Having an interleague game everyday is just plain stupid...

                                        Usually, I try to start my entries here with some sort of cross referencing, ala Dennis Miller, pre 911 ( before he became a FOX news stooge); but this year's upcoming MLB schedule has me so angry, that I'm going to be, as Nick Lowe would say, "subtle as a flying mallet" (O.K., I got that one out of the way).  I am no fan of interleague play to begin with, but playing an interleague game EVERY DAY?  What is Selig thinking?  It's almost as if he's single handily trying to kill the pennant race...oh sure, there's the one game playoff...oh, and about that...


                     Sure, last year's inaugural one-game playoff was pretty good, but it seemed a little contrived; why force excitement, when it can come naturally. For example, the Tigers/Twins one game playoff a few years back was pretty awesome...it ended in extra innings after a long season for both teams.  One of the first games I remember as a kid was the (for me) heartbreaking one game playoff between the Red Sox and Yankees on October 2nd, 1978.  After 162 games, each team had a 99-63 record, and had to play one more game to decide the AL east...there was no Wild Card then...
The Yankees started the eventual AL CY Young award winner, Ron Guidry, while the Sox featured the AL MVP, Jim Rice.  It's now known, of course, as the Bucky "bleeping" Dent game, after his home run in the late innings.


                 To go back even further, before the League Championships Series era (1969-1993...1995-2011, was the Wild Card era, and 2012-onward will be known as the Wild card and a half era ), teams who had the same record at the end of the year had to play a best of three playoff, ala  the Giants/Dodgers in 1951...you know, the "Shot heard 'round the world" series"...but all of those short, exciting series and /or games will be less frequent with this whole interleague on an everyday business they're doing this year...here's a scenario:


           Let's pick two random teams in the same division, say The Rangers and the Angels...now, usually, teams in the same division will often play each other at the end of the year. And let's say these two contending teams happened to be playing each other at season's end and also happened to have identical records...well, they would have to play each other in a sudden death like end to the season (for one team,anyway). Now, with the new format, the likelyhood of that happeneing becomes less frequent.  I mean, sure,  I was absolutely horrified when Boston lost to the Orioles on the last regular season game of 2011, just minutes before Evan Longoria's walk-off beat the Yankees, ensuring the Wild Card went to Tampa...but it was exciting....oh, and I also got to meet this guy Mick, who worked at the bar next door...the only Rays fan I ever met.  He bought me a shot because he felt sorry for me...O.K., now I'm pissed;when does the season start?