The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the most envious teams in Major League Baseball, as the club routinely boasts one of the league’s best front offices and farm systems, in addition to a plethora of financial resources at their disposal.
Perhaps the Dodgers’ biggest competition in all three of those departments are the Chicago Cubs, who under the guidance of president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, have replenished its Minor League talent while simultaneously putting together a winning product that reached the finish line in 2016 — ending a 108-year World Series drought.
Todd Ricketts, a board of director for the Cubs, believes the Dodgers are the club’s biggest adversary to win another championship, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune:
Todd Ricketts: “(the Dodgers) are our nemesis. That’s a fun rivalry.”
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) January 13, 2018
For the past two seasons, the Dodgers and Cubs have separated themselves as arguably the two best teams in the National League. Not surprisingly, they have squared off in back-to-back NL Championship Series, with the Cubs standing victorious in 2016 and the Dodgers knocking off the defending World Series champions this past season.
The rivalry took an interesting turn this offseason with former Dodgers setup man Brandon Morrow signing a two-year deal with the Cubs. The right-hander yielded just two baserunners in four appearances against Chicago in last season’s NLCS, striking out seven batters without allowing a run.
The two clubs are also believed to be among finalists for Yu Darvish, one of the top starting pitchers who remains a free agent.
With the Dodgers last season, Darvish limited the Cubs to just one run across 6.1 innings in Game 3 of the NLCS, which ultimately propelled Los Angeles to a commanding 3-0 lead in the matchup.
If the Cubs were to sign Darvish, it would further spice up what’s been one of baseball’s best rivalries over the previous two seasons.
