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Kris Bryant’s Playoff Retrospective: Power And Baserunning

It’s a testament to how entertaining and excellent Javy Baez and Jon Lester were during the 2016 NLDS and NLCS that they not only were able to overcome the initial sluggish postseason starts by Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell, but were also able to nearly completely overshadow Kris Bryant’s solid postseason performance up to that […]

MLB: World Series-Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

Playoff Prospectus: The Highlight Reel: World Series Game 7

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Ashley Varela, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. One hundred and eight years after the Cubs last held the title of World Champions, 212 days after the first pitch of the 2016 season, and 26 days after the Cubs took the postseason […]

MLB: World Series-Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

Playoff Prospectus: Assessing the Managers’ Moves in Game 7

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Matthew Trueblood, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. There’s real freedom in a Game 7. A manager has just one imperative: win this game. Even in a Game 6, a skipper will draw criticism (and perhaps do genuine damage) if he makes […]

MLB: World Series-Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

Playoff Prospectus: After 108 Years, Cubs Win the Marathon and the Sprint

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Editor-in-Chief Aaron Gleeman, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. Baseball’s regular season is often described as a marathon. Six months of nearly uninterrupted, daily competition during which a single win or loss–or even a few of them consecutively–barely registers as noteworthy within […]

MLB: World Series-Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs

Playoff Prospectus: PECOTA Odds and World Series Game 7 Preview

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Bryan Grosnick, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. Everything ends. Tonight, not only does the 2016 baseball season come to its long-awaited conclusion, but one team will end a championship drought spanning a period of time best served by using the term […]

MLB: World Series-Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

Second City November: Bombs Away and a Forced Game Seven

Let’s hear it for the blowout Game Six. We’re all familiar with the tight Game Six that sends the series to an extra game: the Cardinals breaking the Rangers’ hearts in 2011, the Bloody Sock Game in the 2004 ALCS, the Angels’ comeback in 2002. Historic games all, swinging the momentum of a series dramatically. Undoubtedly worth […]

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Second City November: World Series Game Six Preview, Cubs (2-3) at Cleveland (3-2)

Second City November. For all that a Cubs World Series provokes a constant parade of precious, sepia-toned comparisons to the world as it was in years of past glory, baseball this late in the calendar year is entirely without parallel for the Cubs as a franchise. Perhaps you haven’t heard, but back in 1908, we hadn’t yet invented […]

MLB: World Series-Chicago Cubs at Cleveland Indians

Playoff Prospectus: PECOTA Odds and World Series Game 6 Preview

This piece, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Editor-in-Chief Aaron Gleeman, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the postseason, “Playoff Prospectus”. November baseball! We all know what’s at stake here. By the end of the night either Cleveland will be celebrating their first championship in 68 years or everyone in the city will be re-thinking how […]