InterLeague Is Here!

First off, why not start with a little Interleague History?

Moving on to performance, we see that the Oakland A's have the best record for AL teams in interleague play with an 85-55 record - in the National League, the Atlanta Braves are 79-57.

But enough of the past. What makes this stuff good is the intercity/inter-area rivalries that go on.

Sports Amnesia's Top Interleague Matchups This Weekend

1. Combined record: 43-39. The Yankees-Mets series probably doesn't top the Yankees-Red Sox on a scale of pure hype but that's probably only because it is restricted to a single, crazed city. This season they will put roughly $300 million worth of salaries on the field. Key added faces to this year's rivalry are The Unit, who pitches Saturday, Pedro, who pitches Sunday, Carl Pavano, who pitches Sunday. The Mets also have Carlos Beltran who shined under the microscope in last year's playoffs. The most infamous moment in this series history was probably the Roger Clemens beaning of Mike Piazza. Of course the World Series followed that year with Clemens throwing a chunk of bat at Piazza. Now Clemens wastes away pitching for the Astros in anticipation of perhaps rejoining the Yankees for their yearly pennant race and Mike Piazza is well, reduced himself to being a pretty insignificant player. Yankees are 21-20 and the Mets are 22-19 so far this season.

2. Combined record: 47-32. The White Sox - Cubs sees a slight change in the rivalry in that the White Sox are one of the top teams in the American League so far this season and the Cubs, as usual, seem prone to be muddling their way through the season. Everything You Wanted To Know About Cubs-Sox 2005. And if you're looking for some insight, here are the numbers against each other. Freddy Garcia, RHP (3-3, 4.02) of the White Sox (29-12) opens the series against Greg Maddux, RHP (2-1, 4.15) of the Cubs (18-20).

3. Combined record: 45-35: The Dodgers-Angels series takes on a new light this year in that the Angels formally just from crummy old Anaheim, have coopted the Los Angeles in their name. So in a sense, this really IS the battle for LA and their millions of fans. You wouldn't know it by reading the LA sportspages though. Barely a mention. The rivalry needs time to mature. A few beanballs and bench-emptying brawls would add some luster. Jarrod Washburn, LHP (2-2, 4.04) will pitch the opener for the Angels (23-17) and Scott Erickson, RHP (1-3, 6.57) takes the mound for the Dodgers (22-18).

4. Combined record: 46-34: The Braves at the Red Sox isn't exactly an intercity brawl but it IS an interleague series which traditionally matches two fo the best teams in baseball. For me, a more extravagent affair for these are the two teams I hate the most in baseball. Tim Hudson, RHP (4-2, 3.18) opens for the Braves (23-17)against Wade Miller, RHP (0-0, 4.22) for the Red Sox (23-17).

5. Combined record: 35-44: The A's at the Giants in the past has been a matchup of two perennial contenders yet sadly for the Bay area, this is a competition between two teams on a downward slide. The A's have lost two of their three magic starters and the Giants are Barry Bonds-less. This is a series for the die-hard Bay area fan and not much else.

Odd notes on the others: The Nats will be at Toronto and the dumb thing about this is that it was once the All-Canada interleague series and now it's uh...the Nats at Toronto. Still, these are both good teams with a combined record of 43-37.