second concern is that the Cubs will be facing him for a third time in a week. At some point, the Cubs are going to figure him out, right? They showed a stat during game 4 where Kluber's ERA actually went down the second and third times he's faced a team during the season. That's a good sign.  But they also showed a stat where the Cubs hitting improves each time they face the same pitcher. They didn't fare much better against Kluber in game 4, but they definitely improved.  This has me concerned. And all this says nothing of the bullpen.  What if we we're in a close game tomorrow and go for broke with Miller and then burn him, or at lease make him a lot less effective, for game 7? Tito has been masterful managing the pen so I should probably just leave it to the guy who makes millions to worry about this, but nevertheless, this has me up at night.

If you've made it this far, thanks for humoring me. I must have a lot of nervous energy to spend this much time sharing my thoughts which no one but is interested in. It's been a long time since I've had October baseball to really care about. I've missed this feeling. But I also remember what it was like in '95 and '97. '97 was especially crushing. After that game, my then girlfriend now wife called out from the other room to ask if I was crying.  I wasn't, but that's about the saddest I've been after a sports event. To get so close and lose so late (thanks Jose) was devastating. I won't be nearly as crushed if we lose this series, but I'd rather not find out.

Please share your thoughts if you have any. I'll see you tomorrow in the open thread.

Go Tribe.