Steven Kwan isn’t reaching for alarm bells, even with the Cleveland Guardians staring at a 0-2 hole against the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS.
That calm comes with plenty of baggage. Cleveland has had to dig out of trouble before in the regular season, including this year’s six-game deficit to win the AL Central and last season’s historic 15.5-game climb to the same finish.
But the postseason has been a different story. The Guardians have dropped 13 of their last 14 games when facing elimination, a run that includes last year’s loss to the Detroit Tigers in the AL Wild Card Round.
Still, Kwan said the group isn’t pressing the panic button.
“We’ve had a ton of adversity throughout this year. We had a ton of adversity last year as well, so I think it’s just there’s no panic button.
We’re not trying to do too much. We just have to do it with a ton of focus, and we’re just gonna have a good day tomorrow,” Kwan said.
Cleveland’s path back starts with Game 3 on Wednesday, and the Guardians can at least point to one recent October comeback. In 2024, they were down to the Tigers in the ALDS before ripping off two straight wins to take the series, capped by a 7-3 victory in Game 5. That snapped an MLB-record 11-game losing streak in elimination games that stretched from Game 7 of the 2016 World Series against the Chicago Cubs through Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS against the New York Yankees.
The odds still lean heavily against them. Teams that lose the first two games of a best-of-5 series have been eliminated 89 percent of the time, with 83 of 93 failing to recover. The last club to erase that kind of deficit was the Yankees, who won three straight in the 2017 ALDS.
There’s another layer here for Cleveland, too. The Guardians also lost the 2024 ALCS to the Yankees in Game 5 before being knocked out by the Tigers last year after finishing ahead of them in the division. This season brings a similar setup, with Cleveland finishing one game ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central.
Chicago, meanwhile, carries a strange bit of history into the series as well. The White Sox have not clinched a playoff series at home in 120 years, since beating the Chicago Cubs to win the 1906 World Series.
In Other News...
Bears Bring Back A Familiar Veteran As Receiver Depth Gets Tested
The Bears are turning to a familiar face for some extra receiver depth, bringing veteran Scotty Miller back onto the practice squad. Miller already spent the offseason and training camp in Chicago before being released from the practice squad in late September, so this is less a fresh introduction than a reunion with a player the team knows well.
For a receiver room that has been tested, the move gives Chicago another experienced option to keep around as it sorts through the position. Miller has appeared in 93 regular-season NFL games and brings both playoff and Super Bowl experience, the kind of background that can matter when a team is trying to stabilize the bottom of the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Luther Burden Just Added Real Heat To Bears Packers Week 5
Luther Burden III is already treating Bears-Packers week like it means more than just another game on the schedule. The rookie wide receiver enters Week 5 with the kind of edge Chicago has long wanted to see in this rivalry, and the backdrop helps explain why the matchup has been on his radar for a while. Last season, Burden was part of a physical run-in with Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon, a moment that fit the tone of a series that rarely stays polite for long.
For the Bears, Burdens attitude comes at a time when the offense is still shaping its identity and looking for playmakers who can bring some extra juice. Chicago has been leaning into a broader offensive strategy this season, and a young receiver who already understands the rivalrys temperature can only help. The next question is how that edge shows up on Sunday, especially with Nixon on the other side and both teams knowing this one tends to get personal fast. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Reunion Buzz Puts One Big Pass Rush Debate In Focus
The Bears have seen real progress on defense, and the pass rush has been a big reason why. Chicago has climbed to 14th in the league in pass-rush win rate, a sign that the front has become more disruptive and more consistent than it was earlier in the rebuild. Even so, the conversation around adding another proven edge rusher keeps circling back to one familiar name.
Khalil Mack is in Los Angeles on a one-year deal with the Chargers, but his history in Chicago makes him an obvious talking point whenever the Bears are looking for help up front. His track record still carries weight, and his production remains relevant enough to fuel the debate over whether a reunion would make sense for a team that has already made strides. For now, it is only speculation, but it is the kind of speculation that tends to linger when a former star still fits a current need. [Read more 🡒]