Francona: It's 'us against the world' in Game 3 at Wrigley
When the Cleveland Indians take the field Friday for Game 3 of the World Series at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, manager Terry Francona understands they won't have much support, but that isn't going to change his confidence level one bit.
The Indians will sit in the visitor's dugout as the Fall Classic takes place at Wrigley for the first time in 71 years.
With the cheapest tickets selling for over $2,000, and fans getting a very early start on pregame festivities, the Indians can surely expect a raucous crowd mostly favoring the Cubs.
"I don't think there's going to be a ton of people cheering for us," Francona said, according to Newsday's Erik Boland. "It's going to be us against the world tomorrow, but 'us' is pretty good."
Francona remains confident despite the disadvantages of not only the ballpark and it's crowd, but also potentially having to start Carlos Santana in the outfield thanks to National League rules. Santana has played one game in the outfield during his major-league career, totaling four innings.
The decision is giving the manager some doubt.
"I have anxiety about it," he said, according to Cleveland.com's Zack Meisel. "I don't know how else to say it and if he messes a ball up, I'll take responsibility because I don't think it's fair to put it on him."
Friday's contest gets underway at 8:00 p.m. ET, with Josh Tomlin taking the hill for the Indians, opposite Kyle Hendricks for the Cubs.