Jayson Stark's Rumblings column this week discusses scheduling issues. One point he brings up is that the reason interleague play wasn't "fixed" until next year was the threat of realignment. He thinks that since the fixes were allowed to go in for 2002 it looks pretty certain that no realignment (contraction) will be taking place.

Between a union facing a large loss of jobs, governments facing loss of teams and a fan base that is still sceptical since the last labor war, it looks like contraction is not getting any smarter the more everyone looks at it. I don't understand how Bud can continue to play this like they mean to go through with it, but I'll be the first to admit I can't always understand what he's up to. (As an aside, can you imagine the owner in-fighting in the press if the $1m silence clause wasn't in place?)