By Mike Corasaniti

The White Sox are solidifying their place as one of the hottest teams in baseball, as they have been for the past three weeks. Their offensive power is getting scary with the likes of Adam Dunn and Gordan Beckham heating up. And have you heard of lefty Chis Sale yet? Because he just went 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA over the last 30 days to earn AL Pitcher of the Month status for May.

The Rays just took two out of three from the reeling O's to claim sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time since May 9. Most of that can be attributed to the brilliant pitching by Matt Moore and David Price. Add in some more offensive pop from people like Hideki Matsui (who belted a two-run homer in Friday's win) and first place should become familiar to Tampa.

Matchup – Chicago ended May with a three-game sweep down in St. Pete thanks in large part to awesome pitching and another two-run Godzilla blast. ITSET, their would be no sweep in this intriguing second-round matchup. The White Sox blow them out in Game 1 and attempt to do the same two days later but the Rays come back and steal it with a walk-off Matsui double in the tenth. After returning to Chicago, the Sox pitching closes out the series with two straight one-run wins. In short, Tampa has the firepower right now to make it interesting, possibly even win two,  but the Sox would be riding too much heat right now to go down. White Sox 3-1

By Mike Corasaniti

Wild Card: No. 5 Cleveland Indians/New York Yankees at No. 4 Tampa Bay Rays

Everything is a little shaky in the seeding department right now with Cleveland and New York sharing the same record (27-23) and Tampa Bay and Baltimore being tied atop the AL East with the White Sox at the same mark (all three teams are at 29-22). But Birdland took two out of three from the Rays in May (giving Tampa the four spot) as well as two out of three from Chicago in April (putting the White Sox at No. 3), so for logistics sake the Orioles are No. 2. 

Match-up: As far as the Wild Card goes, ITSET, the Rays wouldn't be stopped by either the Yankees or Indians, so the five spot doesn't really matter. Rays 1-0

ALDS: No. 3 Chicago White Sox at No. 2 Baltimore Orioles

After winning 12 out of their last 13, the White Sox (29-22) are sitting pretty atop the AL Central as one of the hottest teams in baseball. With eight straight wins under their belt, a lot of their winning ways can be credited to left fielder Dayan Viciedo who has 13 RBI in their current streak. As some of the teams they've played in the past few weeks aren't exactly top of the crop (Twins, Cubs, etc.), the Chi Sox are still a team that needs to prove themselves, but so is the team they'd be facing in this hypothetical division series.

To say that the Orioles (29-22) are the surprise of the season so far is an understatement, but it unfortunately seems like their time in first place is running out (13 losses in May sure didn't help). But with their three-game series at Tampa Bay looming, Baltimore still has some hope to hang on for a playoff spot. They will need Adam Jones (not to be confused with Pacman) to keep slugging and Jason Hammel to keep killing it on the mound, but if they do, don't count on the Birds to be going away any time soon.

Match-up: The White Sox have the tools to make a playoff run, the Orioles would need to spend a few more weeks near the top of the division to prove that they do too. White Sox 3-1


ALDS: No. 4 Tampa Bay Rays at No. 1 Texas Rangers

Want to guess who leads the league in all four major offensive categories? Hint: it's not the Astros. The Rangers (31-20), led by Josh Hamilton and his 21 homes runs, are absolutely killing the ball. And with Nelson Cruz getting his swing back, this team is starting to look like it's scary self. If it's pitching staff can keep performing behind Yu Darvish, it doesn't seem like the boys from Arlington will have any problem "Cruz-ing" past whatever team ends up winning the Wild Card.

Match-up: Rays, Orioles, Yankees, no matter who is thrown at Texas the first round, it won't even be close. Rangers 3-0


ALCS: No. 3 Chicago White Sox at No. 1 Texas Rangers

Chicago is hot, exploding on offense, and is enjoying some nice consistency from it's pitching staff, which really would help them ITSET. But whenever Texas is involved in a prediction, my job is going to stay pretty easy.

Match-up: Even if Hamilton's bat goes cold, Darvish starts giving up a ton of runs, and Nelson Cruz can't find the swing that has made him such a force, it's going to take a lot to stop this team from winning it's third straight pennant. Rangers 4-1

By Mike Corasaniti

Wild Card: No. 5 New York Mets at No. 4 Miami Marlins

The Mets (28-23) are not supposed to be anywhere near a  playoff discussion, let alone anywhere near .500. Yet, thanks to a monster April and May from David Wright and Daniel Murphy, the Amazin's are only a game and a half behind first-place Washington. But things won't last in Queens unless the rest of the lineup continues to pick up the offensive slack when the stars cool down and, more importantly, the bullpen wakes up and stops blowing games.

The Marlins (29-22) are on absolutely on fire. How's that? In all of May, the Fish only had the best record in the majors by going 21-8 and didn't lose a single series (including a solid three-game sweep of the Nats). Behind a tough rotation and the ridiculous bat of Mike, sorry, Giancarlo Stanton, Miami right now looks like a tough out in any series.

Match-up: It's becoming increasingly difficult to count the Mets out of anything these days, but ITSET, I see New York heading down to Miami, grabbing a three-run lead, and then blowing it when Stanton sends a bases loaded jack into South Beach in the bottom of the eighth. Marlins 1-0


NLDS: No. 3 Cincinnati Reds at No. 2 Washington Nationals

The Reds (28-22) just dropped two out of three to Pittsburgh–never a good thing–but won or split their five previous series including two out of three from the Yanks and a four-game sweep of Atlanta. Leading the rotation so far for Cincy has been starter Johnny Cueto, who's 5-3 record is misleading to say the least. And when the bat's in their hands, the Reds don't seem to have much trouble scoring runs with Joey Votto (.424 in the last time games) in the lineup.

When you look at the NL East, it's hard for anyone to say they expected the Nationals (29-21) to be sitting in first by a half game. This is even harder to comprehend when you look at some of Washington's offensive rankings across the league (26th in runs scored, 23rd in batting average), but then you take a gander at their pitching stats and the world starts to make sense again. The Washington Nationals ranks 1st in the league in ERA, WHIP, and opponents batting average. In short, with freak of nature Stephen Strasburg leading the way, the Nats have the best pitching staff in league right now.

Match-up: The Reds are good but inconsistent at this point and ITSET, it would be near impossible to beat a team with that good a pitching staff in that short a series. Nationals 3-1


NLDS: No. 4 Miami Marlins at No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers

As with Washington, they key to success for the Dodgers (32-19) lies with their pitching staff. With superstar Matt Kemp battling injury after injury, Chris Capuano (who goes for win No. 8 tonight against Colorado) has led the rotation to earn the 2nd best team ERA and opponents batting average in the league. The team is coming off a four-game sweep at the hands of the Brewers but still hold a one-game lead over the Rangers for the league's best record. If they can redeem themselves by performing well on their upcoming 10-game road trip, then this team should continue to be feared.

Match-up: The Marlins stays fired up from their dramatic win over New York and takes the first two games in Miami. LA is just too good at home though, and ITSET, they have no problem advancing. Dodgers 3-2


NLCS: No. 2 Washington Nationals at No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers

If this series actually comes to existence (which depends mostly on whether or not the Nationals really are the team they claim to be playing as), it would be one of the coolest match-ups possible. I wouldn't bet too hard on it happening this year, but I have a very good feeling that these two teams are going to meet deep in the playoffs many times in the years to come. The pitching staffs are just too good to not hold together solid teams for at least a couple seasons.

Match-up: With the pitching staffs in an apparent deadlock for dominance, this series could very well come down to whose bats are hotter, which could very well come down to the health of Matt Kemp. If he's not swinging the bat well, I can imagine Bryce Harper being the offensive story of the series. But more than likely, with a more well-rounded lineup, the Dodgers muscle through and win their first pennant since '88. Dodgers 4-2