E-Mail This Article to a Friend MLB’s potential World Series nightmare BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

Despite the steroid controversy and the lack of a salary cap, Major League Baseball continues to flourish. Fans have long forgotten both the 1994 labor dispute and the recent cloud of performance-enhancing drugs that has tarnished most of the game’s now-questioned statistics; now their interest is fueled only by the game and the pennant races.

As it should be.

Yet with all the good stuff going on this season, the lords of MLB have to be getting a little apprehensive. Why? Because the unfolding playoff landscape has a darn good chance of showcasing teams that lack the marquee value that draws in those coveted TV viewers in October. As a result, broadcast networks ESPN and Fox Sports must be downright quaking in their boots at the prospects of some of the potential match-ups.

Oh sure, there’s a solid chance that, yes, the Red Sox or Yankees will qualify for the post-season, but there’s just as good a shot that only one will make it. And the one that falls short will likely be replaced in the wild-card role by a small-market, no-name team like the Twins, Indians, or A’s. All fine teams, without question, but would you as a viewer rearrange your evening around watching any of them play ball until midnight?

Granted, a good part of the country would give anything not to see the Yankees and Red Sox face off in the ALCS, as they have the past two seasons (and three of the last six). Been there, done that; what possible drama remains should these two rivals have to face each other again for AL bragging rights?

But imagine the scenario of the White Sox and the Twins, or the A’s, or the Tribe, fighting it out for the pennant. A bit of a letdown, don’t you think, after the past couple of years of ALCS jihads? Would you care who won?

The network suits sure hope you care, one way or another, but they acknowledge that few other than hard-core fans would tune in for the Fall Classic if they were stuck televising the ultimate worst-case-scenario match-up:

Live, from US Cellular Field, the 2005 World Series, presented by Nextel, featuring the Chicago White Sox versus the San Diego Padres.

Could darn well happen, mister. The ChiSox jumped out to a 24-7 start this season and haven’t looked back, establishing a ridiculous 10-game lead over the second-place Twins. (And Minnesota is no slouch, either, as their mark is nearly identical to that of the first-place Red Sox in the East.) The White Sox’ 62-32 record is the best in the majors, and amazingly, they are better as a road team (31-14) than they are at the new Comiskey (31-18). Maybe the White Sox can’t keep playing at this level — which translates to a final record of 108-54 — but there’s little reason to believe they’ll stumble enough in the final two months to blow a double-digit lead in the standings, not with their pitching prowess and base-running ballast.

Meanwhile, the Padres, last seen losing four straight to the juggernaut Yankees in the 1998 World Series, sit comfortably atop the NL West standings despite a mediocre 50-46 record. While that fact may indicate only how weak their division is, the team itself has fought its way back from an 11-14 start to go 39-32 and seize the West lead. San Diego’s lead is 4.5 games over the surprising Diamondbacks, but the other three teams in the division are 10 games or more under .500, and would seem to be practically out of it already.

To be sure, the Padres would have a most difficult time getting through the Cardinals en route to the World Series (the Redbirds are as good as they were a year ago on their way to the NL pennant, and currently sport a sterling 61-34 record), but stranger things have happened. (Ask the last three World Series champions — wild-card winners, all.) The White Sox, for their part, have reached the playoffs only twice in the past 21 seasons — most recently in 2000 when they were swept by the Mariners — and were not even factored into the equation when prognosticators were making their choices in the pre-season for AL Central supremacy.

Truly, both Chicago and San Diego boast solid players, yet to be fair, they’re not exactly household names to the casual fan. Two former Yanks (El Duque and Jose Contreras) and a pair of former Red Sox (Carl Everett and closer Dustin Hermanson) have been key contributors for the South Siders, but otherwise you’d have a tough time naming even five more White Sox players. Even more anonymity envelops the Padres, who have Red Sox ring-bearers Dave Roberts and Pedro Astacio on the roster, but otherwise have a bunch of players that East Coast fans just haven’t seen or followed over their careers. And without a vested interest in the individual team members or the history of the franchises, fans will likely have a tough time getting revved up for this kind of showdown.

The Cubs, yes. They’ve got the dubious history (as do, frankly, the White Sox) regarding recent World Series glory, but their perceived curse and championship drought is interesting. Intriguing.

Not so the White Sox or the Padres.

"Live from Petco Field" just doesn’t have the same allure as does "Live from Wrigley." And for that, the network execs should be very, very afraid.

Or would they prefer Nationals-Twins?

Let’s call it "terrified."

"Sporting Eye" runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com