Interleague

THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES, in a span of six days, will make the case for both sides of the debate that has stirred fans over interleague play.Baseball has long been unique among American sports in that its two leagues never played one another in games that counted until the autumn championship rounds. That changes this weekend, when teams in the American and National leagues play each other for the first time during the regular season.The Orioles travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves. Each boasts the most wins in its league and each has saved its best pitchers for this showdown.

NEW YORK -- The baseball world may be all atwitter about the advent of interleague play next month, but it remains to be seen whether the novelty of unfamiliar competition will compare with the excitement of a traditional divisional rivalry.In the meantime, under-stimulated fans will have to settle for a rematch of last year's American League Championship Series.The Orioles open a two-game series against the New York Yankees today at Yankee Stadium -- the first regular-season meeting between the top two contenders in the AL East since Jeffrey Maier picked Tony Tarasco's pocket in the playoffs and Yankees starter Jimmy Key pitched his way into the Orioles' rotation with his strong postseason performance against them.

Interleague play in baseball is here, and opinions on its merits are as varied as the style of play in the American and National leagues.To opponents, having the two leagues meet in any setting other than the World Series or All-Star Game is nothing short of the latest desecration of the sport.To proponents, it's a badly needed shot in the arm, a gimmick that will bring interest to a sport that could use it in the worst way, which, by the way, interleague play is."Here you have something that is very unique and very interesting.

LOS ANGELES -- When it became apparent this week that baseball's owners finally were ready to take a tangible step toward interleague play, an old debate took on a new dimension.The prospect of American League teams meeting National League teams during the regular season has refocused attention on the designated-hitter rule, which is certain to complicate the transition to the proposed new interleague format.The interleague format that was approved by baseball's executive council Tuesday night and will be presented at today's joint ownership meeting calls for the designated hitter to be used only in American League parks, as it is in the preseason and the World Series, but some baseball purists worry that mixing the rules during the regular season will damage the integrity of a century of statistics and create potential roster problems for teams in both of the major leagues.

NEW YORK - The latest buzz created by interleague play will be the loudest this weekend in the Bronx. It will silence the passing 4 train, and perhaps the many detractors of a format that has undergone a significant change this year. For the first time, teams in the American League East will play the National League West, which puts the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camden Yards beginning tonight. What are the chances that images of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale will appear on the video screen, a reminder that the Dodgers haven't been in Baltimore since the 1966 World Series?

Baseball's long-running labor feud went underground for a while, but the acrimony that both sides have tried hard the past two years to repress seems ready to bubble forth again.On Wednesday, the owners rejected the proposed collective bargaining agreement that had been hammered out by management negotiator Randy Levine and union officials. The owners' apparent repudiation of Levine and their attempt to rewrite an agreement that the Major League Baseball Players Association considered a done deal is expected to push the 4-year-old dispute into a new era of mistrust and labor unrest.

WASHINGTON -- Interleague play is officially over for 2008, and this time the Orioles might actually miss it. Heading into this season, the Orioles had the worst interleague record in the American League at 79-114. Of all major league teams, only the Pittsburgh Pirates were worse. Despite yesterday's loss to the Washington Nationals, it has been a strong interleague ride for the Orioles in 2008. They won four of their six series this year - losing only to the Milwaukee Brewers and the Nationals - and their 11-7 mark ties their club record set in 1999.

WASHINGTON -- Jay Gibbons always had been a proponent of interleague play until last night, his opinion altered somewhat by how it affected the Orioles' lineup against the Washington Nationals. Unlike past years, he wasn't in it. Without the use of a designated hitter under National League rules, manager Sam Perlozzo chose to start Kevin Millar at first base and Jay Payton in left field. Gibbons and Aubrey Huff began the game on a five-man bench. "I've always loved interleague until this year, I guess," Gibbons said with a smile.

The Orioles will open defense of their American League East title with a six-game homestand beginning March 31 against the Kansas City Royals, but they won't face their first division foe until they visit the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays on May 8, according to a preliminary schedule yet to be released by the club.The schedule features the same number of two-game series that represented a significant complaint among players and management alike last season.The Orioles will play nine two-game series on the road and 19 total, the same as last season.

The Montreal Expos don't have the best starting rotation in the National League. They don't have a brand-new stadium. They don't have a TV mogul and an Oscar-winning actress in the owners box. They don't even have a representative payroll.They do, however, have a solid team and a ton of momentum. That much was evident in their 6-4 victory over the Orioles in the first interleague game played at Camden Yards.The Orioles were just starting to like this interleague stuff. They just swept three games from the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field to make the biggest splash of the first interleague weekend -- only to come home and run into the hottest team in baseball.