The art department’s wheels started turning when Sam Roberts, an obits reporter, reminded the Sports desk that Norman Rockwell had painted a memorable scene of the dejected Cubs called “The Dugout” for The Saturday Evening Post. Coincidentally, it was published in 1948 — the last time the Indians won the World Series.

Soon, Andrea Zagata, a staff designer, was off and running. She asked Robert Carter, a freelance illustrator, to create an image that would lead the Sports section front when the Indians won the World Series. She instructed him to modernize the players (the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber, Manager Joe Maddon, Jake Arrieta, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant) and the heckling fans (LeBron James and Tom Hanks).

A victory in Game 2 by the Cubs did not deter Jason Stallman, the sports editor, who said to proceed with the Rockwell-inspired illustration, which would offer a nontraditional visual approach.

But what if the Cubs were to win? The illustration would go unpublished — or be spiked, as we in the newspaper world say. C’mon, man, these are the Cubs; they’ll surely cooperate, as they have for the past 108 years.