Interleague Play begins… and morons dislike it

Interleague play begins today for the 14th consecutive season… and inevitably there are people who write the same tired crap about how interleague play has lost its luster.

It’s now part of the summer… like cook outs on the 4th of July… someone will bitch and moan about Interleague Play. Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal is the most recent one to offer nothing and vomits up the same tired arguments.

“And remember: this is Major League Baseball’s most compelling interleague series. Who’s fired up for Rockies vs. Royals action tonight in Kansas City? Or wants to tailgate with us in June, when the Yankees host that carnival of life-altering thrills that is the NL Central’s basement-dwelling Houston Astros?”

Oh blah blah blah blah! Nobody is excited to see the Astros play ANYONE!
Where’s Jason Gay’s article saying we shouldn’t have the Astros play the Diamondbacks? Or the Royals play the Orioles?

Baseball is a long long season and the marathon analogy is apt. Everyone watches the beginning and end of the marathon, but few pay attention to the long middle part. People love opening day and the first match ups for big rivalries… and they love the September stretch.

But between Memorial Day and Labor Day there is a long period where only the lunatics like me are paying real close attention. So why not have a Cubs/White Sox match up or an A’s/Giants game to break it up.

I ask you Jason Gay, will there be a lot of intrigue for an additional Mariners/Orioles series in July?

Yeah some of the Interleague Match Ups are duds… but isn’t it worth the duds to see the Yankees come to Dodger Stadium this summer? Or a Phillies/Yankees World Series rematch? Or seeing Manny return to Fenway? Or the Twins and Braves to meet up and have a 1991 World Series reunion?

When I wrote about this in 2008, I pointed out that interleague play allowed for Ken Griffey Jr. to return to a standing ovation in Seattle… and the cellar dwelling Pirates and Orioles match up brought about a reunions from the 1971 and 1979 World Series.

Yeah, Jason Gay… we had better get rid of moments like THAT in the middle of the season. Instead of bringing back old stars to celebrate and having some possible strange reunions, we should go back to having the leagues stay separate and make the mid season matchups no different than the beginning and end of the season.

I know I’ve said all of this before. But guess what? As long as the anti Interleague Play lunatics keep writing the same garbage year in and year out, I will have the same response.

I am getting to work on my 2011 post on the same subject.

Some more uniform suggestions for the Nationals

The Nationals didn’t play a pretty game last night. They let the Mets jump ahead to a 10-1 lead and their comeback fell short as they lost 10-7.

But they LOOKED good playing ugly.

Color me a fan of the Blue Jerseys, DC caps with the American Flag inside the logo.

It is a cool looking design. It isn’t overly traditional nor is it trying to connect with a past that the franchise doesn’t have.

It’s the kind of unique uniform that I wish the Astros would adopt instead of turning their back on their identity.

The one problem I have with the uniforms is I don’t think they make good home threads.

To me, dark blue says “road jerseys.”

Besides, I like their home uniforms.

It has a cool modern looking font. Isn’t a ripoff of anyone else’s uniforms.

Although, as I said before, they need to ditch the cursive W and stick with the DC hat. No need to remind fans about the Senators. If they were any good, they wouldn’t have left town… TWICE.

But look at these road uniforms!

Dullsvile.

No imagination went into these.

Wow… cursive with a flourish. Man, never seen a uniform like THAT before… unless you count I would guess 75% of all the uniforms in baseball!

Not to get all Civil War on their ass, but ditch the Gray and go with the Blue!

It has its own distinct look and that will go a long way for a team like the Nationals.

They shouldn’t look like losers of generations past.

They are a new team and a new identity.

Plus, any nanosecond King Strasburg will be arriving and Bryce Harper will be in the Nation’s capital not long after that.

They deserve uniforms fit for superstars.

MAKE THE DARK BLUE UNIFORMS THE REGULAR ROAD JERSEYS!

And short of that, at least make sure when the Nats wear the blue unis, have the batting helmets match them.

Poor Willie Harris looks like he had to borrow a helmet from the other team.

WHAT WAS SO HARD ABOUT THAT?

Nothing makes me happier than a nice stress free victory like tonight’s game.

Lester goes nine innings.

The Red Sox get a few homers early. And the game never really seemed in doubt.

So the Red Sox respond to the Papelbon meltdown in the Bronx with three straight impressive wins…

But this one is just an easy win. Not a teeth grinder nor dodged bullet. Just a solid win.

On to Philly. A World Series preview?

(OK, I’m getting ahead of myself.)