CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are built in the image of the Boston Red Sox, by the same baseball architectural firm that turned another hard-luck franchise into champions. Only through extreme hardship did Theo Epstein’s Red Sox win their elusive title. For the Cubs to do it now, they must follow the same path.
The Cubs trail the Mets in the National League Championship Series by three games to none — the same hole the Red Sox fell into against the Yankees in the fabled American League Championship Series of 2004. No other team in baseball history has ever won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.