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So here we go. The Athletics, Braves, Cubs, Giants, Marlins, Red Sox, Twins, and Yankees are the chosen few. Soon, we'll be down to the bitter end, and a champion for the 2003 season will emerge. From among these eight candidates, there are 16 possible World Series confrontations. Let's take a look at each possibility, and see if there's any history there.

Yankees vs. Giants

These two classic franchises have met seven times before, most recently in 1962, five years after the Giants fled New York for the West Coast. The two teams engaged in subway series in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1936, 1937, and 1951, with the Yankees taking four of those, plus the 1962 Series.

It seems that this would be a tough one for a neutral fan to root for. On the one hand, the American League entry would be the team that has dominated the baseball postseason for most of the last decade, and most of the 1920s, '30s, '40s, '50s, and the first-half of the '60s. Meanwhile, the National League entry is driven forward by the extraordinary talents of one of the game's least-likable personalities.

This may not be what many of us want to see, but the bi-coastal nature of the matchup is appealing, and TV would like it.

Yankees vs. Cubs

Babe Ruth "called the shot" in a World Series game against the Cubs. (All evidence indicates that he was simply gesturing toward the pitcher, ... a cocky "Casey at the Bat" reference, and he did promise a homerun, but that's not quite the same thing as pointing to the spot where the ball would land.) Anyway, that was against the Cubs, in 1932. The two teams also squared off in 1938, and the Yankees swept both series.

Chicago called itself America's Second City, because before Los Angeles overtook it, Chicago was second only to New York among U.S. cities in population. So there are two huge TV markets, and an East Coast vs. Midwest culture clash. It seems that at 88-74, the Cubs will be underdogs (though perhaps sentimental favorites) regardless of whom they play.

Yankees vs. Braves

Please, let's not go there. We've seen enough of this recently. If the Yankees play the Braves again, you'll have to listen to me go on and on about the superiority of the NFL's competition model, and why NFL parity is good. Then again, the Braves never seem to hit in October, so it may be moot.

As for the history, the two teams met in 1996 and 1999, with the Yankees winning 4-2, and 4-0, in fact sweeping the last eight games. They also met in back-to-back seasons, 1957 and 1958, and swapped seventh game wins.

Yankees vs. Marlins

The Snowbird Series? Tradition vs. expansion? The Marlins are quite a story, given the roller coaster nature of the franchise's history, and improvement they made from the first-half of the season to the second. Otherwise, this is not a particularly appealing matchup, except in a David and Goliath sense, and the Yankees would be expected to win.

Athletics vs. Giants

The Series by the Bay. Can we do it this time without an earthquake? The San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's met in 1989, but the Philadelphia A's and New York Giants squared-off in 1905, 1911, and 1913. The A's took two of those, plus the 1989 Bay Series.

Athletics vs. Cubs

The A's beat the Cubs in 1910 and 1929.

Athletics vs. Braves

The 1914 "Miracle Braves" swept the Philadelphia A's. The Braves were in last-place (of eight teams) on July 19, 15 1/2 games back, but roared back to win the pennant by 10 1/2 games, and didn't even slow down against the Athletics.

Athletics vs. Marlins

Whaddaya kiddin'?

Twins vs. Giants

In a prior life, as the original Washington Senators, the franchise that later became the Twins defeated the New York Giants in 1924 and lost to them in 1933.

Twins vs. Cubs

The Senators/Twins franchise has been in only five World Series, and only three since 1933. The Cubs had early success, but no NL pennants since 1945, and no, these two ancient franchises have not met except in spring training and interleague regular-season play.

Twins vs. Braves

It might have been the best World Series ever. The 1991 Worst-to-First contest included five one-run games, three extra-inning games, four "walk-off" wins, and five games decided in a team's last at-bat. It stacks up favorably against even the great 1975 World Series. Since that 1991 epic, only the 2001 Series even comes close.

Thereafter, the Twins' and Braves' fortunes radically diverged. The Twins won 90 games in 1992, then labored through eight-consecutive losing seasons before turning things around in 2001 and winning the AL Central the last two seasons.

Meanwhile, the Braves have won their division every season since then. They were in second-place in 1994 when the season was aborted, but in seasons played to completion, they went on to take another 11 consecutive division titles. Very impressive, indeed. The postseason results ... well, somewhat less impressive.

Twins vs. Marlins

Not my first choice.

Red Sox / Giants

These two had a classic in 1912, won by the Red Sox 4-3, with one tie. Smokey Joe Wood and Christy Mathewson were the aces, and Fred Snodgrass committed what was until 1986 the most famous error in World Series history.

Red Sox vs. Braves

The MLB deems this to be a natural rivalry, even though the two eastern divisions have rotated to play others, there is no geographic proximity, and the Braves haven't been in Boston in 50 years. The Braves won only two pennants during their long residence in Boston. One was in 1948, when the Red Sox also finished first. But the Sox were tied with Cleveland and lost a Bucky Dentesque one-game playoff for the AL pennant, so there was no Subway Series.

Since the Braves finally got competitive in 1991, the Red Sox have not been back to the Series, so these two have never met except in interleague games which MLB continues to force-feed us.

Red Sox vs. Marlins

No.

Red Sox vs. Cubs

The beautiful thing about this confrontation is that somebody will have to win.

Actually, the last time the Red Sox did win, the Cubs were the victims (in 1918). The Cubs have been back to the Series five times since then, and the Red Sox four times, but neither team has closed the deal. Starting with the 1945 World Series, all five Series involving the Cubs or Red Sox have gone seven games, but the two teams are 0-5 in those seventh games (Red Sox 0-4; the Cubs haven't been in a World Series since '45.)

Author Stephen King said that if these two teams meet, they'll be tied at three wins apiece, when the apocalypse will end civilization as we know it. Personally, I'd be willing to take that chance.

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