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Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-06-08 06:30:31 +0000

Who's going with me June 14th? Not Eliza, not Mike F...

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 07:41:59 +0000

Overpriced tix for Monday fell through, btw.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-06-08 13:49:48 +0000

So the Sox lose a couple to the best team in the NL... I'd rather they win, but, remember to take pleasure in the pain of the MFY, who just lost two to Tommy's Brewers, and before that were swept by the Royals... I had to give up my tickets to the June 18 Pirates game, so I don't get to wear my Pirates uniform to Fenway, oh well. I think interleague is cool... in fact, we should get rid of leagues and divisions altogether, so in the postseason the best teams actually play... which, of course, would end up being three teams from the AL East and My Marlins, go Dontrelle!

Posted by tgl on 2005-06-08 14:01:26 +0000

Dawndixtler in the flesh, the Red Sox vs. the Reds, on Flag Day? I might be a taker.

Posted by tgl on 2005-06-08 15:22:51 +0000

Dawn Dixtler, not to be confused with Dirk Diggler.

Posted by tgl on 2005-06-08 15:26:42 +0000

A.L. East	W	L	Pct	GB
Baltimore	35	23 .	603	--
Boston	31	27	.534	4.0
Toronto	31	28	.525	4.5
NY Yankees	28	30	.483	7.0
Tampa Bay	20	38	.345	15.0

Should we take bets on the number of games back the MFY are at the All-Star Break? 10? --- Should play be centered around geographically related divisions? Ala the NBA?

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 16:50:29 +0000

The best thing for the competitive balance would be to eliminate interleague play entirely, but it's so much fun to watch.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-06-08 17:50:44 +0000

Wait eliminate interleague play would create competitive balance? Or eliminating leagues?

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 17:51:58 +0000

There would be more competitive balance if interleague play was eliminated.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-06-08 17:59:06 +0000

Highly illogical, Captain Kirk.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-06-08 18:05:32 +0000

I disagree. If there were competitive balance each team would play the other 29 teams the same number of times. The competitive imbalance comes from the stacking of the teams highly competitive divisions. The AL East is so strong with teams trying to defeat the MFY, that arguably the top 3 teams are in that division. If leagues and divisions were disolved, then Steinbrenner could spend all he wants to build a crazy team, and it would impact all of the other teams in baseball, as opposed to just one division, in which teams have to play his game to survive. Then again, the MFY suck this year... how about Tommy's Brewers, eh?

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 18:06:28 +0000

Not really, no. Divisions are rotated every year, so this year we have the relative fortune (last two games nonwithstanding)of playing the NL Central, a division which, sans Cardinals, isn't completely stacked. The AL West has the misfortune of playing the NL East, which features a bunch of teams that are arguably the hottest and most competitve in baseball. It works out well for us, Sox fans, that the AL West (which features the Rangers and Angels, two prime contenders for playoff spots) plays a hot division, but it ain't balanced.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 18:07:27 +0000

Having said all that, though: Cubs/Sox is going to be so much fun to watch.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-06-08 18:12:05 +0000

See, it's not interleague play, per se, that you think is imbalanced... it's the implementation thereof... also, you are founding your argument in what I consider to be a very lopsided division system...

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 18:15:33 +0000

....not to mention the fact that the American League has this thing called the designated hitter when interleague games are played in American League parks. Lack of balance = check. I think that the divisions could be organized a little bit better, as well.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-06-08 18:16:51 +0000

Exactly, it's not interleague play; it's the division designation, and thus it balances out as it rotates...

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-06-08 18:18:17 +0000

And when they play in National league parks they play w/o the DH. So?

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 18:19:34 +0000

Whatever you want to call it, the fact remains that some divisions are more stacked with junk teams than others, which skews records.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 18:20:06 +0000

....so Ortiz has to play first and can't make plays that even Millar could have made.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-08 18:24:48 +0000

This is a fun one. Alas, I have to go to work.

Posted by tgl on 2005-06-08 19:29:00 +0000

Since we play the Cardinals only three times this year, at their ballpark, they get the benefit of playing under their rules. If every interleague series was 3 at each teams ballpark, then, that would even things out. Or is AL ball and NL ball not that distinctive anymore?

Posted by rladew on 2005-06-08 19:32:32 +0000

how long has there been interleague play in the MLB? _______________________________

Posted by tgl on 2005-06-08 19:41:32 +0000

A person could look it up... 1996?

Posted by tgl on 2005-06-08 20:18:39 +0000

RE: Tommy's Brewers Well... they are just 10 games behind the Cards, and with the same record as the MFY. Dang! --- Divisional play is good. I think 4-6 team divisions and the rivalry between those teams is a good thing. The race for the AL (or NL) penant used to be between, what, 8 teams total? The LCS started in 1969, which kept the competition around 6 teams for each berth in the LCS as each division grew. Now it's still 4-6 teams per playoff berth. Consistently competitive. Divisions should be by geography. End of discussion. (OK, the AL West could use a team or two. The NL Central could stand to drop one.) --- Yanks have won once in their last ten. Ah, schadenfraude. --- Interleague play started in 1997.

Posted by rladew on 2005-06-09 20:04:54 +0000

Interleague History Here _______________________________

Posted by rladew on 2005-06-09 20:07:24 +0000

I'm really Fucking confused as to why MLB wanted to do Interleague play during regular season. Novelty to get people to fill stadium seats? The seeping in of corporate "Change Is Good" philosophy? hmmmm _______________________________

Posted by frame609 on 2005-06-10 05:34:47 +0000

It's great, from the standpoint of a fan. I mean, tomorrow, f'r example, is a rare chance for Sox fans to see Greg Maddux, who will be in the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, whenever it is. I still think there's a lack of balance, though.

Posted by rladew on 2005-06-10 10:42:47 +0000

I scoured mlb.com last night to try and find out how they schedule interleague / how many games / who plays who / etc., but I wasn't succesful... do you know, frame, how this works? _______________________________

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-06-10 14:29:46 +0000

I don't know the whole story. But here is a gist: Interleague Play starts with teams natural rivals. This is the best/worst part about IP. It's great because some teams have such a natural rivalry it's fantastic to get them playing. It sucks because (a) the rest of the teams have hokey rivalries, (2) there are more teams in the NL than the AL, so a couple of NL teams get left out and (C) Some teams get an annual pushover (MFY - Mets) and some get a tough game (Red Sox - Braves). So for the rivalries we have: Cool: Mets - MFY (Subway Series) Cubs - White Sox (Crosstown Classic) Giants - Athletics (Bay Bridge Derby) Dodgers - Angels (We're Gay and From LA) Semi-Cool: Brewers - Twins (Midwestern Bonanza) Cardinals - Royals (Show Me Derby) Reds - Indians (Battle of Ohio) Marlins - Devil Rays (Citrus Derby) Astros - Rangers (Lone Star Derby) Quasi-Geographical: Braves - Red Sox (Green Line Throwdown) Nationals - Blue Jays (Baseball, eh?) Convenient: Phillies - Orioles (Cheesesteaks and Crabs) Padres - Mariners (Only West Coast Teams Left) Retarded: Diamondbacks - Tigers (The No One Left To Play Blues Jam) Left Out: Rockies (Triple A Team Pretending to be in the Majors) Pirates (Not Quite as Cool as Their Lowell Over 30 Counterparts) (I may have messed those up) After the natural rivalries are done divisions are matched up on a three year rotation. For the first 5 years of IP, the East played the East, etc, but now that rotates. So this year the AL East plays the NL Central; the AL Central plays the NL West and the AL West plays the AL East. This is OK, since the lopsidedness of playing a weak/strong division is contained within your division, however, it totally fucks up the wildcard race, since some divisions will end up with overly high records... This could all be rectified if the wildcard race were based on a strength factor, as opposed to record. But that's another thread.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-06-10 18:57:07 +0000

"We're Gay from LA." It's funny 'cause it's true.