A Preview of the First Place Showdown at Wrigley

It's not Yankees vs. Mets. It's not Dodgers vs. Athletics. It's better.

It's White Sox vs. Cubs, one of the most exciting times of the year for each club, and this year it's more interesting than ever.

For the first time in their 60 meetings against one another (excluding the 1906 World Series), the White Sox and Cubs will both be in first place when they meet at Wrigley Field this weekend, adding fuel to an already heated rivalry for fans and players alike.

But despite the fact that they're both in first place, they have each taken far different paths to get here.

The Cubs are right where they expected to be. First place, looking down on the inferior competition in the NL Central with the possibility of them running away with the division extremely likely. The Cubs entered the season with postseason hopes yet again and visions of that oh, so elusive World Series title fresh in their eyes after 100 agonizing years of waiting.

The White Sox, on the other hand, are much more of a surprise, and at 40-31 after Wednesday night's victory, are not expected by many to stay atop of the AL Central with preseason American League favorites the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians looming behind.

Still, the White Sox have played solid, albeit inconsistant baseball throughout the season, and have gotten on top with solid pitching out of their rotation and their bullpen. As well as a lot of pop by leading the American League with 91 home runs. Eerily similar build as the 2005 Championship team.

Despite this, the Cubs are the favorites this weekend, as well as the favorites the rest of the season in the National League. Former favorites such as the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and Arizona Diamondbacks have all faltered at some point during the season, and the Cubs have proven they can beat each of them.

And with the best record in baseball at the time and home-field advantage in the playoffs always a concern, they also hold a very important advantage: They flat-out don't lose at Wrigley Field.

They've been tested by the National League's aforementioned best (I don't include the Mets in the "best" category, by the way), and have stomped teams at Wrigley time after time, posting an NL-best 29-8 record thus far (barely being edged out by the Red Sox, 28-7, for the best in baseball, that if they can hold on to the best record in the NL for the rest of the season, the road to the World Series will go through Wrigley. A scary thought for other contenders.

As we all know, the interleague spectacle that gives us White Sox vs. Cubs holds little barring on the overall outcome of each team. However, this year's matchup provides much intrigue as the possibility of a Crosstown World Series is a much bigger reality than it has been in a very long time.

In fact, the last time both the White Sox and Cubs made the playoffs in the same year was 1906, when the White Sox won 4 games to 2 in the World Series.

All that is the reason this series is so special to the fans. To some players it may be something a little extra special, to others it's probably just another game. But to fans of both, this is a big moment. Most years it's the fans' World Series, as by now each team's championships hopes have usually long since passed.

If the White Sox can take 2 of 3 at Wrigley most will be shocked, including this long-time White Sox fan. If the Cubs take care of business as expected, it will be up to the White Sox to hold their own when they meet again in just one short week at U.S. Cellular Field.

So here's hoping for more moments like Gutierrez's grand slam, Lee or Valentin's walk-off, the 15-11 slugfest, one of the five extra inning games, or the "Punch A.J." game.

It's fun. It's exciting. It's super-competitive. And it's all you can ask for as a fan.