Opinion

You can exhale, Chicago Cubs fans. It finally happened.

After 108 years of waiting, you watched your team storm the field and hoist a trophy. You watched the Cubbies win the final game of the postseason 8-7 Wednesday night at Progressive Field.

You did not have to wait until next year.

Corey Kluber was electric in his first two World Series starts, and the Cleveland Indians will hope he can do it a third time to bring the franchise its first title since 1948.

Two franchises trying to break two impossibly long championship droughts will duke it out in Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday night, and not surprisingly, that's where much of the attention is being placed in baseball circles right now.

But alas, the rumor mill never stops churning. So below, we'll break down the latest trade buzz making the rounds, while the Chicago Cubs get ready to battle Cleveland with anxious fans in both cities anticipating the matchup.

In sports, there is no greater crucible than Game 7.

It's the mother of all small samples. On such a limited, glaring stage, peons can rise and the great sometimes wilt.

On Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs at Progressive Field, Cleveland Indians right-hander Corey Kluber will have a chance to ascend from great to legendary.

No matter what, the 2016 MLB season ends Wednesday. Either the Chicago Cubs will complete a historic comeback, or the Cleveland Indians will escape by the skin of their teeth and avoid a collapse.

Either way, the season's over. Or the actual baseball season is over. If there is anything we know about sports in our 24/7 culture, it's that they're never really over. The actual sport merely paves the way for the hot-stove season, which has already been festering under the surface of a classic World Series.

CLEVELAND — Seriously now, how the heck else would you expect a Chicago Cubs-Cleveland Indians World Series to end?

Easily? Quickly? Inauspiciously?

No, no and heck no.

Game 7, Wednesday night, here we come. Standing ovation, anyone?

Game 7 is always a beautiful and lovely concept. This one is an especially thrilling development given the, you know, 176 combined years of drought that will climax in a something's-gotta-give grand finale hard on the banks of Lake Erie.

The Chicago Cubs have clawed back from the brink of elimination and are now one win away from their first World Series title in 108 years.

So, of course they're the ones everyone is second-guessing at the moment.

CLEVELAND — One win away from their first World Series title in 68 years, it's taken the Cleveland Indians far more than 68 moves to build this dream of a team.

And yet two bold statements stand out above all the rest.

The first was hiring manager Terry Francona back on Oct. 6, 2012.

The second was acquiring relief ace Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees on July 31.

There is more baseball to be played.

That was hardly a guarantee on Sunday night, with Cleveland leading the World Series 3-1. But the Chicago Cubs fought back, earning a 3-2 win at Wrigley Field to send the Fall Classic back to Cleveland. 

You can also stream the game on Fox Sports Go.

Settle down, Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs fans. We know the 2016 MLB postseason isn't over.

There is at least one more World Series game slated for Tuesday, and there could be another one on Wednesday if the Cubbies force the issue.

Still, at the risk of missing an epic pitching performance or a historic home run outburst, we're going to anoint Bleacher Report's playoff All-Star team right now.

Yes, the sample size is small. Really, that's the whole point. It's the playoffs, and everything is magnified.