AL is the NL's Daddy

For those of you who know me, I'm a huge Mets fan, and by default, a fan of the NL. As such, I hate the Yankees and the AL. But I have to admit...the Mets just embarassed themselves and the National League by getting swept by the Red Sox.

Is the AL that much better than the NL, or is this just a meaningless three game series?

Date

Thu 06/29/06, 7:23 pm EST

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UfgatorsDiv-I Stud

1250 days ago

Score 1

Well, the AL has won every Allstar game (with the exception of the year they tied the NL) dating back to 1997.

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ChachiOSUDraft Pick

1250 days ago

Score 0

I thought it was back to '96?

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MetsJetsDevilsDraft Pick

1250 days ago

Score -1

The Mets happened to catch the Sox when they were red hot. My hat off to the Sox. But the real issue here is the schedule imbalance. Inter-league play causes the Mets to play the Red Sox and Yankees each year while other NL teams play historically poor teams like the Devil Rays and Royals. This is the worst example that MLB is focused too much on revenue and not enough of competitive balance.

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DNLLegend

1250 days ago

Score 2

The Mets don't play the Red Sox each year, but they play the Yankees twice each year while the other NL East teams get them once every three years.

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TartanVarsity Captain

1250 days ago

Score -1

The rivalry games that MLB forces into its schedules skew the season for close pennat races. For example, the NL Central, everyone has rivalry interleague games. The Cardinals get to play the Royals, while the Cubs have to play the White Sox, Reds/Indians, etc. This type of scheduling can make the difference if a division were decided by a few games.

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XinophDraft Pick

1250 days ago

Score -2

It's not just the Mets, either. The Sox have swept every team in the NL East except the Marlins, who they face tonight at 7:30 in Florida. The Red Sox are right now the hottest team in baseball, true, but the Mets showed zero ability to stop that, even when they sent their two aces to the mound. Even when one of those aces - Glavine - actually threw a decent game. So clearly it's not just that the Sox are hot.

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Bleeding GreenVarsity

1250 days ago

Score 2

The Sox did lose a game to the Phillies this year at CBP.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1250 days ago

Score 0

They are clicking on all cylinders. The defense has gone 16 straight games without an error, one of the biggest reasons why they've swept three straight series'.

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Bobbyjim45Draft Pick

1250 days ago

Score 1

Forgot to sign in^^^

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XinophDraft Pick

1250 days ago

Score -2

Yes, they lost to the Phillies once. That's been their one interleague loss *all year*

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Bleeding GreenVarsity

1250 days ago

Score 2

No, the AL is that much better. I'm also an NL fan, but I admit that the disparity is almost embarassing at this point. THe 5th best in the AL is probably equal to the best NL team.

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JuTMSY4Legend

1250 days ago

Score 1

Right on. After seeing the sox handle the mets, I may take back my statement that I'd take the mets against anyone for 1 game...its now a push...But clearly, both sox, tigers, and Yankees are better than any NL team, hell, i'll throw in the As...Really, the only way NL stands a chance at the WS title is if one team gets very very hot at the right time... Still the record is a little skewed. The NL has more mediocre teams than the AL, but the AL has probably the top 4 or 5 best...

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ChristofMVP

1250 days ago

Score 2

If anyone had any doubts that the AL is in a different universe than the NL, hasn't this week's games extinguish them?

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JuTMSY4Legend

1250 days ago

Score 0

and we all wondered why the braves only won 1 WS in like 15 years...hmmm

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The sharkDraft Pick

1250 days ago

Score 2

These things are cyclical. Not just in baseball, but in all sports. Remember the NFC's dominance over the AFC from the late 80's through the late 90's? I think that most would agree that the AFC is now the more dominant conference.
In fact, the NL won 11 straight All-Star games from '72 to '82, 19 of 20 from '63 to '82, and 22 of 25 from '63 to '87. Interestingly, however, the last decade which saw the NL win more WS titles than the AL was the 60's (6-4). Obviously the DH plays no small role in AL dominance (instituted in the late 60's). But another factor to consider is the AL seems to have caught up to the NL in pitching in the last 10 to 15 years.

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JustjudithWaterboy

1250 days ago

Score 1

You hit the nail on the head. I'm a Cardinals fan and their 1-9 record during interleague play is terrible. And they're supposed to be one of the best in the NL, just like the Mets. If the Cards lose to the Royals this weekend I'll be prepared to just wait for football season. I say, until there's some parity, the AL will destroy the NL in the World Series just like they have for the past two seasons.

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