Zalusky: A history of the Cubs-Sox trade wars as the deadline approaches

With the trade deadline looming, it is once again time to speculate about possible trades between the Cubs and Sox.

This year, there has been barely a trickle of such talk, although Kris Bryant has lately been floated as a perfect match for the White Sox, perhaps sandwiched between Burger and Moncada in the infield mix.

Sometimes these fantasy trades become a reality, as when the Sox shipped Jose Quintana to the Cubs in return for prospects.

Advocates had been hollering that Quintana would bolster a Cubs playoff run, while the Sox would receive players - eventually they turned out to be Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease - to help fast track the team's rebuild efforts.

Over the years, trade talks across the Madison Street curtain have been rare, with both teams maintaining a Cold War distance.

When the Cubs traded catcher Jim Schaffer for Sox pitcher Frank Baumann in 1964, it was believed to be the first actual trade made between the two clubs.

But it was hardly the icebreaker that would lead to a flurry of deals.

One possibility that briefly surfaced and fizzled was a proposed deal in 1969 that would have had the Cubs swapping pitching prospect Archie Reynolds for Sox star outfielder Ken Berry. Sox GM Ed Short said the Cubs offered, but "we didn't want him."

As things turned out, in 1970, Reynolds and Berry were both traded to the California Angels.

The Cubs dealt Reynolds for Juan Pizarro, while the Sox sent Berry, along with Syd O'Brien and Billy Wynne, to the Angels for Tom Bradley, Tom Egan, and Jay Johnstone.

In 1967, with the White Sox locked in pennant combat with three other teams, Chicago Tribune sportswriter Richard Dozer tried to stir the pot by recommending Ron Santo take a page from the Hawk Harrelson playbook.

Harrelson earned his release from the Kansas City A's that year when he called owner Charlie Finley "a menace to baseball" after Finley fired manager Alvin Dark and replaced him with coach Luke Appling.

With his pick of new teams, Harrelson landed on his feet with the pennant-bound Boston Red Sox, setting the stage for endless Carl Yastrzemski broadcast booth yarns.

Dozer concocted a scenario that had Sox Manager Eddie Stanky suggest Cubs Manager Leo Durocher provoke his third baseman into calling him a menace to baseball and forcing Santo's release.

In Dozer's fantasy, Stanky told Durocher, "Fire him, and we'll give him a year's salary, a full slice of world's series dough - then trade him back to you in November. We'll even give you Hoyt Wilhelm for your bullpen."

Dozer probably should have pursued a career as a fortune teller, because Santo wound up accepting a trade to the Sox in 1973 after vetoing a deal between the Cubs and Angels.

In 1983, the Cubs and Sox made a deal that actually helped both clubs to division titles. The Cubs sent Scott Fletcher and Dick Tidrow, two key players on the 1983 Winning Ugly team, to the South Side for Steve Trout, a major part of the Cubs rotation for the 1984 NL East champs.

The deal, in which the Cubs also sent Randy Martz and Pat Tabler to the Sox and the Sox also gave up Warren Brusstar, was apparently made by the Cubs as a face-saving measure to prevent the Sox from choosing Fergie Jenkins in the free agent compensation draft.

The Cubs had left Jenkins unprotected, which so amazed the Sox that they called Cubs GM Dallas Green to verify.

The Sox backed off Jenkins, selecting Cardinals pitcher Steve Mura instead.

Both Green and Sox GM Roland Hemond denied Jenkins had any influence on the decision to trade, although Hemond hinted that both sides wanted to avoid bad blood.

And so a crisis was avoided and a cold peace prevailed between the two teams until the Cubs tipped the balance with the Sammy Sosa-for-George Bell trade.

On the surface, it seemed to benefit both sides. Bell, on the downslope of a fine career, would provide protection for Frank Thomas, while Sosa would grace the Cubs with his speed and defense - he was initially known as the Panther, after all - and perhaps knock 20 homers into the Wrigley Field bleachers.

Perhaps Larry Himes, who traded twice for Sosa, had an inkling that the deal would be a huge win for the North Siders, even though Bell contributed to a 1993 AL Western Division winner.

Right now it looks like the Sox might be enjoying some payback for the Sosa deal with the Quintana trade. Cease is an overpowering pitcher at times, with huge potential, while Jimenez could hit 50 homers in a season.

If only Eloy could just stay away from those fences.