If the Chicago Cubs end up playing the Boston Red Sox in the 2017 World Series, it will be a rematch only 99 years in the making. That was the matchup back in 1918, in a Fall Classic played right after Labor Day because of a season shortened by America's focus on World War I.
Back then, Boston was trying to perpetuate its dynastic ways. The Cubs were trying to end a championship drought that threatened to stretch to 10 long years.
The first three games of the series were played in Chicago, at the original Comiskey Park, which had a larger seating capacity than the stadium we now know as Wrigley Field. Despite starting on the road, the Red Sox edged the Cubs in six games, with no team scoring more than three runs in any of the close, terse affairs. Boston got two victories each from star pitchers Carl Mays and Babe Ruth to win its fourth title in six years ... but its last for another 86 years. The Cubs, as we know, finally snapped their title drought six months ago after 108 years.
If the Cubs and Red Sox do end up winning their respective pennants this year, it will make for the most historic World Series ever played, if only because of the ages of the venues, both of which opened more than a century ago. Maybe that's why the possibility captures the imagination of so many people: A Fall Classic played entirely at Fenway and Wrigley, which has never happened. If only we could get daytime starts to complete the retro effect.
We've flirted with this before, a few times, in fact. The Cubs and Red Sox both made the postseason in 1998, 2003, 2007, 2008 and again last season, but both have never emerged to create the very first Fenway-Wrigley World Series. Before this season, both clubs were among the consensus top-five MLB teams. While the Cubs were clear favorites in the NL, according to the oddsmakers, the race for AL favorite was murky, with Boston, Cleveland and Houston vying for the honor. A month into the season, not much has changed. The Cubs are still favored in the NL, though the Washington Nationals have emerged as a powerful contender. In the AL, the Red Sox are in the mix, but the Astros have been the most impressive club so far.
Still, with the Cubs invading Fenway Park on this spring weekend, let's do our best to envisage what a Chicago-Boston World Series might look like by focusing on a few key areas.
Boston's offense vs. Chicago's pitching
In my aggregation of preseason projection models, the Red Sox figured to be the third-best scoring offense in the majors, with the Cubs coming in fifth. During the first month, the Boston attack has limped out of the gate. Jackie Bradley Jr.'s availability has been limited, while Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez haven't hit their strides. The big thing, though, has been a general lack of power, which figured to be a sore spot in the post-Big Papi era, but certainly not to this degree.
Boston's 11 homers through Thursday were not only last in the majors but also the same total put up by emergent Milwaukee slugger Eric Thames. This will get better for Boston. For example, Xander Bogaerts has exactly one extra-base hit over his first 16 games -- a double. Last season, he had 21 homers and 56 extra-base hits. Given the early date, I'll still default to those forecasts that had Boston's offense pegged as elite. Still, it's a very different look without David Ortiz.
In the early going, only seven teams have given up homers at a higher rate than the Cubs (one has been the Red Sox), so this is an area you'd like to exploit in a short series.
Chicago's offense vs. Boston's pitching
Based on early results, the key matchup here would be the Cubs' lefty hitters against the Red Sox staff. Chicago's .868 OPS against southpaws ranks third in the majors. Meanwhile, Boston has allowed an .847 OPS to lefty hitters, ranking 29th. And yes, that includes Chris Sale's .397 OPS versus lefties. Beyond Sale, Boston's rotation has been ghastly against lefty hitters: Rick Porcello (.828 OPS against), Steven Wright (1.125), Drew Pomeranz (1.455) and Eduardo Rodriguez (1.467).
Cubs manager Joe Maddon can stack his lineup with lefty bats, with Kyle Schwarber, Jon Jay and Jason Heyward across the outfield, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist in the infield, and Miguel Montero behind the plate. That means the availability and productivity of Boston lefty David Price would be crucial in a Cubs-Red Sox matchup in October. Of course, if Price doesn't get back and get right, this matchup might be a long shot.
Boston's to-be-acquired vs. Chicago's to-be-acquired
The Boston-Chicago competition might start before we get to October because these franchises are both all-in and will aggressively fill holes via trades. The rosters we see this weekend will likely look somewhat different from what we'll see in October. And when we get to the trade deadline, these deep-pocketed franchises might be vying for similar players.
That won't be the case at third base, where the Cubs are just fine with Kris Bryant. But for Boston, if Pablo Sandoval doesn't get things turned around, you have to wonder if third base will become a sore spot in a power-starved lineup. The Red Sox's top prospect is third baseman Rafael Devers, but he isn't expected to be ready for the majors in 2017. So will always-aggressive team president Dave Dombrowski dangle Devers for someone like Kansas City's Mike Moustakas? Todd Frazier? Or would division rival Toronto consider moving Josh Donaldson?
Here's a name to watch: Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, who could DH in Boston. Braun's swing seems tailor-made for Fenway Park, and there is this: His career OPS against the Cubs is 1.007 in 610 plate appearances.
However, what could stand in Dombrowski's way is a possible need to spend his dwindling prospect supply on pitching, especially if Price's physical problems linger. That's where the Sox and Cubs could butt heads, as it seems that Chicago will need to acquire a starter at some point during the season. And in Keith Law's organizational rankings, the Cubs rank five spots higher than Boston, and that's before Andrew Benintendi moved out of the prospect mix for the Red Sox and into their every-day lineup.
Of course, the trade market competition may ultimately come down to the identity of the targets. If it's, say, Oakland A's starter Sonny Gray, then the Cubs look better positioned to outbid Boston if they see fit to do so. If it's Chicago White Sox starter Jose Quintana, the quality of the package may not matter -- the White Sox never send high-profile players to their intracity rival. And both clubs could be blown out of the water by the Astros or Yankees.
So there are a lot of ways this could go, six months before autumn baseball arrives. Heck, it's still spring. Nevertheless, the story of this year's Fall Classic may start to be written this weekend. If that's what ultimately comes to pass, it'll be one to remember.