[mofome]

I fucking love it.

[2Pac]

Used to be good , now its bad. Makes up 10% of the season now. I'm old fashioned. I think the AL and NL should only play in the WS.

Interleague was a cool twist that MLB needed to regain fans after the strike, but now it is so watered down.

[LT Profits]

I'd like fewer IL games. The idea is good in small doses, but as 2Pac pointed out. there has been a bit of overkill.

[j$]

interleague is where it all went wrong 4 me last year

[5 star bomb]

I love it... Cubs/White Sox is a must every year

[LT Profits]

I love it... Cubs/White Sox is a must every year

Right, I'm in favor of ONE natural rivalry series per year (not two like they have now) and maybe one or two other IL series per season. I simply think there are too many IL games now.

[Willie Bee]

I've been a proponent of interleague play since 1962. But the one thing that has to be dumped is the interleague rivarly bullsh¡t since there's no way to maintain a level schedule within a division doing that.

[jjgold]

Good idea, get some nice matchups.

[mofome]

interleague is where it all went wrong 4 me last year

[MonkeyF0cker]

Wow. That's quite the spinner...

[Stacocakes]

Why don't they decide if they want the dh or not and then have both leagues be the same.This dh/no dh thing is retarded

[BuddyBear]

It's one of the worst ideas MLB has ever come up with......

[Willie Bee]

It's one of the worst ideas MLB has ever come up with......

Certainly not from a revenue standpoint. Why is it a bad idea for NL clubs to play AL clubs? Do you feel the same way about NFC/AFC or East/West play in the NBA?

[mofome]

I wish the O's played the Astros 18-24 times a year so we could make a serious run at the post season. Playing the astros gives me playoff fever.

[Willie Bee]

Based on the history of the two teams, you'd have to play the Astros in Baltimore all the time to make that work out for you, Mo. The two teams have met six times before, with the Astros winning all three in Houston and the Orioles winning all three in Baltimore.

[Doc JS]

It has certainly been a boon from a revenue standpoint. You simply can't agrue that. Attendence is up for IL play over the rest of the regular season every year. So, the fans are telling MLB they like/love IL play. And that, more than anything, is why it's here to stay.

The problem, of course, is for every NYY/NYM, CWS/Cubs, LAD/LAA, Oakland/SF matchup, you also get a KC Royals/Pittsburgh Pirates match-up. And there is simply no way to shine that turd.

IL play does unbalance the schedule. No way around that. Every year there are teams who come out of IL play at a competitive disadvantage because of who they had to play in the other league compared to other teams in their division.

Like LT, I'd like to see fewer IL games. I'd also like to see them play NL rules in AL ball parks, and vice versa.

Doc

[mofome]

Based on the history of the two teams, you'd have to play the Astros in Baltimore all the time to make that work out for you, Mo. The two teams have met six times before, with the Astros winning all three in Houston and the Orioles winning all three in Baltimore.

Willie, were those games in houston played with the roof open or closed. There is the key, dear friend.

[McBa1n]

Dunno about the Mutts playing say... the Rangers, HOWEVER - Mutts/Yankees games are awesome. You can really smell/feel that something big is coming to NY the week of the games.
I lucked out and caught one of the games at Shey (Wright hit a double to win it in the 9th off Mo) a couple years ago - it had the atmosphere, but not the tension, of a bigtime playoff game (been to many at Wankee Stadium).

It's also a ton of fun for the fans. It would not have worked say 20 years ago, since there really weren't any loyal Yankee fans... But now that they spend their way to success, and the Mutts doing the same, has led to a tremendous 6 games/season that everyone looks forward to.

[Willie Bee]

Willie, were those games in houston played with the roof open or closed. There is the key, dear friend.

Played both ways, Mo. Sorry to blow your theory.

[mofome]

Played both ways, Mo. Sorry to blow your theory.

Willie, this is not a sexual thread, thank you.

could someone please divert willies reply to the private room.

[BuddyBear]

Certainly not from a revenue standpoint. Why is it a bad idea for NL clubs to play AL clubs? Do you feel the same way about NFC/AFC or East/West play in the NBA?

There are several reasons why I feel this to be the case.

1) The attendence goes up b/c interleague starts at the cusp of summer, not because people are more interested in going to see teams from opposing leagues. The glow of interleague has long worn off.

2) Unlike the NBA or the NFL, the leagues are fundementally different from one another. There is a big difference between being in the NL and the AL. Strategy is completely different in each league and teams are built based on what league they compete in. In the NBA, there is no fundmental difference between playing in the West or East just like the AFC vs. NFC...no difference whatsoever. Not the case in baseball.

3) Total imbalance of schedules is created via interleague. This is widely recognized as one of the most important concerns and has threatned the integrity of baseball.

4) Rivalries are lost rather than gained. Just b/c the Orioles play the Nationals does not mean it's a "rivalry." Geography is not a sufficient condition to have a rivarly. Rivalries are built through divisional play and years of important games, not b/c the MLB office says there is a rivalry to be had. Teams need to play their divisional counterparts more than they current do.

[Willie Bee]

1) The attendence goes up b/c interleague starts at the cusp of summer, not because people are more interested in going to see teams from opposing leagues. The glow of interleague has long worn off.

Not sure about other locales, but this so-called 'cusp of summer' has historically been a rotten time in Houston for drawing crowds. The glow has worn off for you, but not me.

2) Unlike the NBA or the NFL, the leagues are fundementally different from one another. There is a big difference between being in the NL and the AL.

So because of this difference in the two, we shouldn't play the World Series? There is actually a difference of strategy in the way clubs are built within the same leagues. Do you support all ballparks having the same layout and dimensions? What if the DH rule was the same in both leagues all the time, would that change this part of your opposition?

3) Total imbalance of schedules is created via interleague. This is widely recognized as one of the most important concerns and has threatned the integrity of baseball.

On this issue, I will agree. But it doesn't have to create the imbalance it does. Doing away with the annual 'interleague rivalry' series would at least rectify some of that. But we can at least agree, I would assume, that teams within a given division should play the same schedule, i.e., the Astros, Brewers, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates and Reds should all play the same teams.

4) Rivalries are lost rather than gained. Just b/c the Orioles play the Nationals does not mean it's a "rivalry." Geography is not a sufficient condition to have a rivarly. Rivalries are built through divisional play and years of important games, not b/c the MLB office says there is a rivalry to be had. Teams need to play their divisional counterparts more than they current do.

Another point we can agree on. The Astros and Rangers don't have a real rivalry whereas six more games between the 'Stros and Cards, for example, would be bigger in terms of rivals.

[Doc JS]

1) The attendence goes up b/c interleague starts at the cusp of summer, not because people are more interested in going to see teams from opposing leagues. The glow of interleague has long worn off.

Buddy,
Are you saying that it's because the weather is warming up or because the kids are getting out of school or what?

Doc

[BuddyBear]

Buddy,
Are you saying that it's because the weather is warming up or because the kids are getting out of school or what?

Doc

Well a little bit of both. Generally speaking, IL games start mid may and last into next month. Kids don't have school and weather tends to be warmer so it's natural to see a bump in attendence around this time. I am not sure how strong that "bump" is now compared to when IL first started but I guarantee you if they put these IL games the 2nd week of the season there wouldn't be the same sense of excitement as there is around this time.

[Willie Bee]

One more point about the scheduling Buddy: There will also never be truly level schedules until all teams play in balanced divisions (the NL Central, as I'm sure you already are aware, gets a very bumpy schedule being the division with the most teams).

[The HG]

From a gambling perspective, I think it's very good. There always seems to me to be a lot of stuff that gets under-accounted for in the lines - strong hitting NL teams gaining a DH, weak-hitting AL teams losing a DH, park issues, etc etc.

[Charlotte]

I don't mind it, The thing is, as one poster said, it is watered down, what is the other option, either cancel it, or play less games. Then it gets down to the league most likely matching up subway series and other rivalry type games. Now it becomes simply a publicity circus. I think that regardless of what ballpark they play at, the DH should be installed. No reason to watch your pitcher get hurt, o but the the slim chance he may get a hit, and the fans go wild. its not worth it.