vs.            

            Record: 105-57                                                              Record: 83-79

The Chicago White Sox enjoyed a memorable regular season in 2010, and they enter the postseason with the best record in the league.  The White Sox boast a solid offense to back a much improved pitching staff, which will make this team very hard to beat in a series of any length.  Staff ace Ricky Nolasco leads the starters, but the White Sox have four pitchers in their rotation with at least 15 wins this season.  The offense is led by American League Triple Crown winner 1B Yonder Alonso, winning the triple crown in his first full season in the major leagues.  Behind Alonso, the White Sox also offer sluggers LF Carlos Quentin, RF Cody Ross, and SS J.J. Hardy. 

The Oakland A's enter the postseason by winning the American League's West Division.  The A's are a better team than their final record indicates, evidenced by their pitching staff finishing the regular season as best in the American League.  The A's are young and look to contend for a few years with the pitching staff they have assembled, but the key to this series will be their offense.  LF Fernando Hernandez is a superstar in the making and leads the Oakland offense in all major categories, and the other power bat in the lineup will be supplied by 1B Daric Barton.  The A's were dealt a bit of a blow with 3B Mark Reynolds being injured, and it looks like his injury will keep him out of the Division Series entirely; however, the pitching staff led by former White Sox farmhand Gio Gonzalez should limit the big bats in the Sox lineup and give the Oakland batters a chance to scratch out enough runs to win.