Friday, May 22, 2009

Here Comes the NL East

So tonight both the Yankees and the Red Sox take on an NL East foe. For some reason it will be the Sox hosting the Mets and Yanks hosting the Phillies and not the other way around.

Because of my finals I let interleague play sneak up on me, but both Dan and I have had several discussion about the worthlessness of interleague play. Now, I'll admit that I do enjoy some of interleague play. Anytime the Mets take on the Yankees the series has a feel to it reminiscent of a Sox-Yanks game. Beyond that I couldn't care less if the Yankees get to take on the Rockies or the Marlins. Not to mention that having three or four series against teams you only play once a season really makes scheduling difficult especially if rain decides to show up for a weekend or two. And don't even get me started on competitive balance.

Both Dan and I have come up with the idea that you can still have interleague play while avoiding these ridiculous schedules and maintaining fan interest. Why not limit interleague to simple "rivalry" or "grudge match" series?

It would be tough and some teams would have to be rotated because of Selig's ill-designed 16-14 split of the NL and AL. But look at it this way. You match teams together based on either geographical or historical rivalry. Dodgers vs Angels, Giants vs A's, Phillies vs Blue Jays, Yanks vs Mets and Sox vs. Braves. Sure you would have stretch some of them, but even if it's a stretch to start it wont take long for a rivalry to build.

Interleague has been fun, but right now I think more fans look at it as a nuisance than something entertaining. Let the teams play the games against teams that make a difference.

4 comments:

Dennis said...

I would eliminate it altogether, but I guess one or two series a season would be acceptable.

Another question though. What would you do instead of the 16-14 split between leagues?

Peter said...

Eliminate two teams. I understand some people are against contraction but I never liked the idea of expansion to begin with. There are a few teams that I think are a waste of space.

Dennis said...

I would love to eliminate 2 teams, but it is never going to happen. First of all, who would you contract? Second, how will you get the players association to go along with it?

Dan said...

The players' association would never agree. Unions are always against job elimination. I think what Pete is saying is that in a perfect world, you would just wipe two teams off the face of the Earth. My vote goes for Florida and Washington. Other candidates include Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Arizona, Colorado, and Pittsburgh.