Something suggests he wasn’t alone.
In the end, the Red Sox emerge from baseball’s answer to reverse-sweater night with an 11-7 record in interleague play, having won five of six series. One of their losses featured closer Jonathan Papelbon’s only blown save of the season. Another was a rain-shortened, five-inning affair against the Florida Marlins. In the end, the Sox’ annual summer fling with the NL could have been better and could have been worse, though 11-7 translates into a 99-win pace over the course of a 162-game schedule.
Know what we learned in the end? Zero. In 2006, the Sox went 16-2 against the NL and 70-74 the rest of the time en route to an 86-76 finish and their only postseason absence since 2002. The Sox looked like world beaters against the NL and paper tigers against the American League, which can skew the data in a game that has become increasingly mathematical.
“I’m not a big fan of it,’’ said Kevin Youkilis, who went 1 for 3 with a walk yesterday and batted .190 this interleague season. “I don’t think it’s fair when you’re battling for a wild card and you don’t [more frequently] play some of the teams you’re battling with.’’
Before yesterday’s game, for what it’s worth, manager Terry Francona made a similar remark. While the Red Sox are among those clubs who will benefit from interleague play, consider the plight of, say, the reigning world champion Phillies, whose win over the Blue Jays yesterday left their 2009 interleague record at 6-12. The Phillies and Rockies (11-4 with yesterday’s win over Oakland) very well could end up fighting for a playoff spot, at which point the discrepancy in interleague records could be a determining factor.
And then there is this: While the Phillies were playing the Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays, the Rockies were playing the far less intimidating AL West.
Life isn’t fair, as we all know. But shouldn’t the schedule be?
