Ghostbusters (EFL edition)!

Here is the Cubs box score from their first pennant-winning game in 71 years.  See if you can espy what broke the billy goat’s curse:

Hints:

• Six EFL players went  7 for 21 with 3 doubles and 2 homers:  .333, .333, .762.
• The rest of the team went 0 for 9.
• Six EFL players scored all 5 of the team’s runs, and drove in 4.  Ex-EFLer Ben Zobrist drove in the other one.
• For the NLCS, EFL players on loan to the Cubs OPSed 1.010, .889, .864, .842, .833,  and .786. The other 5 hitters OPSed .480, .355, .000, .000, and .000.
• EFLers provided defense at every infield position, plus catcher and center field. Scrubs were hidden in the outfield corners where they’d do the least damage.
• An EFLer finished the game with 1.7 scoreless innings — but his non-EFLer predecessor did the same thing over 7.1 innings.

 

To be fair, here’s some other stuff to consider:

• Six EFLers on loan to the Dodgers went 1 for 14 for a .071, .071, .071   batting line.  The rest of the Dodgers went 1 for 12 with a walk — the only walk in the game! — for a much better .083, .154, .083 batting line.
• The six EFLers scored all of the Dodger’s runs– and so did the nine non-EFLers. And they also scored none of the Dodgers runs. As did the nine non-EFLers.
• The six EFLers for the series OPSed 1.082, .683, .661, .646, .572, .465.  Non-EFLer Ethier (in a very part-time role) OPSed 1.400, but after that they go .728, ,594, .536, .500, .485, .385, .273, .143, .000
• The six EFLers started at LF, 3b, SS and C, the bench, and the bench — the left side of the field and a bit of the world left off the field.

The lesson?  Get the right EFLers and there’s no jinx in all the world that can stop you. But not so much if you get the wrong EFLers, even though they’ll still be better than the rest.