How baseball fans can get through the offseason following epic 2016 World Series

For baseball fans, the most wonderful month or so of the year has come and gone — with an epic seven-game World Series that saw the Cubs(!) come out on top — which means that we've reached the saddest parts of the sports calendar: the baseball offseason. The good news is that the wait for meaningful, high-level baseball won't be as long this year since the World Baseball Classic will happen in March 2017. However, it's November right now, and March may as well be 30 centuries away in internet years, so the wait is still going to be long and agonizing.

However, we can make it through this together. We've made it through harder and longer offseasons before, so surely we can make it through this one. The good news is there's still plenty of stuff that's worth your attention and should keep you busy while the temperature is low. Let's get through this as one.

The Winter Meetings are right around the corner

Hey, look, we're only a month away from the Winter Meetings! The good thing about baseball is that teams normally waste no time getting ready for next season. As soon as the last pitch was thrown in the World Series, we started hearing rumors about qualifying offers, managerial and front office vacancies being filled, and even trade rumors as well.

The trade rumors and free agency waves will reach a fever pitch in December when the Winter Meetings start up. Plus, what happens in December could have an effect on what happens next October/November. Last year, the Cubs signed Ben Zobrist during the Winter Meetings. This year, he got the Chevy for being the MVP of the World Series. That's just a small taste of just how important this event is on baseball's calendar, and it'll get you geared up for the long slog of hot stove season.

Catch up on the TV you missed

So, you've spent the entire summer watching, reading about, listening to and consuming all things baseball. If you fall into the baseball 24/7 category that the MLB Network has been trying so hard to cultivate since its inception, then you have missed a doozy of a year for TV shows. Fortunately for you, you now have an entire season to catch up on some great television.

Did you notice all of the people running around wearing pink dresses, blue bomber jackets and old-school tube socks during Halloween? Well, now you can watch Stranger Things and figure out what's going on. In other Netflix news, Marvel's Luke Cage had the streets of Harlem on lock, and it also caught the attention of binge-watchers everywhere, so you can catch up on that as well. Then, the first season of Donald Glover's brilliant Atlanta just came to an end, so you can catch up on that and figure out why everybody keeps on talking about "Paper Boi this" and "Paper Boi that." Simply put, there's plenty of TV that you missed out on during this great season of baseball, and now you've got a couple of months to get hip with the rest of us.

Gear up for the Caribbean Series

By the time you're done catching up with the TV that's come down the pike as of late, you should be smack dab in the dead of winter (unless you're a regular degenerate binger like me and burned through all of those shows within two weeks). That's when we get the fun that is the Caribbean Series. If you can find a way to watch it, you won't regret it. It'll deliver some of the most entertaining baseball that you'll see.

If you don't believe me, then watch the final inning of the 2006 Carribbean Series end with a pop fly bouncing off of a guy's head to bring in the series-winning run. This thing is bonkers, and you must watch it.