When interleague play was first introduced in 1997, I was not in favor of anything that would take away from the World Series or the All-Star Game. For the same reasons, I would like to see interleague games discontinued.

At first, I thought it would be great for a few years -- and it has been. I like the territorial battles, like when the Yankees play the Mets and the Giants play the A's. But how many people want Montreal, Tampa Bay or Minnesota (yes, even the Twins) coming to their city?

Fans want to see the star players from the other leagues. When Ken Griffey Jr. played in the American League, National League fans wanted to see him play. Now, they want to see Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Pedro Martinez.

But the novelty has worn off. All the high-profile teams, like the Yankees, Dodgers and Braves, play the same teams every year. The people on the West Coast never get to the see the Yankees because the Dodgers, Giants and Padres never play them. Likewise, AL West teams never play NL East teams.

One suggestion has been to alternate between playing certain divisions each year, like the NFL does. But I don't know if that would work in baseball because pennant races need to be as balanced as possible. What if the Yankees lost three times to Randy Johnson, while the Red Sox didn't have to face Johnson? Then, if the Yankees lost the division to the Red Sox by one game, would that be fair to the Yankees?

This season the unbalanced schedules have been great because teams are playing the same schedule as other teams in their division. But if interleague play were to bounce teams around and force them to play against other divisions, teams would no longer be playing the same schedule as divisional rivals.

I do not dislike interleague play; I'm just not a big fan of it.

Now, to this week's five questions:

How critical is Jason Varitek's injury to the Red Sox?
When the catcher is out, it hurts a team's defense. But Varitek is a threat both offensively and defensively and one of the Red Sox better players. Now they are missing two players in the middle of their defense, Varitek and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra. And they are not solidified at second base either because they switch between Mike Lansing, Jose Offerman and Chris Stynes.

SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL

Atlanta at NY Yankees 8 p.m. ET, ESPN Play-by-play: Jon Miller Analyst: Joe Morgan Which dominant right-handed pitcher of his era would you rather have on the mound to win one game, Roger Clemens or Greg Maddux? That's a difficult question. A lot would depend on the makeup of the other team and how many left-handed hitters it had. Maddux has better success against lefties, and Clemens is better against right-handed hitters. It's hard to choose between the two. Normally, I would take the power pitcher (Clemens) over the finesse pitcher (Maddux). But Maddux, while not overpowering, is like a power pitcher in the way he dominates. I have never seen another pitcher who can dominate without power like Maddux does. With finesse, he can be in total command of the other team over nine innings and only throw 80 pitches. So even if Clemens' power would normally give him the edge, Maddux is equally dominant in a different way. -- Joe Morgan

The Red Sox staff was getting comfortable pitching to Varitek. That's not to say Scott Hatteberg will be unable to step in and do a good job until Varitek returns, but it will take awhile for the pitchers to get used to Hatteberg as the everyday catcher.

The Red Sox have managed to overcome obstacles before and are still holding onto first place in the AL East. They just have more to overcome now.

Which divisional race do you expect to be the tightest at the end of the season?
I expect the NL Central to be the tightest race between the Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers and Astros. All four will be in the race until the end of the regular season. If two teams separate from the pack, it should be St. Louis and Chicago. The Cubs are on fire, getting great pitching from Kerry Wood, Jon Lieber and Kevin Tapani. The Cardinals have an outstanding lineup. With Mark McGwire back, they will be even better. The Brewers will have a slugger's chance because that's what they are -- sluggers. They strike out more than any team in the majors and hit a lot of home runs. The Astros have the offense to contend, but they have too many pitching problems. Plus, Billy Wagner just hurt his arm again.

With the Rangers now 26 games out in the AL West, should owner Tom Hicks reconsider his decision not to trade Ivan Rodriguez?
Ivan Rodriguez is now a 10-and-5 man (10 years in majors, five with the same team) and can veto any trade proposal. But he isn't the problem in Texas. Past decisions regarding other players have been the problem. The Rangers would compound their difficulties if they traded the best catcher in the game.

If other players deserve big contracts, so does Pudge. He dominates the offense of the other team better than anyone. Teams cannot steal or hit-and-run when he is behind the plate. He is the best defensive player in the game because he is involved in every play and is in control. I am a big fan of Rodriguez and can't see the Rangers trading a player of his caliber.

With the Mariners holding such a commanding lead, is there a danger of them getting complacent come playoff time?
I don't think the Mariners will get complacent. They may relax in preparation for the postseason, but that happens. Teams cannot maintain the same level of intensity for 162 games.

The Mariners are not like the Yankees, who manage to make the postseason every year. So I don't see Lou Piniella allowing the Mariners to let up. They may not win four out of every five games over the rest of the season, but they will continue to work until the end. Piniella doesn't get the credit he deserves.

I admire what Piniella and the Seattle management have done. While Alex Rodriguez left through free agency, the Mariners traded away two superstars, Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr., and got players back who are performing, like Freddy Garcia, John Halama, Mike Cameron and Carlos Guillen. The Mariners win with great defense and pitching and don't make many mistakes.

Getting rid of superstars is hardly the right formula for winning games. But the Mariners have found a superstar in Bret Boone, who is producing numbers equal to A-Rod.

Which part of the game gets overlooked the most?
People tend to overlook the strategy and the movement of players -- the hit-and-run, stealing bases and putting runners in motion. Even though there is less strategy and player movement in today's game, the teams at or near the top still do it, like the Mariners, the Twins and the Yankees, who lead the league in stolen bases. None of them are power teams. But look at the Rangers: They have hit more home runs than any team in the American League, but they aren't winning.

As the season progresses, we will see more strategy and more teams trying to move runners. The game is changing for the better in that respect because fewer home runs are being hit. The new strike zone is one of the main factors. I'm also not sure the ball is as lively. Plus, more pitchers are pitching inside. More hitters are getting hit and are not as comfortable in the batter's box as before.

Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is an analyst for ESPN.