I love October

I like the way these two teams match up. Low scoring, great pitching, strong defense and low TV ratings. Actually I'm not certain about the latter. I personally like the story line of the team that's never been in show since 1959 against the team that's never been in the history of its franchise. And even as a Yankee fan, even I started to get tired of seeing them every year.

The only thing I feel confident in saying is that this series will at least six games. I like Houston's power, but other than Ensberg and Berkman, no one in this lineup has any plate discipline. That will kill them against Chicago's starters.

Interestingly, Chicago is the same kind of team, with Konerko being the only real power threat and smart hitter. That said, I sang that tune the last two series and they still managed to rise to the occasion, helped by some outperformance at the bottom of their order by Crede, Pierzynski, and Uribe. If those guys revert to their regular season form, the team will suffer.

On the pitching side of things, Clemens had several rough outings to end the season. He seems to have bounced back, but Pettite has taken the opposite trajectory of a dominant second half but a mortal postseason. Oswalt defied all conjecture about a dead arm in the second half, and I would expect him to be the sure thing and would expect him to be on the mound in Game 7 if it goes that far. And they can possibly pitch him in Game 6 on short rest.

On the South Side, there's not a lot to say that hasn't already been said. These guys have been amazing all year. I suspect Contreras and Garland have been pitching over their heads. None of them blow you away with their stuff. But with that defense behind them, they will keep runners off the basepaths and runs off the board. The Caney Head Case Factor: I've seen Contreras choke to many times to have a whole lot of confidence.

As much as I like Brad Lidge, I have to think that Chicago's bullpen is a little deeper.

It could go either way, but I like Chicago in seven.