Die Macht » they have lost 11 or more games seven of eight seasons

Here we go! With two of MLBs oldest -- and longest-suffering -- franchises set to begin the Fall Classic on Tuesday night, we asked writers Christina Kahrl, David Schoenfield and Dan Szymborski to weigh in on the cities of Chicago and Cleveland, including everything from the Cubs and Indians fan bases to Michael versus LeBron to the best restaurants and movies.Which fan base deserves a World Series title more??Dan Szymborski: Id actually say the Indians here. Although Cubs fans have gone longer without a World Series title, they have a storied franchise with a lot of history to be proud of, and the whole lovable losers thing has taken on a life of its own. And theres this: The Cubs are the most likely team in baseball to win the next few World Series. Theres a good chance theyll be back. Cleveland has had long runs of being wretched as well, but over many of those stretches, the Indians werent endearingly bad -- just depressingly bad. Theres a reason the writers of Major League chose the Indians.David Schoenfield: This is clear: Indians fans have suffered way more than Cubs fans. First of all, nobody reading this was alive in 1908, so Cubs fans dont get extra credit for suffering through more title-less years. Plus, for the most part, the Cubs have been simply irrelevant for the past 70 years, with periodic bursts of surprise playoff seasons. In fact, from 1951 to 1967, the White Sox outdrew the Cubs every season except one. The Cubs didnt really become a thing until the 1984 season. Since then, theyve made the playoffs seven times (before this year) and finished better than .500 12 times.The Indians had great teams throughout the 1950s, only to finish behind the Yankees many of those years, and theyve made the playoffs eight times and finished better than .500 14 times since 1995. They reached two World Series with those great teams of the 90s. Theyve been closer to a championship more times with better teams than the Cubs have, and that kind of suffering is more painful than just being lousy. Plus, Game 7 of the 1997 World Series trumps the Bartman game.Christina Kahrl: Id say Cleveland fans, but Im biased because I have a whole bunch of family in Ohio who root for the Indians and a dad whose interest in the game as a kid was apparently derailed by the teams 1954 World Series loss. He picked the Browns as the less likely source of heartbreak, which sort of captures in a nutshell the reason it has to be Cleveland.Who do you think is the better manager: Joe Maddon or Terry Francona??Szmborski: Thats unbelievably close, as theyre two of the best managers in baseball. I think Id say Francona. Maddon is amazing, but Francona has had much greater challenges this year, up to and including the playoffs, and Ill use the recency bias to break the tie.Kahrl: No slight to Maddon, but Im going with Tito. What Francona has done with what hes had to work with the past four years with the Indians is remarkable. With Michael Brantley out for most of this year, Franconas outfield situation was a jumble that is arguably stronger as a result of the fixes. Batting Carlos Santana leadoff against right-handers yielded both his best power production and lowest strikeout rate of his career across a career high in at-bats. Francona has milked tremendous value from some variegated bullpens. Maddon is brilliant, but Francona is arguably the best in the game at adapting to what he has and making it work.Schoenfield: Last time I checked, Francona has two World Series rings versus none for Maddon. Plus, Maddon has the best rotation in baseball, the best defense, the best group of young stars, the best depth and one of the best closers. Francona has a pitcher who plays with drones.Who is the best Indians player who never played in a World Series? What about for the Cubs?Szymborski: Well, because Bob Feller did get to play in one (in 1948), I think Nap Lajoie is the easy Indians choice. Ill go with Ernie Banks for the Cubs, by a hair over Ron Santo.Schoenfield: Ernie Banks for the Cubs, though Santo and Ryne Sandberg had higher career WAR. For the Indians, most of their great players have at least appeared in a World Series. How about Sam McDowell, one of the great left-handers of the 1960s, who led the AL in strikeouts five times?Kahrl: For the Indians, Id consider Mel Harder because 223 wins in a career that ended in 1947 -- just before the teams most recent World Series win in 1948 -- is sort of a glum circumstance to ponder. But Ill say Nap Lajoie, the star second baseman whose jump to the American League in the dead-ball era helped create the World Series -- and then he never got to play in one. For the Cubs, it has to be Santo. At least Billy Williams got to the postseason (with the As as a DH in 1975). Santo never even got that much out of a career that should have put him in the Hall of Fame decades ago.Whats your favorite movie about Chicago? How about Cleveland?Kahrl: Im going with Eight Men Out for Chicago. It has well-staged baseball action, the 1919 fix and Chicagos own Studs Terkel as sportswriter Hugh Fullerton. It is one of the best baseball movies of all time, and it battles A League of Their Own and the original Bad News Bears for best ever. For Cleveland, its slim pickings, but Ill avoid the obvious baseball flick and go with American Splendor because theres a lot of Cleveland in it, beyond the films entertaining look at the life and work of comic book writer Harvey Pekar.Szymborski: As a Gen-Xer, theres no way I go with anything other than Ferris Buellers Day Off for Chicago. As a baseball fan, theres no way I cant pick Major League for Cleveland.Schoenfield: For Chicago, its The Untouchables. As Sean Connery says about trying to get Al Capone, He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. Thats the Chicago way. For Cleveland: A Christmas Story. OK, its set in some fictional town in Indiana, but it was filmed in Cleveland. Thats good enough for me.Your favorite restaurants in both places?Szymborski: It has been a few years since Ive been to Cleveland, but I really enjoy LAlbatros. Im a sucker for a good terrine or duck confit. I was sad I didnt get to visit Michael Symons Lolita before the fire; hes putting a new concept into the former location. Ive spent more time in Chicago, and though Ive been to a few of the Michelin-starred places, Id say Rick Bayless Frontera Grill.Schoenfield: Not sure for either location, but Im on the record that the proper term is casserole, not pizza, in Chicago.Kahrl: Im still in mourning for my long-since-closed Chicago favorite, Erwin, a spot near Wrigley Field that I could take baseball foodie friends to and leave them suitably impressed. In its absence, Im partial to Glenns Diner or grabbing a great representative from among the worlds best pizza from R Public House in my neighborhood. Cleveland? Ill have to pass because Ive never eaten anywhere there more than once.Finally: Michael or LeBron?Schoenfield: Jordan. Well pretend those Wizards seasons never happened.Szymborski:?Its gotta be Michael Jordan. Although theyve patched things up since then, LeBrons departure left a lot of sore Cleveland residents for a few years.Kahrl: For what they mean to the cities they played in, Im going with LeBron. The Cavaliers winning it all is, for Cleveland, a bigger deal than the Bulls winning was. I might not agree with Mike Ditka on most things, but he was right that the 85 Bears were a bigger deal for Chicago than all six NBA titles the Bulls won. The only thing that can put the memory of the 85 Bears in the shade? The Cubs winning the World Series. China Jerseys Outlet . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. 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This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Cleveland BrownsOverall: 119 Title track: 120 Ownership: 115 Coaching: 75 Players: 121 Fan relations: 120 Affordability: 78 Stadium experience: 106 Bang for the buck:?102 Change from last year: -10It seems like it might take a front-end loader to get the Cleveland Browns out of the bottom of these rankings. A year ago the Browns were 109th; this year they are 119th. Going 3-13 in 2015 probably accounted for most of the drop (the Browns had the second-worst score in sports in consistently wins more games than they lose). The latest plan to fix things: Build with as many talented young players as possible, and let them all grow under coach Hue Jackson. Its a new approach, and it might work, but it will take time. And patience.Whats goodIn Hue they trust. The team has put its faith and hope and almost anything that comes to mind in new coach Hue Jackson -- and so have the fans, slotting him 75th, the Browns best ranking this year. They feel they finally have a guy who can turn things around. Jackson is upbeat, aggressive and effervescent, but his season started with his top two quarterbacks being lost with shoulder injuries and a rookie starting in Week 3. Jimmy Haslam touted a multiyear rebuild heading into 2016. He wasnt kidding. This build is going to take more patience than 1,000 people should ever have.Whats badThe Browns title track rank of 120th is the lowest in the NFL. It is intertwined with two otherr abysmal ratings: 121 in players (also worst in the NFL) and 120 in fan relations, a byproduct of constant losing and ineptitude.dddddddddddd All of this is earned and deserved. The Browns have not had a winning record since 2007. In the years since, they have lost 11 or more games seven of eight seasons. They are on their fourth coach in five years and have started more than two dozen different quarterbacks since 1999. The hope for the future resides in extra draft picks the next two years. If the Browns hit those right, its a step forward. But the biggest solution will be if they finally terminate the endless search for a quarterback. Until that position is solved, they will continue to wallow.Whats newThe Browns dropped 26 spots in bang for the buck. Since ticket prices are actually among the lowest in the league (despite an 18 percent jump last season), this is mostly due to the product on the field. Things have been so abysmal, that for the first time in years, the Browns were advertising tickets for sale the week before the opener. The Browns spent $125 million to upgrade their stadium, but if they continue to put a losing product on the field, they could play games in the Taj Mahal and fans would not be happy. At this point, its hard to see how the fans are getting even a slight pop for their buck, much less a bang.Next: Los Angeles Rams?| Full rankings ' ' '