Preview/Prediction

It has been a long time coming for the Chicago Cubs, but the oddsmakers believe that Chicago's North Side baseball team will be celebrating at the conclusion of this year's World Series.

The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians are hours away from Game 1 of the World Series. The world, to my knowledge, has not yet ended. Hell has not frozen over; a deadly plague has not befallen the human race; Andre 3000 has not released a solo album.

Which means one of these teams will actually win a championship.

With the 2016 World Series getting underway Tuesday, the offseason is well underway for the remaining 28 teams.

If you're not members of the Cleveland Indians or Chicago Cubs organizations, the focus has shifted to the future in a big way. The Cubs and Indians will both have their own free-agent issues to work out this winter, but they're focused on more important things for the next week-plus.

The Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs know they're a part of history in the making.

The Indians have a chance to wrap up the best sports year in Cleveland's history. More than five decades of futility ended when the Lake Erie Monsters won the Calder Cup, then came the Cleveland Cavaliers' historic NBA Finals comeback. Now, it could be the Indians' turn.

In less than two weeks, a combined 176 years of waiting will end, as either the Chicago Cubs or Cleveland Indians will be crowned World Series champions.

Having the Fall Classic begin at Progressive Field on the same night the Cleveland Cavaliers hoist their 2015-16 NBA championship banner at Quicken Loans Arena next door might seem like a mistake by the lake, but you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone complaining about the traffic.

That'll be especially true if the Indians win.

One team's prolonged championship drought will end in the 2016 World Series, as the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians start the last leg of their playoff journeys in Game 1 on Tuesday.

The two MLB teams with the longest droughts without winning a championship will square off in the 2016 World Series starting Tuesday in Cleveland.

The waiting will come to an end for the Chicago Cubs or the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series. That much is a given.

Both teams have been able to achieve to a very high level to get to this point. With the perspective of time, the Cubs and Indians will both look at the 2016 season as a success. But in the short term, one team will end up thrilled and the other will end up disappointed at having come so close before losing the World Series.

The 2016 World Series is set, and no matter who wins, it will be a celebration a long time in the making.

The Chicago Cubs are considered the team of destiny as they try to win their first championship since 1908. On the other hand, the Cleveland Indians haven't won a title since 1948, and their fans will be just as excited about the possibility of a win.

With the World Series set to begin on Tuesday, we're less than two weeks away from the start of another action-packed MLB offseason.

This year's crop of free agents is loaded with impact power bats and high-octane relievers but is historically lacking in starting pitching options.

As a result, it could be a busy winter on the trade market, with contenders forced to wheel and deal in an effort to upgrade their rotations and non-contenders looking to sell high on their controllable arms.