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7:20 AM ET, October 21, 2016

Ballbug

 Top News: 
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
The Dodgers threw everything at Jon Lester, and he threw it right back  —  Unusual bunts.  Huge leads.  Aggressive baserunning.  None of it fazed the Cubs ace.  —  LOS ANGELES — Jon Lester's agent, Seth Levinson, kept receiving texts from other clients during Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.
Discussion: baseballmusings.com
RELATED:
Mauricio Rubio / Baseball Prospectus:
Slump?  What Slump?  —  The Chicago Cubs, facing a potential 3-1 hole against a team with the best pitcher on the planet still in play for one more game, finally drew breath in Los Angeles.  For 21 straight innings the Cubs' offense was suffocated by Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, and the rest of the Dodgers' pitching staff.
Fox Sports:
RIP?  Not if you're a Chicago Cubs fan in a playoff year  —  FILE - This Oct. 25, 2011, file photo, shows the outfield ivy and iconic manual scoreboard at Wrigley Field in Chicago.  Wrigley Field has been the site of so much heartbreak that some fans who spend their whole lives waiting …
Chris Bahr / Fox Sports:
Jose Bautista is playing mind games with the Indians' rookie pitcher before Game 5  —  Ryan Merritt has pitched only 11 innings in the majors  —  The Blue Jays' win over the Indians in Game 4 of the ALCS kept their slim hopes alive but apparently provided an enormous confidence boost.
RELATED:
CBC News:
John Gibbons to return as Blue Jays manager in 2017: report  —  Big question is what to do with pending free agents Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion  —  John Gibbons will return in 2017 to manage the Toronto Blue Jays, according to multiple reports.  —  Jays president Mark Shapiro confirmed …
Discussion: CBSSports.com and MLB Daily Dish
Steve Gardner / USA Today:
What will Indians do for a World Series encore?  —  TORONTO - Amid the champagne celebration inside the visitors clubhouse at Rogers Centre, Cleveland Indians general manager Chris Antonetti was off to the side watching his players bask in the joy of advancing to the World Series.
Mary Kay Cabot / Plain Dealer:
Terrelle Pryor and Joe Haden miss practice 2nd straight practice 'and if they can't run, they won't be able to play'  —  Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown catch against the Tennessee Titans.  (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)
RELATED:
Mary Kay Cabot / Plain Dealer:
Terrelle Pryor and Browns have had preliminary contract extension talks  —  Cleveland Browns have talked extension with wide receiver Terrelle Pryor's rep. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)  —  BEREA, Ohio — The Browns have had preliminary contract extension talks regarding Terrelle Pryor, a source told cleveland.com.
Jon Heyman / Todays Knuckleball:
Heyman: MLB replay system needs to be redefined  —  No, the replay umpire isn't blind.  Really, he isn't.  —  The replay umpire sees what you see, and therefore has to know that Adrian Gonzalez was more likely than not safe, at the very least, on that bang-bang play at home in Game 4.
Roch Kubatko / School of Roch:
Brach undergoes minor procedure on left knee  —  Orioles reliever Brad Brach underwent a minor medical procedure last week involving the meniscus in his left knee.  Nothing complicated and apparently no reason for concern.  —  Ravens team physician Dr. Leigh Ann Curl performed the surgery …
Cincinnati.com:
Reds, Fox Sports Ohio extend partnership through 2032  —  About three or four years ago, as Phil Castellini tells it, the Cincinnati Reds began researching an eye-opening idea.  With their broadcast deal with Fox Sports Ohio set to expire after the 2017 season, baseball's oldest franchise began looking …
Sam Miller / ESPN:
Putting Yasmani Grandal's value in the proper frame  —  In the spring, the Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Shaikin asked Yasmani Grandal what he made of Baseball Prospectus' projection system, PECOTA, forecasting the Dodgers' catcher to be just about as good as any MVP contender in the National League.
 
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 More News: 
New York Daily News:
Bidding for Korean pitcher Hyeon-jong Yang will begin next week: source
Discussion: Todays Knuckleball
MLB.com:
Oct. 18 Joe Maddon postgame interview
Discussion: Bleacher Nation
 Earlier Picks: 
Chris Bahr / Fox Sports:
Jake Arrieta explains why he isn't worried ‘at all’ about the Cubs' chances
Anthony Fenech / Detroit Free Press:
Al Avila: ‘Changes are coming’ to the Detroit Tigers
Damian Holbrook / TV Insider:
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Turns 50
Discussion: TheFW
Hollywood Reporter:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Glen Powell Teaming for ‘Captain Planet’ Movie (Exclusive)
 

 
From WeSmirch:

Ryan Gajewski / The Hollywood Reporter:
Melissa Barrera on Getting Fired From ‘Scream’ and the Controversy That Followed

New York Times:
How to Be Real With Your Kids  —  Actor Penn Badgley reads the essay “Watching Them Watching Me” …

Daily Star:
Scene where Gogglebox's George Gilbey, 40, tragically died as police cordon area

 
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