Interleague Play: It's baaaack!

Jason Michael Barker

Did anyone else happen to notice the striking silence that set in last week? Not to worry, you're not alone. That lack of a buzz is what I affectionately refer to as "The Lull," that period in June when the baseball world seems to slow down somewhat. It's two months into the season, and the initial excitement that accompanies the start of the season has died down. Looking ahead, the All-Star break is still a month off. By this point, most teams know if they're going to be serious contenders or simply pretenders.

The fine folks at Major League Baseball HQ (there is somebody in the office, right?) sought to remedy this excitement-void last season by introducing Interleague Play, the wacky scheduling quirk by which teams in one league play clubs from the other league. It seemed to work, for the most part - attendance was up, and there were some interesting matchups, including Mets v. Yankees ("The Subway Series"), Reds v. Indians ("The Battle for Ohio"), Expos v. Blue Jays ("The Contest for Canada") and Cubs v. White Sox ("Whoopin' it up in the Windy City"). Sure, fans also had to suffer through Pittsburgh v. Milwaukee, but on the whole, things were good.

Interleague Play is back again this season for a second go-round, and I must admit that it seems to have lost its luster. Maybe that's because it's simply no longer novel, or perhaps it's because the matchups this opening weekend leave something to be desired. Before the season started, Dodgers v. Mariners seemed like an exciting series, but now the reality is they're two underachieving teams who are a combined 18 games out of first place in their respective divisions. There are host of "who cares?" series, including Arizona v. Oakland, Philadelphia v. Toronto, Montreal v. Tampa Bay, Minnesota v. Pittsburgh, Detroit v. Milwaukee, and Colorado v. Anaheim.

The various division leaders provide a bit more excitement. Perhaps the best series of this opening weekend of Interleague Play has the AL West-leading Texas Rangers playing host to the NL West-leading San Diego Padres. Both clubs boast solid pitching and explosive offensive potential. Atlanta v. Baltimore and Florida v. New York were good series last year, but an aging Orioles club and a depleted Marlins squad have left these matchups empty. Meanwhile in the Central, division-leading Houston plays host to Kansas City. I'm sure Astros fans have been pulling their hair out all week long in anticipation of Tony Muser bringing his Royals ("If we can't out-score you, we'll just slug you!") to town. The best series not involving division leaders has the Red Sox hosting the Mets. In addition to being a rematch of the 1986 World Series, it features two teams battling for the Wild Card in their respective leagues.

Interleague Play continues this week, with new series running Monday through Thursday. If you're planning to catch a game or two, the use the following capsule as a guide to selecting the most interesting confrontations. If you like offense, be sure to catch Texas and Colorado, who begin a three-game series at Coors Field Monday. Mark McGwire and the St. Louis Cardinals travel to Chicago to tee off on the White Sox, while Griffey and Bonds will look to put on a hitting show in San Francisco. If pitching is more your style, check out the Twins and Cubs on Tuesday, in a showdown pitting Brad Radke against rookie sensation Kerry Wood. Also on Tuesday, Hideo Nomo will make his first start as a member of the Mets.

Anaheim at Arizona	Chuck Finley (6-2, 2.22) leads Angels into BankOne
Texas at Colorado	High-octane Texas offense might score 10 runs a game
Seattle at San Francisco	Bonds and Griffey...in the same building!
Oakland at Los Angeles	Knuckleballer Tom Candiotti returns to Dodger Stadium
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	Indians have same record (35-24) as NL Central's Astros, Cubs
Chicago at Minnesota	Tuesday: Wood (6-2, 2.79) vs. Radke (7-4. 2.90)
St. Louis at Chicago	McGwire takes BP against a weak White Sox staff
Milwaukee at Kansas City	KC boasts league-worst 8-23 home record, Brewers 12-13 on the road
Houston at Detroit	Astros' 3.48 team ERA over two runs better than Tigers'
Philadelphia at Baltimore	Did you know? Curt Schilling began his career as an Oriole
New York at Tampa Bay	Hideo Nomo scheduled to make his Met debut Tuesday
Toronto at Florida	Average player ages: Blue Jays 30, Marlins 25.
New York at Montreal	Baseball's lowest payroll ($9M) hosts its second-highest ($63M)
Boston at Atlanta	Tuesday's starters (Derek Lowe, Dennis Martinez) are 17 years apart in age
Cincinnati at San Diego	Only non-Interleague series to start the week

Jason Michael Barker was extremely puzzled this morning when he woke up and saw a bright glowing orb in the Seattle sky. He'd sure appreciate it if you offered to explain what it is, as well as why the sky is blue, at jmb@strikethree.com.