Rivalry Weekend

Interleague play is back again. For fans in New York City, San Francisco/Oakland and Chicago this will be one of the most fun weekends of the year. For Los Angeles (Dodgers and Angels) and Washington/Baltimore (Orioles and Nationals) the rivalries have a real chance to grow. The idea was one of the last moves by baseball following the 1994 strike shortened season to bring back fans and for the most part it has worked.

For Red Sox fans, however, the games are little more than an annoyance. First off if the games are at Fenway there are an extra amount of out of town fans who are willing to pay the big bucks to see the 94 year old ball park. Second, the Red Sox don't have a natural rival in the National League, as the closest NL team is the Mets. When the interleague games began the Atlanta Braves were the ideal choice, as they were the former Boston Braves. That didn't last as MLB then switched the rival to the Philadelphia Phillies. So far not a lot of bite in that matchup (despite what the Fox commercials say). The NL team the Red Sox have the biggest history with is the St. Louis Cardinals (3 World Series matchups between the teams), but the commissioner wants to keep the games in the same division.

Anyway, the Red Sox begin their 3 game series tonight in Philadelphia, here is the way the rest of the "rivals" match up:

AL Stadiums:
Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Cleveland Indians
Cincinnati Reds @ Detroit Tigers
Florida Marlins @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays
St. Louis Cardinals @ Kansas City Royals
San Francisco Giants @ Oakland A's
San Diego Padres @ Seattle Mariners

NL Stadiums:
Baltimore Orioles @ Washington Nationals
Boston Red Sox @ Philadelphia Phillies
New York Yankoffs @ New York Mets
Minnesota twins @ Milwaukee Brewers
Texas Rangers @ Houston Astros
Toronto Blue Jays @ Colorado Rockies (The Jays former rival was the Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals)
Los Angeles Angels @ Los Angeles Dodgers

NL vs. NL (the NL has 2 more teams than the AL):

Atlanta Braves @ Arizona Diamondbacks

Let the games begin: