CLE 6, CHC 0

...Huh.

As I've said before, I don't know how much stock to put in foolishness like "mo," or "the zone," or "clutchiness." It's like ghosts; I believe in them, while freely admitting that I can't prove their existence.

With all of that said, while I wouldn't put too much stock in relative amounts of time off before the Classic, or in home-field advantage, and while I did expect the...Clevelanders (I can't with the name anymore, and especially Wahoo, so if nobody minds, I think I'll go back to calling them the Naps around here) to win Game 1, I expected more of a head-to-head pitchers' duel. Lester gutted it out out there, but it felt to me like he knew somebody was going gopher on him eventually; Kluber never thought that would happen. Sometimes that's the difference.

(I don't think it was the throwing-to-first thing no matter how much the booth snarked on it. If Joe Maddon thought it mattered he'd have fixed it.)

Points, and it's a grim one:

Baez -1
Bryant -1
Rizzo -1
Russell -4
Zobrist 4

Lester 9.67

***

Napoli -1

Kluber 15

Standings after the jump!

CHC 5, LAD 0; Cubs advance, believe it or not

...I'm still not sure I do, the next morning, and as thrilling as it is to see something that hasn't happened in over seven decades, I can't help wishing this had been a little less pathetic on the Dodgers' side of things. I respect Kershaw's grim struggle, but it seemed to infect the whole team, that they lay down and let looming destiny step over them after that first inning.

But now it's on to The Classic Of Narrative. Or, depending on your slate, the scrapheap. First, the points:

Baez -2
Bryant 3
Rizzo 7
Russell 3
Zobrist 0

Hendricks 12.33 (left one on base)

***

Seager -1
Turner 0

Hill n/a
Kershaw 9
Maeda n/a

And of course the gents below the asterisks will be leaving us, and taking a few poolies with them, but let's look at the standings first, after the jump.

CHC 8, LAD 4

There was discussion in the baseball commentosphere about whether Kershaw should have started last night's game, for psych-out reasons. I thought they should save him for the road, keep the ace up their sleeves, and I imagine they're glad they did.

Not sure what to expect on Saturday, honestly. The momentum has shifted back to Chicago, but off days are funny things.

Points:

Baez 5
Bryant 4
Rizzo 1
Russell 7

Lester 8 (left four on)

***

Seager -1
Turner -1

Maeda 7.67

Standings after the jump!

CHC 10, LAD 2

The Cubs of pre-pennant ballyhoo showed up with a vengeance last night, particularly one Rizzo, who came close to wiping out a postseason of futility to date with 10 points. Interesting that guys who had carried their pickers for a while -- Baez; Seager; Bryant -- have quieted down at the plate somewhat. 

As Charley Steiner noted on the L.A. radio broadcast last night, it's down to a three-game series, functionally. In the meantime, your points...

Baez 1

Bryant 0

Rizzo 10

Russell 8

Zobrist 1

***

Seager -4

Turner 2

Money and current standings after the jump!

CLE 3, TOR 0; Cleveland advances

This is a happy story for Cleveland, though somewhat distressing for the pool; they have a great team, and I'm not the only one who's underrated them all along.

But I don't think it's underrating Cleveland, or disrespectful, to suggest that we all expected quite a bit more lively a performance from this Toronto team. They've looked exhausted for days. That win yesterday may have used up their last reserves of energy.

The points:

Napoli 0
Santana 6

***

Bautista 3
Donaldson -1
Encarnacion -2

Happ 0
Osuna 2

And the five gentlemen below the asterisks will be leaving us. Technically this doesn't leave anyone without any picks, so we'll stand pat for a bit, probably until we have both World Series teams.

The money:

120.33 Simone
119.34 Yuhan 2
118.33 Williams

100s MacEachern and Stempel

90s Bingham 2 and Shee/Bell

CHC at LAD starts in a few minutes; good luck!

LAD 6, CHC 0

The Trolley-Dodgers take a 2-1 series lead, and in the space of three days, the narrative has gone from "it's cool, it's fine, no presh" to "Are Cubs fans maybe possibly starting to freak out, a couple of them?" to "EVERYBODY BURN SOME SAGE OMG." Baseball as a season of a reality show has been giving the Cubs the smug-victory edit all year, and I do kind of want Chicago to win so we can finally bury this particular editorial angle, forever...but I don't completely hate seeing them realize that they actually have to go out and win the games with the core of their offense shitting the bed.

And...you know. I root for a team whose offense has been shitting every piece of furniture between here and the sea for like five years. It's a little easier to take if you're used to it. Cub fans aren't, and the adjustment is painful to watch.

I'm not particularly concerned for the team's chances -- Urias is...variable; they'll have their opportunities -- but if Joe doesn't at least consider sitting Russell, who knows what they'll be able to do.

Enough chitchat: points.

Baez -2
Bryant 1
Rizzo 0, which I wouldn't ordinarily bother noting but what a nice surprise that it isn't a negative number, eh? ...oh wait, here's...
Russell -2
Zobrist -2

Arrieta 10

***

Seager 4
JuTu 3

Hill 9 (cost himself a point with an LOB)

Money/standings after the jump.

TOR 5, CLE 1

The Jays stave off elimination for themselves -- and much of the pool -- with a nailbiter afternoon win, 5-1, and a fair number of points to go around. Well, except for the guy who's putting the "au(gh)" back in "Bautista." Come on, guy.

And speaking of "come on," I get that the Cubs are "the narrative" of Postseason '16 and that that game is on PT now, but...maybe give the ALCS a primetime slot? Like, one?

Ready for primetime as well are your points:

Santana -2

Kluber 10

***

Bats -1
Donaldson 6
Encarnacion 4

Osuna 3

The lead changes hands temporarily:

Simone 120.33
Williams 114.33
MacEachern 112.34

Yuhan 2 just off the pace at 109.34, Stempel and Bingham 2 around 100.

Back momentarily with the NL score and full standings.