Chicago ? Ozzie Guillen has managed the Chicago White Sox to the best record in the major leagues, but a lot of baseball fans in the city where he works hardly are impressed.

Chicago Cubs slugger Derrek Lee (25) rounds third while being congratulated by third-base coach Chris Speier after Lee's go-ahead, two-run homer Tuesday against Pittsburgh. Lee, who is among the league leaders in batting average, runs, RBIs, home runs and stolen bases, and the Cubs will play host to the crosstown rival Chicago White Sox today at Wrigley Field.

That’s because they root for the Cubs, and in Chicago there is very little middle ground. You’re either for the Sox or for the Cubs, regardless of the standings.

In his second season, Guillen has the team from the South Side off to a 29-12 start. The atmosphere in the clubhouse is laid-back – partly because of his sometimes-comic approach when unleashing his opinion on a variety of topics.

Take Wrigley Field, the hallowed home of the Cubs that is a mere eight miles from the White Sox’s U.S. Cellular Field. The White Sox and Cubs will meet at Wrigley for three games beginning today.

“I think it’s great when the game starts, but besides that I hate Wrigley Field,” Guillen said this week. “It’s not about the Cubs fans, the players or the organization, it’s about Wrigley Field.”

For example: Guillen said last year he was forced to park in a McDonald’s lot across the street from Wrigley. The Cubs have promised to remedy that this year.

A cramped and tiny visitor’s clubhouse and a long walk around numerous turns to get to the field also bother the White Sox’s manager. And he says the team already has held meetings to figure out how to get out of the postgame traffic Sunday and make it to the airport for a flight to Los Angeles.

Guillen and his friend Dusty Baker, the Cubs’ manager, say they’d like to see the interleague series pared down to three games a season, as it was in 1997 and 1998, instead of six.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle tips his cap to the crowd as he leaves Wednesday's game against Texas. Buehrle, who won his sixth straight decision, and the White Sox will open a three-game interleague series against the intracity rival Chicago Cubs today at Wrigley Field.

“It’s great for the city and fans to play on both sides, but : it’s a lot of stress when you play six games. But, hey, I get paid for that. That’s my job,” Guillen said.

Baker, whose 18-20 team has been ravaged by injuries in the first six weeks, told reporters this week in Pittsburgh that six games against the same interleague foe could create a competitive disadvantage.

“That’s a lot of games to decide who goes (to the playoffs) and who doesn’t – and they’re not even in the same league,” Baker said. “I would like to see them go to three at their park one year and three at our park the next year.”

While the Cubs are playing the division-leading White Sox, NL Central leader St. Louis gets to play last-place Kansas City.

“We want to beat the Sox bad, they want to beat us bad,” Baker said. “But we need those games to get to the playoffs, and that’s more important than who we’re playing.”

Guillen played in the first interleague series against the Cubs in 1997, his final season as the White Sox’s shortstop, and went 2-for-11 in the three-game set at what is now U.S. Cellular Field.

“It’s no different facing the Cubs than Texas or Baltimore. I know it’s a big thing for the city, great for Chicago fans, all the topic will be Cubs-Sox,” Guillen said. “It’s a big series for us – not because it’s the Cubs – but we’re playing good baseball and when you’re fighting for first place, every series should be big.”