As we march on toward September and wonder where the summer is going so fast, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago Cubs continue to look very strong. Though they have very different histories, the result this year just might be the same - the World Series.

Any baseball fan knows about the struggles of the Chicago Cubs. Once the Boston Red Sox finally won the World Series a few years ago, the entire baseball nation turned its eyes to the Cubs. Suddenly it was their streak of years without a World Series title was the longest. Suddenly the talk of curses and bad luck was heaped onto them.

But now in 2008, the Chicago Cubs have more talent than they’ve had in my lifetime. And they have one of the bext managers in baseball with Lou Pinella. So it looks like they may very well have the team to make it to the World Series. Add to that the fact that the National league is very weak, and I would say they Cubs have a better than 50% chance at going to the Series.

Meanwhile, over in the American league the Anaheim Angels certainly seem to be the best team in baseball. However, the team of destiny just might be the Tampa Bay Rays. They continue to play great baseball eventhough the injury bug has hit them pretty hard. They continue to look like a team that is ready to take a leap to the top of the baseball world.

Unlike the Cubs, the Rays have no history - unless you count always being bad as history. But this year the Rays look poised to challenge the Angels.

Sure, the Anaheim Angels look great but they’re in a relatively weak division. Plus, they’ll be relaxing these next several weeks becuase they know they have things wrapped up. But the Rays are in an extremely tough division and they’re battle tested. That will help them come playoff time.

So am I predicting a Cubs and Rays World Series? At this point, I certainly am. And it would be a lot of fin to watch.