Now we start the silly season. The AL teams play a couple of series against NL teams, and vice-versa. I think it is stupid. Each league plays with different rules. And the games count in the standings.

I can see that the fans might appreciate local teams playing against each other for local or regional bragging rights, but the games shouldn’t count. Consider them exhibition games or something like that. But they do count, so I don’t have to worry about any pitchers starting against each other.

So they have:

NY Yankees vs.NY Mets
Philadelphia vs.Baltimore
Atlanta vs.Boston
Tampa Bay vs.Florida
Washington vs.Toronto
Chi White Sox vs.Chi Cubs
Cleveland vs.Cincinnati
Arizona vs.Detroit
St. Louis vs.Kansas City
Milwaukee vs.Minnesota
LA Angels vs.LA Dodgers
Oakland vs.San Francisco
San Diego vs.Seattle
Houston vs. Texas
Colorado vs.Pittsburgh

I guess Atlanta and Boston face off because the Braves started out in Boston before wandering west and then south. I notice that they have the Washington Nationals (ex-Montreal Expos) lining up against the Blue Jays. And Colorado and Pittsburgh get to avoid the travesty and play against each other. Maybe next year they will try Washington and Baltimore against each other?

So the pairings are: NYC, Mason-Dixon, Boston, Florida, Canada, Chicago, Ohio, AZvsMI???,I-70, North Woods, LA, Bay, S Pacific vs N Pacific, and Texas. Not sure about that Arizona/Detroit pairing, Sunbelt/Rustbelt maybe?