Somebody had to win… Right? And the Red Sox finally did a year later, but at the expense of the St. Louis Cardinals, not the beloved Cubbies.

But what if? What if it happened? Maybe we as baseball fans should be thankful it didn’t happen. It never could have lived up to the decades of hype surrounding it. Yet, we’ll never stop imagining.

Using WhatifSports.com, here’s a simulation of what could have happened, with a few subtle changes. For instance, the Web site uses the team’s Opening Day rosters, not the postseason rosters, so there’s some room for interpretation as far as the bullpens and benches are concerned. Secondly, it is assumed that the Cubs finish off the Marlins in 6 and the Red Sox hold on to beat the Yankees in that 7th game. Thirdly, because of that, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior line up to pitch the first two games of the World Series, but Pedro Martinez, who started the Game 7 of the ALCS, can’t pitch until Game 3.

Here’s what happened…

Game 1 - Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago     3 0 0     0 0 2     5 0 0     10 11 1
Boston         1 3 1     2 0 1     1 1 1     11 14 0

Starters: CHI - K. Wood,    BOS: T. Wakefield
WP: Arroyo, LP Borowski

Bill Mueller’s RBI single off of Joe Borowski in the bottom of the 9th helped the Red Sox capture a wild, see-saw Game 1. Nomar Garciaparra hit two homers, including a solo-shot off of Kyle Farnsworth in the eighth inning to tie the game at 10. Though Kerry Wood struggled, allowing seven runs over 3 2/3rds, Chicago scored five runs in the seventh inning, capped off when Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run blast off of Alan Embree deep into the Monster Seats. Corey Patterson was 3-for-5, falling just a double short of the cycle. Johnny Damon was 3-for-5 with a stolen base for the Red Sox.

Game 2 - Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago     0 0 2     0 0 0     1 1 0     4 11 0
Boston        0 1 1     0 0 0     0 0 0    2 5 0

Starters: CHI - Mark Prior    BOS: Derek Lowe
WP: Prior, LP Lowe, S: Borowski

For a little while, it looked as if we would have the same offensive slugfest featured in Game 1. Nomar Garciaparra started the scoring in the second, driving in Trot Nixon with a double into the right-center field gap. The Cubs scored two runs in the top of the third when Corey Patterson laced a two-run single into left-center, scoring Damian Miller and Kenny Lofton. Manny Ramirez answered right back in the bottom half of the third, taking Prior’s 2-1 offering deep over the Monster Seats in left to tie the game at 2. But Prior would settle down, retiring the next 10 hitters he faced, only allowing two singles over the next five innings. The Cubs would score single runs off of Lowe and Mike Timlin in the seventh and eighth innings, both coming off RBI singles by Miller and Moises Alou.