American League dominant in interleague play
There's no denying the American League's dominance of the National League once again. The AL is now 40 games up on the NL this season (124-84) with the interleague portion of the schedule winding down this weekend. And it comes to a close with a bang as crosstown rivals in the Big Apple and Windy City prepare to face one another. Can the Mets find their groove against Derek Jeter and the Yankees?
We’re coming to the end of another interleague stint that has done nothing but prove two things:
1. The American League rules; and
2. The interleague schedule drools.
The junior circuit went 8-1 on Thursday night (the Yankees-Pirates game was rained out) to up their record against the National League to 124-84. That’s a paddlin’. Even the exquisite Edinson Volquez got lit up by the light-hitting Toronto Blue Jays in a 7-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Adam Dunn will be sending J.P. Ricciardi flowers at this rate.
The scheduling problems go beyond the aesthetics of having to endure watching the Twins play the Padres. A fair and balanced schedule is virtually impossible in these conditions. As ESPN’s Jayson Stark pointed out, the Boston Red Sox have played Philadelphia, St. Louis and Milwaukee, the top three teams in the NL outside of Chicago. The New York Yankees have played Pittsburgh, San Diego and the N.Y. Mets, all below .500.
Minnesota, by the way, has won nine interleague games in a row and 11 of their last 12. Before this carnage against the helpless senior circuit, the Twins were in a 1-7 slump and 5½ games behind the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central. Now they’re just a half-game back. Nothing like a few games against the Washington Nationals to break out of a rut.
At least we get to wrap up the month with a return to the big crosstown rivalry games in New York and Chicago. Fair and balanced can’t hold a candle to Mets and Yankees.
Mets at Yankees
Game 1: Friday, 2:05 p.m. Eastern (at Shea Stadium)
NYM: Mike Pelfrey
NYY: Dan Giese
Game 2: Friday, 8:10 p.m.
NYM: Pedro Martinez
NYY: Sidney Ponson
Game 3: Saturday, 3:55 p.m. (FOX)
NYM: Johan Santana
NYY: Andy Pettitte
Game 4: Sunday, 1:10 p.m.
NYM: Oliver Perez
NYY: Darrell Rasner
We get the added bonus in this Subway Series of a day-night doubleheader at two different stadia. Friday’s afternoon matchup is a make-up game for the one at Shea that was postponed last month. We also get to see Dan Giese take the mound for the Yankees (42-36, -6.99 units) as a fill-in for Chien-Ming Wang; Giese has all of one start and 23.1 innings of major league work under his belt.
These are tough times for the Yankees; in addition to the injured Wang, they’re missing Johnny Damon (.869 OPS) and Hideki Matsui (.862) and have dropped three of their last five. The Mets (38-39, -10.31 units) have it worse. Their outfield is in tatters, and they just dropped two of three to the worst team in baseball, the Seattle Mariners.
Cubs at White Sox
Game 1: Friday, 4:05 p.m.
CHC: Sean Gallagher
CHW: Jose Contreras
Game 2: Saturday, 3:55 p.m. (FOX)
CHC: Ryan Dempster
CHW: Javier Vazquez
Game 3: Sunday, 8:05 p.m. (ESPN)
CHC: Sean Marshall
CHW: Mark Buehrle
While the Twins have been winning ballgames left and right, the White Sox (43-35, 7.15 units) have dropped four of six, including a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field to the Cubs (49-30, 13.26 units). The Pale Hose have been running hot and cold all season. They’re hitting up a storm at .879 OPS in June, but the pitching staff is off the rails; Jose Contreras (.922 OPS against) and Javier Vazquez (.984 OPS against) have been the worst offenders this month.
The Cubs have also had the occasional hiccup on the way to the best record in the majors, getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays before taking three straight from the White Sox. Their batting order has been taken down a peg with injuries to Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Reed Johnson; Fukudome (.845 OPS) is day-to-day with a strained calf and may return during this series.
There's no denying the American League's dominance of the National League once again. The AL is now 40 games up on the NL this season (124-84) with the interleague portion of the schedule winding down this weekend. And it comes to a close with a bang as crosstown rivals in the Big Apple and Windy City prepare to face one another. Can the Mets find their groove against Derek Jeter and the Yankees?
We’re coming to the end of another interleague stint that has done nothing but prove two things:
1. The American League rules; and
2. The interleague schedule drools.
The junior circuit went 8-1 on Thursday night (the Yankees-Pirates game was rained out) to up their record against the National League to 124-84. That’s a paddlin’. Even the exquisite Edinson Volquez got lit up by the light-hitting Toronto Blue Jays in a 7-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Adam Dunn will be sending J.P. Ricciardi flowers at this rate.
The scheduling problems go beyond the aesthetics of having to endure watching the Twins play the Padres. A fair and balanced schedule is virtually impossible in these conditions. As ESPN’s Jayson Stark pointed out, the Boston Red Sox have played Philadelphia, St. Louis and Milwaukee, the top three teams in the NL outside of Chicago. The New York Yankees have played Pittsburgh, San Diego and the N.Y. Mets, all below .500.
Minnesota, by the way, has won nine interleague games in a row and 11 of their last 12. Before this carnage against the helpless senior circuit, the Twins were in a 1-7 slump and 5½ games behind the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL Central. Now they’re just a half-game back. Nothing like a few games against the Washington Nationals to break out of a rut.
At least we get to wrap up the month with a return to the big crosstown rivalry games in New York and Chicago. Fair and balanced can’t hold a candle to Mets and Yankees.
Mets at Yankees
Game 1: Friday, 2:05 p.m. Eastern (at Shea Stadium)
NYM: Mike Pelfrey
NYY: Dan Giese
Game 2: Friday, 8:10 p.m.
NYM: Pedro Martinez
NYY: Sidney Ponson
Game 3: Saturday, 3:55 p.m. (FOX)
NYM: Johan Santana
NYY: Andy Pettitte
Game 4: Sunday, 1:10 p.m.
NYM: Oliver Perez
NYY: Darrell Rasner
We get the added bonus in this Subway Series of a day-night doubleheader at two different stadia. Friday’s afternoon matchup is a make-up game for the one at Shea that was postponed last month. We also get to see Dan Giese take the mound for the Yankees (42-36, -6.99 units) as a fill-in for Chien-Ming Wang; Giese has all of one start and 23.1 innings of major league work under his belt.
These are tough times for the Yankees; in addition to the injured Wang, they’re missing Johnny Damon (.869 OPS) and Hideki Matsui (.862) and have dropped three of their last five. The Mets (38-39, -10.31 units) have it worse. Their outfield is in tatters, and they just dropped two of three to the worst team in baseball, the Seattle Mariners.
Cubs at White Sox
Game 1: Friday, 4:05 p.m.
CHC: Sean Gallagher
CHW: Jose Contreras
Game 2: Saturday, 3:55 p.m. (FOX)
CHC: Ryan Dempster
CHW: Javier Vazquez
Game 3: Sunday, 8:05 p.m. (ESPN)
CHC: Sean Marshall
CHW: Mark Buehrle
While the Twins have been winning ballgames left and right, the White Sox (43-35, 7.15 units) have dropped four of six, including a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field to the Cubs (49-30, 13.26 units). The Pale Hose have been running hot and cold all season. They’re hitting up a storm at .879 OPS in June, but the pitching staff is off the rails; Jose Contreras (.922 OPS against) and Javier Vazquez (.984 OPS against) have been the worst offenders this month.
The Cubs have also had the occasional hiccup on the way to the best record in the majors, getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays before taking three straight from the White Sox. Their batting order has been taken down a peg with injuries to Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Reed Johnson; Fukudome (.845 OPS) is day-to-day with a strained calf and may return during this series.
