Cubs 2027 schedule exposed frustrating MLB problem that never gets fixed

Alongside the rest of the league, the Chicago Cubs' 2027 schedule was released this week shortly after the All-Star Game. It's a little confounding that this happened on a random Thursday with no fanfare or prior announcement, but that's Major League Baseball for you -- the league office rarely adheres to logic.

Nevertheless, there are some really exciting stretches to look forward to, including another April gauntlet featuring the Phillies, Dodgers, Pirates, and Brewers. There's also a scheduled doubleheader against the Padres in June (with an off-day on Wednesday to follow) just in case the calendar looked a little too plain.

However, we're here to talk about the opening series of the season: the Cubs will draw the Cleveland Guardians on March 25 at Wrigley Field, marking the earliest Opening Day in franchise history (not including international games).

Which sort of begs the question: Why on earth are the Cubs and Guardians playing each other in March?

Cubs' 2027 Opening Day matchup proves MLB has no idea what it's doing

Due to the new balanced schedule (that was first implemented in 2023 with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement), every team plays every other team at least once throughout the regular season. That means that Interleague games are more common and that, at some point in the year, the Cubs and Guardians are going to play each other.

The concern here is that Opening Weekend is one of the biggest stretches on the calendar for viewership and excitement. It should be about prioritizing rivalries and big-name matchups, rather than just feeling like another weekend on the schedule.

And if it just so had to be the case that these two teams opened the season against each other, why wouldn't you have done it this year? You know, on the 10-year anniversary of their legendary World Series clash?

The jokes about baseball being "unable to get out of its own way" tend to be overblown, but this is a recurring issue. The league just does a terrible job of marketing itself and rarely capitalizes on notable events in the same way the NFL or NBA does. I mean, how many of you reading genuinely remember that the Cubs opened the 2026 season agains the Nationals and Angels in March?

This isn't a huge issue in the grand scheme of things, but it'd be nice to know that, after a long offseason, we'd have a heated series against the Cardinals or Brewers to look forward to right away. Alas, it's a one-year-too-late matchup with the Guardians to kick of 2027... assuming the season gets played at all.

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