Oh, Yeah.....Interleague Play

    

I admit that I am one of those guys that likes interleague.....in moderation.

I'm on record, in this blog, saying that we need to keep the interleague rivals.  But, don't keep the interleague setup as it currently exists. 

Again....move one team from the National League over to the American League....please.  My pick would be the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Then, move the Houston Astros to the NL West [hey detractors....the Astros were in the NL West for 30 years].

Then have your ONE interleague rival which you played every year.  And with the odd number of teams in each league, you can have every series have an interleague matchup.

I mean, wouldn't it be more fun with just the one MAJOR rivalry at a time.  Instead of having the Cubs-White Sox and Yankees-Mets at the same time....the Subway Series gets it's own stage.  Then, later on, the Chicago series gets it's own stage.  As will the Freeway Series....Bay Series, Battle of Ohio, the Show Me Series, Beltway Series etc. 

So...here are your rivalry matchups.

Braves-Red Sox [no real rivalry, except the Braves once called Boston home]
Marlins-Devil Rays [Florida]
Mets-Yankees [New York City]
Phillies-Blue Jays [Phills once were called the Blue Jays]
Senators-Orioles [Beltway]
Cubs-White Sox [Chicago]
Reds-Indians [Ohio]
Brewers-Twins [Upper Midwest]
Pirates-Tigers [Rust Belt]
Cardinals-Royals [Missouri]
Rockies-Mariners [Northwest]
Astros-Rangers [Texas]
Dodgers-Angels [Los Angeles]
Padres-Diamondbacks [Southwest]
Giants-Athletics [Bay Area]

*Only two of the "rivalries" don't make that much sense....but it works out.

Those are great.  Especially in those natural geographic rivalries which the fans get into it as much as the players do.  In a city like Chicago, seeing that fight at home plate today had to have been special.  I'm a Reds fan, and the city does get up a bit for the series with Cleveland.  And because of the two-league format....baseball is really the only major league that can capitalize off this.  I mean, look how much this does for college sports!

You can still have an interleague schedule....but tone it down.  Maybe just two or three more interleague rivals during the year.  That way, instead of being bogged down...these series become special again since they would be played infrequently again.  I don't need to see the Mariners come into Great American Ballpark every three years.  Every 5-7 years is fine.