STEVE INSKEEP, host:
From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block. Major League Baseball playoffs got started today, and if you're in Los Angeles or Chicago, it's a two-for. The eight teams in the playoffs include both teams from Chicago and both from Los Angeles. We're going to hear about baseball fever in both cities. First, to Chicago Public Radio's Ammad Omar.
AMMAD OMAR: The Chicago White Sox were the last team to get into the playoffs. They needed to win a one game tie breaker with Minnesota last night to determine the division championship. The Sox one-nothing victory delighted fans on the south side of Chicago.
(Soundbite of crowd cheering)
OMAR: Long-time fan Richard Rochester (ph) says he's been following the squad since the 1930s, when he used to walk to the stadium as a kid.
Mr. RICHARD ROCHESTER: It was thoroughly enjoyable. Anytime the White Sox win, it's thoroughly enjoyable. It was one hell of a game that was won by a team.
OMAR: When asked about his pitching rotation for the playoffs, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he'd try to figure that out before the celebration got too rowdy.
Mr. OZZIE GUILLEN (Manager, Chicago White Sox): I hope I make the rotation before I start drinking more, but...
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. GUILLEN: Believe me, guys, 162 games, 163 games, more of the rotation, I make it while I was drinking.
OMAR: Meanwhile, baseball fans on the north side of Chicago have been resting easy for more than a week. Their Cubs had the best record in the National League, giving them a chance to celebrate with thousands of fans at a downtown rally yesterday, where players and prominent politicians fired up the crowd, and actor Jim Belushi sang his own rendition of a popular Cubs anthem.
Mr. JIM BELUSHI (Actor): (Singing) Hey Chicago, what do you say? Cubs are going to go all the way. Go Cubs go.
OMAR: The Cubs are trying to break an infamous championship drought. They haven't won the World Series in 100 years. Meanwhile, the White Sox are trying to win their second title in just four years. The last time both of Chicago's teams made the playoffs was 1906, and that might be a good omen for the White Sox. They beat the Cubs in the World Series that year.
The talk around town is of a possible rematch of that series, and even serious news organizations are getting caught up in the hype. A bright red breaking news alert news on the Chicago Tribune's website this morning informed readers that bookmakers were giving 17 to one odds on cross-town World Series. For NPR News, I'm Ammad Omar in Chicago.
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