Interleague play has gotten a bit strange

The Yankees and Mets closed the curtain last night on the first act of this year's Subway Series. There is another act to come June 18-20 at Yankee Stadium.

Interleague play is in its 14th season and rivalry series such as Yankees-Mets and White Sox-Cubs are a hit at the box office and in terms of increased interest in the affected cities. That much is not debatable.

Non-rivalry and non-curiosity series such as Colorado-Kansas City or Toronto-Arizona, both of which occurred this weekend, are not such a big hit.

"I've always said that they should keep the rivalries as a part of it," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said last night. "As far as playing all the other teams, I don't see that as being necessary. But I think the rivalries are good . . . especially this time of year. I think it gives a shot to baseball. It's such a long season that you could split it up with this type of thing and then you've got the All-Star Game and then you've got a pennant race."

The Yankees and Mets will return to intra-league play Tuesday, the Mets against the Phillies and the Yankees at Minnesota. Interleague games resume June 11, with the Yankees hosting the Astros and the Mets visiting the Baltimore Orioles for the second straight season.

Why are the Mets going to Camden Yards again? The short answer is it's very difficult to schedule 30 162-game seasons when 18 of the games are not in your own league.

When interleague play began in 1997, teams were supposed to rotate opponents in the other league's divisions. For example, the Mets would play (in addition to one series against the Yankees) the AL East one year, the AL Central the next and the AL West after that.

But the pot of gold that was the Subway Series and the other rivalry series led baseball to increase those games in 1999 from three to six. That turned schedule-making into an even more difficult process and made rotating interleague opponents an afterthought.

The Yankees, in addition to the home-and-home with the Mets, will host the Astros (NL Central) and Phillies (NL East) and visit the NL West's Dodgers and Diamondbacks this season.

"I do like interleague play," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I do think the Yankees should play the Mets every year. I think it's good for the city. I think it's good for baseball. I just wish there were fewer [interleague] games and it was a more balanced schedule."

The Mets' other home interleague series are against the Tigers and Twins (AL Central). They will visit Cleveland, also from the AL Central, in addition to Baltimore (AL East).

All of this leads to a feeling that interleague play - other than the rivalry series - is a gimmick that needs some tweaking to remain relevant. There is no evidence that MLB is working on those tweaks, however, even though commissioner Bud Selig has created a "special committee for on-field matters" to suggest improvements.

One of the committee's suggestions already has been adopted: The DH will be used in the All-Star Game every year.