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Second City October: NLCS Game One, Cubs (0-0) at Dodgers (0-0)

The war of attrition that was NLDS Game Five in Washington is over. Choose your analogy: General Grant wearing down opposing forces, Virgil shepherding Dante through the nine circles of Hell—they all fit. In the end, it was a big ol’ goofy end to a lean and mean series, with pitchers being worked through the […]

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Playoff Prospectus: The Highlight Reel—World Series G1

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Ashley Varela, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. Sandy Koufax was the first to do it, as you may well imagine. On a Wednesday in 1963, in front of 69,000 fans bleeding navy and white pinstripes over the wooden seats of a […]

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Playoff Prospectus: The Kluber Clinic

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Trevor Strunk, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. There are certain games in the postseason, particularly in the World Series, whose results seem scripted from the first pitch. I’m not trying to suggest that the postseason is rigged or anything fishy, of […]

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Playoff Prospectus: Assessing the Managers’ Moves in Game One

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Matt Trueblood, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. There was a wealth of strategic intrigue surrounding Game 1 of the World Series before it even began. Jon Lester started for the Cubs, so there was the now-familiar chatter about how Cleveland planned […]

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Second City October: World Series Game One Preview, Cubs (0-0) vs. Cleveland (0-0)

This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Cat Garcia, forms part of our in-house coverage of the playoffs, “Second City October”. More Game One coverage can be found here. Well, this is it. It’s the moment that almost everyone, and I do mean everyone in the city of Chicago, around the country, and even around the world […]

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Playoff Prospectus: Of Ghosts and Pinch-Hit Grand Slams

The piece previewed here, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Meg Rowley, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the playoffs, “Playoff Prospectus.” Additional Game One coverage, exclusive to BP Wrigleyville, can be found here, under the name “Second City October”. The Cubs and Dodgers kicked off the NLCS last night, and be honest, you thought […]

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Second City October: Miggy Makes ‘Em Pay

This piece, written by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Rian Watt,  forms part of our in-house coverage of the Cubs in the playoffs, “Second City October.” Additional Game One coverage can be found here. The 2016 Chicago Cubs posted a Park-Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (PADE) score of 6.38, which is both tremendously good, when considered in absolute terms—it means the team converted balls […]