Morning Marquee: World Series talk; Schilling’s “bloody sock” anniversary

The 110th World Series opens tomorrow night at Kauffman Stadium. The Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants will meet in one of the more anticipated match-ups in recent history. Royals manager Ned Yost has named the first two game’s starters, while Giants skipper Bruce Bochy has been mum on naming his.

James Shields will open the series up for KC, while rookie Yordano Ventura will pitch Game 2. Speculation runs rampant on the Giants side, as Madison Bumgarner pitched on short rest between his two starts in the NLCS, but will have had ample time in-between to be ready.

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of Curt Schilling‘s “bloody sock” game. The game was a turning point, as the Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the New York Yankees in seven games.From there they went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, ending their 86 year championship drought.

Theo Epstein and company have the Chicago Cubs on the verge of making that final turn around the corner, possible becoming a perennial contender. But the process hasn’t been easy, and the previous regime didn’t help any. Epstein inherited hefty back loaded contracts, no-trade clauses, and a barren farm system. Now, the Cubs have several players under 25 with controllable contracts, and spectacular farm system, and a near wide-open payroll. Epstein now has to manage that to add the necessary pieces for the Cubs to be legitimate, not just promising.

Here are some of the stories from yesterday:

‘Why Theo gets is, and Hendry did not’ – Cubbies Crib

‘KC Royals announce starters for first 2 World Series games’ – Call to the Pen

‘We Remember: 10th Anniversary of Curt Schilling’s Bloody Sock Game’ – Bleacher Report

‘Royals and Giants should be a great series despite records’ – Kings of Kauffman

‘San Francisco Giants rely on Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti to get it done’ – Around the Foghorn