Does West Need a Texas Tag Team?

Interleague play is a steppingstone to major realignment in 1999, if not ‘98, but the attempt at reconfiguration is mired in self- interest.

However, Houston Astro owner Drayton McLane now says he is willing to move back to the National League West if it helps solve the problem and if the Texas Rangers move from the American League as a geographic rival.

The Astros last won a division title in ‘86, competing against the Dodgers in the West, but McLane thinks L.A. will be an even more formidable financial foe if Peter O’Malley sells the team.

“They will be very tough to compete against, especially with Rupert Murdoch buying them,” McLane said.

And in the meantime, the public’s impressive response to interleague play might influence several clubs to reexamine their previous positions, Kansas City Royal President Mike Herman said. In fact, the very concept of separate leagues could become an anachronism.

“We’d rather see one central office overseeing all of baseball,” Herman said. “With interleague play, what’s the sense of having separate leagues?

“I’ve found that when you break down that idea of identifying teams by American League or National League, people like the idea of regionalized baseball. You could then go back to unbalanced schedules [with teams playing more games within their divisions] and foster some real, meaningful regional rivalries.

“We think baseball should look at total realignment.”

Perhaps, but baseball’s realignment committee has to come up with a plan in the next two weeks and there figures to be a vigorous fight, no matter how many teams are now willing to move.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a surprising run with their $9-million payroll, but Manager Gene Lamont says it’s no way to do business.

Rebuilding? Fine. Winning? No.

“To win, you’ve got to spend some money,” he said. “We’re not counting on a $10-million payroll forever.”

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The optioning of Chad Fonville and the assignment of Eric Anthony to triple-A Albuquerque leaves the Dodgers without an African American player for the first time since Jackie Robinson’s debut in 1947.

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The Colorado Rockies’ recall of promising shortstop Neifi Perez puts Walt Weiss back on the trading block, with the Texas Rangers and New York Mets said to be interested.

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In the hapless NL Central, the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals are in a stretch of 26 consecutive games against losing teams, but it’s a two-way street.

“Those teams are also playing a team with a losing record,” Manager Tony La Russa said of his 32-39 Cardinals.

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Whitey Herzog, on the National League West: “I think the Dodgers are susceptible to right-handed pitching and San Diego is susceptible to left-handed pitching and Colorado is allergic to airlines [as indicated by the Rockies’ poor road record.]”

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The Florida Marlins’ disappointing attendance received an interleague boost from a large influx of New York Yankee fans, but as backup catcher Greg Zaun said: “I’m just glad 40,000 are showing up. If they keep coming out like that, I don’t care if they root for the Hiroshima Carp.”