OPINION

By Ryan Fagan

updated 8:03 p.m. ET Aug. 12, 2008

Question: What's black and blue and red all over?

Chicago, during the baseball-loving summer. The Red Line slices through the heart of this great American city, connecting black-clad White Sox fans on the South Side with Cubs supporters adorned in blue on the North Side. The elevated train's 35th Street stop is steps from U.S. Cellular Field, and the Addison station is a Derrek Lee line drive from the Wrigley Field ivy. The stations are 29 minutes -- and worlds -- apart.

Somewhere in the middle, the cheering sections mix, mingle and trade taunts. Now, these aren't Al Capone-type territorial disputes, but there is little love lost between the fan bases. A thriving novelty T-shirt business tells only part of the story. In one train car: "Friends don't let friends be Cubs fans," and in the other, one that, well, says the Sox, um, stink. Only, more colorfully.

This summer of 2008 in Chicago is special. The quality of baseball in the Windy City is as good, or maybe better, than ever. Everyone, not just the fans, notices. "You pay attention to them, too," White Sox ace Mark Buehrle says of the Cubs. "Even though I play baseball, I'm still a baseball fan and still watch what everybody else is doing and read the papers. For Cubs fans and Sox fans, it's fun to be here."

The possibility of an all-Chicago World Series? Yeah, folks here have thought about it a time or 10. But neither team is counting chickens just yet. The Cubs, on one hand, have fulfilled every one of the sky-high expectations -- so far -- this year, having clearly established themselves as the best team in the National League and favorites to win the World Series. Perhaps you've heard they haven't done that in quite some time.

The Cubs are 3 1/2 games ahead of the wild-card-leading Brewers, 6 1/2 in front of the Cardinals and a century removed from their last World Series victory. "I think the fact that the Cubs have played to expectations while the Cardinals have been ravaged by injuries and the fact that the Brewers are a very talented but inconsistent team prone to streaks has really put the Cubs where they are right now," a major league scout says.

Down South, not much was expected from the White Sox. Outside of their clubhouse, that is. They've spent most of the season atop the A.L. Central and entered the week neck and neck with the Twins, another surprise this season. "I will take being a half-game out," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says. "That's better than where everybody thought we'd be, 25 games below .500."

The White Sox returned largely the same team that finished with 72 wins last year. They currently have 65. Left fielder Carlos Quentin, picked up in a trade with the Diamondbacks after an injury-plagued 2007 season, has been better than anyone expected, "the biggest difference-maker on this team," the scout says. Quentin is leading the A.L. in homers with 32 and has 90 RBIs. "I thought he could be a 30-home run guy," Sox general manager Ken Williams says, "just not by August."

And then there are the impressive performances by young starters Gavin Floyd (3.84 ERA) and John Danks (3.18). The rotation has been durable -- five pitchers with at least 20 starts -- but was dealt a blow when Jose Contreras was knocked out for the rest of the season with a ruptured left Achilles'. "He was on his way back to where he needed to be," White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski says. "That's what's so disappointing. His velocity was up, and he had his splitter working."

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Losing Contreras won't help the Sox shake the Twins, who have been hanging near the top of the A.L. Central since a 10-game winning streak in late June.

"It's going to come down to the end," Buehrle says. "Coming into the season, everybody knew it was going to be a close race, but I don't think anybody knew it was going to be Minnesota -- they thought it was between Cleveland and Detroit. But like I say, that's why we play these games. Strange things happen."

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