Interleague play is over; it's about time

When interleague play started in 1997, it sounded promising. And those first few series were interesting, to see different teams in your home ballparks and matchups that were unique.

Now it feels like that 11-year-old car that sits in the driveway that you have to drive to work every once in a while.

As usual, it all can be summed up satirically in The Onion: "10-year-old asks why interleague play is good."

Do you have the right answer? I don't. It's too routine now. Skip a year, or make it three series a year, max: One against a so-called rival, and two in a rotation of teams from the opposite league. That's it. During the rest of the season, the matchups that actually matter in playoff races will be contested, using the rules the teams were built around (regardless of which way you lean on the 30-year-old DH debate).

And they should trash the unbalanced league schedule while they're at it. If you're a Seattle Mariners fan, do you want to see the Yankees, Red Sox and Tigers come to town one more time, or do you want to see the Pirates and Padres, along with the Texas Rangers for the sixth time?

If you like your baseball news sanitized (although MLB.com states that no story on their site is "subject to approval"), the league's mouthpiece has a nice (and, of course, positive) recap of interleague play today. To summarize: The American League dominated again, although not at much as last year, going 137-115. In 2006, the AL was 154-98. Those numbers are somewhat surprising from a distance, since it stands to reason that the National League would have a built-in advantage at home because their pitchers know how to hit.

The best in interleague play this year: Tigers 14-4, Angels 14-4, Red Sox 12-6, Rangers 11-7, Twins 11-7; The worst: White Sox 4-14, Braves 4-11, Giants 5-10, Pirates 5-10, Orioles 6-12.

Now we can all get back to our lives.