April 15--After a long, miserable winter, things finally are heating up in Chicago, thanks to our baseball teams.
The Cubs and White Sox have replicated their hot starts from 1907, the year after the first and only all-Chicago World Series.
It may be a little early to start dreaming of a Cubs-White Sox World Series, but then again, it's never too early to dream when spring finally has arrived.
The Sox are 7-2 after Thursday's victory in Minnesota, their best start since going 8-1 in 1982. The Cubs went into Thursday night's game looking to start 8-1 for the first time since, um, 1969.
The only time besides 1906 both teams made the postseason was in 2008, when both flamed out in the Division Series. Joe Maddon's Rays beat the Sox and the Dodgers swept the Cubs.
It's a rarity when both teams get off to hot starts, so let's enjoy this while we can.
According to CSN stats guru Christopher Kamka, the Cubs and Sox each have started 6-2 or better only twice before this season -- in 1907 and 1945.
The Cubs went on to the World Series both times, beating the Tigers in 1907 in the first of their back-to-back championships, and losing to the Tigers in '45, the last time they played in a World Series.
So maybe this is a good omen ... though they may have said that in April of '69 when the Cubs won 11 of their first 12 games.
The 1907 Sox wound up 87-64, in third-place in the American League, while the '45 team was a mirage, finishing seven games below .500 and sixth in the AL, 15 games behind the Tigers.
Most everyone expected the Cubs to win early and often this year, but they somehow have managed to exceed their own lofty expectations.
The Sox, on the other hand, are a bit of a surprise behind a strong pitching staff that began Thursday ranked second in the majors with a 2.42 earned-run average, just behind the Nationals' 2.25. They lowered it to 2.37 after Mat Latos' gem Thursday, and send ace Chris Sale to the mound Friday to start a three-game series against the Rays in Florida.
