Red Sox vs. Cubs (May 20, 2011)

Chicago Cubs (19-23) @ Red Sox (23-20)

SP - Jon Lester (5-1, 3.28) vs. Doug Davis (0-1, 1.80)

Lineups are not up yet but my shift at The Baseball Tavern - stop by the Basement - will start before Terry Francona makes that information known to the public.  If you absolutely must know that Adrian Gonzalez will be hitting third and playing first base before you leave for the game, check out Peter Abraham's pregame notes.

This weekend has a special feel to it with the Cubs making their first trip to Fenway Park since 1918.  Dan Shaughnessy's head is likely to explode from the juxtaposition of the Red Sox and Cubs, teams that shared a destiny of doom from the Red Sox defeat of the Cubbies in the 1918 World Series up to the Sox sweep of the Cardinals in the 2004 Fall Classic.  Shank has already cranked out two columns on this event, one for the Boston Globe and one for Sports Illustrated.

This will not be an easy series for the Red Sox to win.  They will be favored tonight with Lester on the mound but disabled list trips for John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka will force Alfredo Aceves and Tim Wakefield to start against Carlos Zambrano (Saturday) and Matt Garza (Sunday).  Winning this series would be a testament to the rise of the Red Sox this month.

Three Strikes:

1. Carl Crawford is still struggling at the plate (.212/1/11/.534) but he has a flair for the dramatic.  His ninth inning single off of Al Albuquerque - a name that seems like it was generated by the computer in a video game - gave the Red Sox a 4-3 win (their sixth in a row) and was his third walk-off hit of the month.

2. The Hideki Okajima era seems to finally be over in Boston.  Although the lefty reliver has struggled over the past year, his contributions to the 2007 World Series championship team will never be forgotten.  I wouldn't be shocked to see him hook on with a National League team and find some success.

3. Gordon Edes has it all wrong.  There is no way that the Cask N' Flagon compares with Wrigley Field's famous watering hole Murphy's Bleachers.  All bias aside, The Baseball Tavern is Fenway's most authentic bar and Chicago fans will find that the Boylston Street institution will be the only Fenway area establishment that can compare to the atmosphere around Wrigley.