October is finally in full swing and so are the Major League Baseball playoffs. Oh yeah.
This is definitely my favorite time of year. Better than the NBA Finals, even more outlandish than the Super Bowl. The spirit of baseball is in the air – you can feel the aura of America’s favorite pastime – the essence is everywhere as fans walk down the street sporting their favorite team’s cap and t-shirt.

And this year, of all years, my team, the White Sox are in the running for the American League Championship.

The Sox have been one of the most defiled teams in the American League for over 85 years, due to an incident known as the White Sox Scandal of 1919, a fixing of the World Series that eventually led to the ban of eight White Sox players.

And although the scandal still surrounds Chicago’s “other team,” and led to the banning of one of the most celebrated players of the game by Commissioner Tennessee Mountain Landis (Shoeless Joe Jackson – the man whose legendary swing was supposedly copied by the usually undisputed greatest player of all time, George Herman “Babe” Ruth), the truth has finally and graciously come out. The White Sox actually do have what it takes to go the distance (that’s right, Peter Gammons.)

As of now, they are playing the Los Angeles Angels for the American League Championship (one step away from the World Series, as of Thursday morning, anyway. The teams are tied one game a piece in the best-of seven-series.

My prediction is that the White Sox will make it to the World Series to face either the Houston Astros or St. Louis Cardinals in what is looking to be one of the biggest series of the year. The Angels seem tired, and despite some incredible offensive capabilities (i.e. Vladimir Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, etc.), their pitching rotation is much too depleted to really deliver them rings.

On the other hand, the White Sox offer an all-star pitching staff including: ace Jose Contreras, who has been 9-1 in his last 10 starts of the year; Freddie Garcia, a former Seattle Mariner who has flourished in Chicago since his trade to the Sox two years ago; Mark Buehrle, who is one of the most underrated pitchers in the American League today; and John Garland whose past seasons with the Sox nearly speak for themselves. Not to mention the closing capabilities of veteran Dustin Hermanson (a former Giant) and promising youngster Bobby Jenks who has been known to throw upwards of 100 miles per hour.

The offense of the Sox is also undisputed. Talents like Aaron Rowand and Paul Konerko create an offensive force like no other and if Frank Thomas (truly “The Big Hurt”) was off of the disabled list, the Sox would be nearly unstoppable with their bats.

As for the National League, my vote goes to the Astros, although my original vote was for the Braves (but they have been classified as the choke team of the NL since the 80s, despite their miracle 1995 World Series win and 13 straight seasons of NL East division wins.) The reason why I chose the Astros over the Cards is because I would really love to see Roger Clemens “The Rocket Man” go out on top in what is likely to be the final year in his Hall of Fame career.

Also, the Astros boast an interesting three-man rotation with the likes of playoff veteran Andy Pettite and pleasantly surprising hurler Roy Oswalt. Offensively, the ‘Stros have power hitter Lance Berkman (a contender in the homerun contest nearly every sesaon), and the likely Hall-of Famers, versatile Craig Biggio and consistent Jeff Bagwell leading the pack.

However, the Cardinals also boast an intense group of pitchers and hitters including phenom first baseman Albert Pujols, Spiderman-like centerfielder Jim Edmonds, and Cy Young contender Chris Carpenter (although my Cy Young vote is for the Florida Marlin’s Dontrelle Willis who is both offensively capable and an amazingly consistent pitcher.)
Basically, the NLCS will be a bit of a toss-up, with both teams playing their hearts out to prove their abilities almost daily, but I would definitely prefer if Clemens took at least one final trip to the World Series.

As of Thursday morning, the Cardinals are ahead in the National League series, one game to nothing. They managed a near blowout against Andy Pettite Wednesday evening, until the Astros came back to score three runs late in the game. The final score was 5-3, with Carpenter claiming the victory.

This year’s World Series may not be a ratings bonanza (especially since both the Yankees and the Red Sox were eliminated in the first round of the American League Division Series – the Yanks by the Angels and the Sox by, well, the Sox,) but it will hopefully be a dream come true for any White Sox fan. I predict the Sox overtaking the Stros in six games, 4-2.

After all, they haven’t won the World Series since 1917, the longest running streak without a world championship trophy. It’s about time, really.