The Cubs were one of the four teams still standing in October when a New York writer asked Theo Epstein about the best blueprint for winning in the playoffs.
The president of baseball operations had helped build two championship teams in Boston and oversaw the massive rebuilding job at Wrigley Field, where at that point the Cubs were down 0-2 in the National League Championship Series.
“The only thing I know for sure,” Epstein said, “is that whatever team wins the World Series, their particular style of play will be completely in vogue and trumpeted from the rooftops by the media all offseason — and in front offices — as the way to win.