As hard as it can be to remember now, with the Houston Astros headed for their fourth World Series in six seasons, the franchise was once notable for its capacity for self-inflicted losing. As part of a radical rebuilding plan, Houston from 2011 to 2013 became just the seventh team since 1901 to pile up […]
Remember all those big favorites going into the MLB postseason? The record-tying four 100-plus win teams from the regular season? The 20-win gaps between best and worst seeds in each league? The theoretical advantage of a first-round bye for top teams under MLB’s new playoff system? Turns out only one league got the memo about […]
After an MLB wild card weekend that scrambled the lower tier of the World Series odds, the division series offers four solid favorites — on paper, at least. According to our MLB forecast model, the top-seeded Houston Astros, L.A. Dodgers, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves each have at least a 2-in-3 chance at moving […]
In the NBA, any talk of building a superteam usually centers around the notion of a Big Three: a trio of stars so daunting that it can carry just about any roster to a championship. In the past 15 years, we’ve seen that model work for the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors. […]
neil (Neil Paine, acting sports editor): One of the most hyped MLB trade deadlines in recent memory is in the rearview mirror, and now we get to sift through the fallout. To help with that, I’ve gathered Brian Menéndez and Robert O’Connell, two of our esteemed FiveThirtyEight baseball contributors — guys, welcome! Brian (Brian Menéndez, […]