Weekend Buzz: Dodgers cruising
Baseball will give you all sorts of numbers to prove that everyone loves interleague play.
We would respond with all sorts of shrugs to prove that more often than not, people really don't care. And then we would be forced to concede that in a few cases, interleague play works quite well.
Like this coming weekend.
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| Jerry Manuel is a veteran of two heated, interleague rivalries. (Getty Images) |
It works. It still works, even now that interleague play is in its 13th season.
It works because for a weekend (or actually for two weekends a season), it focuses an entire city's baseball attention on one series. Every hit, every error (think Luis Castillo) and every controversy (think K-Rod vs. Bruney) becomes the focus for everyone, in a way it wouldn't at any other time during a season.
So here, as interleague play enters its final week for 2009, are the series where it still works the best:
1. Cubs-White Sox: We're going with Jerry Manuel on this one, since he has managed in both Chicago and New York and since he actually has an incentive to say that New York's rivalry is more intense.
Actually, Manuel said the opposite, when the subject came up two weeks back at Yankee Stadium.
"If I say the truth, they might come out and throw bombs out here," he said. "But for me, I thought the Chicago thing was a little bit more intense, I really do. It was so intense that in our [White Sox] ballpark, we couldn't play the games at night. I thought that was a disadvantage, but that was the intensity. I'm not talking about the teams. I thought the fans were a little more intense.
"The fights -- [like] Tyson, Ali ..."
One distinction in favor of Chicago: While both the Yankees and Mets now have strong rivals within their own divisions (Red Sox, Phillies), there's no question White Sox fans hate the Cubs far more than they hate any American League team.
Another distinction: While the Yankees and Mets have faced off in a recent World Series (2000), the Cubs and Sox somehow haven't done the same.
2. Mets-Yankees: Mets third baseman David Wright said it's the first series he looks for when the Mets schedule comes out. The schedulers didn't help the buildup this year when they scheduled Yankees-Red Sox and Mets-Phillies right before the first Subway Series, but the buildup this week should be better.
3. Dodgers-Angels: Rays manager Joe Maddon, who was an Angels coach for the first nine regular-season Freeway Series, said Sunday that Dodgers-Angels was "pretty good stuff." It looked like pretty good stuff on television over the weekend, but it was somehow appropriate that Saturday's matchup featured brother vs. brother, because this one seems more like a family barbeque than a backyard brawl.
4. A's-Giants: Not bad, but it would probably help if the Bay Area teams won a little more often. Or if the A's got the new ballpark they've been trying to build.
5. Any AL Central team at Wrigley Field: People in Chicago are still talking about how many Minnesotans came to town for the Twins series a few weeks back. And people in Michigan still talk about their trips to Wrigley to watch the Tigers.
The other stories to watch this week:
Phillies and Rays, Part II: Some Rays players claimed not to even know that the Phillies will be in town Tuesday for the start of a three-game World Series rematch. Others claimed not to care.
But J.P. Howell, the losing pitcher in the clinching Game 5 last October, admitted he does care -- at least a little bit.
"Hopefully, we can get 'em back, even though it's not for the same prize,” Howell said. "But it's not like there's any bitterness."
History shows that World Series losers often do get back at the team that beat them in October. Since interleague play began, the losers are 14-10 in World Series rematches.
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| John Maine is among many high-profile players doing rehab stints. (AP) |
On Monday, John Maine and Oliver Perez will start for the St. Lucie Mets in a doubleheader against Port Charlotte. Manuel said either could return to the Mets by next week. Manuel also raised the possibility of using Perez, who so far has been a $36 million flop, as a reliever.
The Rays will have both starter Scott Kazmir and reliever Chad Bradford pitching for Triple-A Durham this week. Both could be back soon, and Bradford could be a significant addition to the Rays bullpen.
"He's one of my favorite pitchers to give the baseball to in a close situation, because he's so calm," Maddon said.
The Phillies bullpen should also get a boost, with Brad Lidge pitching Tuesday for Clearwater in what is expected to be his final rehab appearance. Since Lidge went on the DL June 9, fill-in closer Ryan Madson has given up five runs in seven innings, with two losses and two blown saves.
One more note about Kazmir's start Monday night: His mound opponent will be Clay Buchholz, who isn't on rehab but could easily be in the big leagues. And the Pawtucket lineup that night should include Jed Lowrie, the Red Sox shortstop who began his rehab assignment on Sunday.
A home for Pedro? Let's hope this is the week Pedro Martinez signs. Not because we want to see him pitch, but just because it would end the weekly stories predicting that he's about to sign.
As for Martinez's much-ballyhooed workout last week in the Dominican Republic, here's the report from a scout who was actually there: "He might be able to help a team, but only if he's willing to go to Triple-A first. His changeup was good, and his breaking ball was decent. The fastball is only 87 [mph]. He's a fifth starter -- a soft fifth starter."
One team that apparently won't be signing Martinez is the Brewers, even though they desperately need a starting pitcher. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the two Brewers scouts who were sent to watch the workout left when Martinez didn't show up at the time they had been told he would.
Three games to watch: 1. Cardinals at Mets, Thursday. The best game I've seen this year was Chris Carpenter vs. Yovani Gallardo, a 1-0 Brewers victory in 10 innings on Memorial Day. Here's one that could match it, with Carpenter facing Johan Santana.
2. Nashville at Albuquerque, Tuesday. Isotopes general manager John Traub said Sunday via e-mail that "ticket sales are going through the roof." Maybe New Mexico fans are excited to see Manny Parra, the recently demoted Brewer who is scheduled to start for the Sounds. It couldn't have anything to do with that other Manny showing up for his first game since May 6, could it?
3. Phillies at Rays, Tuesday. The Rays report that ticket sales are not exactly going through the roof for this World Series rematch -- and they actually have a roof. They do expect to top 20,000, something they haven't done once in 14 midweek home games against anyone other than the Yankees or Red Sox.
