PROGRAMS! GET YOUR PROGRAMS HERE!
YOU CAN'T TELL WHO'S PLAYING WITHOUT A PROGRAM!

In the scenario, we didn't specify who would be on the rosters for this most important game. We're not going to force a specific roster on you. We do this for three reasons:

1. We figure it will allow more flexibility and creativity in your responses. This should result in writing that is wonderful, weird or both. So no pressure.

2. We're lazy. But you knew that.

3. We know there are disagreements about baseball and the players that play the game. From our viewing of The Simpsons, we also understand that some of these disagrements are settled in drunken brawls. We don't want to end up like Wade Boggs (Pitt the Elder!).

So knock yourself out (and we do mean that literally). Well, we do have one rule for the rosters. The players must actually have played for the two teams. We don't want to see Alex Rodriguez or Johnny Bench or Walter Johnson on the field here (unless you can make it really funny). And playing 10 games doesn't count.

However, for those of you who like a little structure in your life, we present the following starting line-ups and closers for the two squads. They were chosen by Paul Golba (so direct your flames there - if you flame HotBranch!, he will vent his pent up Expos fan rage at you and you really don't want to find out what that is like). Paul has two criteria. First, the player must have played a significant amount of his career with the team and played well during that time. Second, the player must be cursed - he started playing for the team after the last time the team won the World Series. That means only Cubs after 1908 and Red Sox after 1918 qualify. Thus no Tris Speaker or Tinker to Evers to Chance. Anyway, here you go. Do with it what you will.

CHICAGO CUBS                BOSTON RED SOX
-------------------------   ------------------------- 
Ryne Sandberg     2B        Wade Boggs        3B
Ron Santo         3B        Nomar Garciaparra SS
Billy Williams    LF        Ted Williams      LF
Hack Wilson       CF        Carl Yastrzemski  1B
Sammy Sosa        RF        Dwight Evans      RF
Ernie Banks       SS        Fred Lynn         CF
Gabby Hartnett    C         Carlton Fisk      C
Mark Grace        1B        Bobby Doerr       2B
Ferguson Jenkins  P         Roger Clemens     P
Bruce Sutter      Closer    Pedro Martinez    Closer