Note: The Joe Sheehan Newsletter is being shared free for all paying The Athletic subscribers for the duration of the World Series. Below is the piece in its original format from October 26, 2016.
For maybe the first time this postseason, a playoff game came down the sacred little things, to the practice of small ball and the execution of plays, all in the absence of the power we expected to see. On a night with a stiff breeze blowing out to left field and more than 300 homers in the starting lineups, we got the fewest runs possible -- and the only scoring came down to a one-run strategy that worked, and four outfielders on a team whose outfield isn't very good winning.