The success of inter-league play should spur Major League Baseball into realigning to take even more advantage of regional rivalries.

How about a Heartland Division made up of the Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Twins, Cardinals and KC Royals?

This season alone, we've seen more buzz in inter-league matchups between some of these teams. This week, the Brewers are hosting the Cubs and then the Twins, and drawing big crowds. The Cubs return to Chicago after the current series to take on cross-town rivals, the White Sox.

"I like inter-league play," Brewers' manager Ned Yost said earlier this season. "It does take advantage of some geographic rivalries, and it's a little different."

In that statement, Yost presents arguments for and against realignment. Let's first look at the arguments for -- primarily that of the geographic rivalries.

A division with teams ranging from the Twin Cities to Kansas City would allow fans to travel with their teams much more economically. You see it now when the Cardinals come to Miller Park. While the number of fans rooting for the road team don't match those at Cubs' or Twins' games in Miller Park, there are a good number, since it is not that bad of a drive from St. Louis to Milwaukee.

In an era when we should become more prudent about gas consumption and travel expenses, a regional division would make economic sense. FSN North or some other cable network should be able to capitalize on a division that would have such regional appeal. Regional rivalries in football and other sports have been lent themselves to natural promotions (such as the Black and Blue Division in NFL).

The proposed Heartland Division also would maintain some traditional intra-league rivalries. The Cubs and Cards longtime NL rivalry would remain. So would the Brewers and Cubs, and Twins and White Sox.

It also would give added importance to rivalries that now are only inter-league, such as Royals and Cardinals, White Sox and Twins, Brewers and Twins, and the Cubs and White Sox. These games would be for more than just bragging rights.

The Heartland Division also would be competitive. Right now, four of the six teams are over .500. The Brewers would finish second to last in the division. So what's new, you might ask? The point is that it would not be a division of weaklings from the Midwest.

The main hang-up against such realignment would be convention. Some AL and NL franchises around MLB undoubtedly would not be willing to switch leagues, or enter a newly created one.

Yost also unknowingly mentioned another possible hang-up. Right now, inter-league play is different. Would a Royals-Brewers matchup, or even a Twins-Brewers series, create as much buzz if it became commonplace after a few years?

This writer doesn't expect Bud Selig and others who run MLB to propose a regional realignment tomorrow. But, I do think The Heartland Division has potential.

Cubs Series

The crowds at Miller Park this week are split about 60-40% in favor of Cubs' fans, but Yost isn't complaining.

"These games are fun," he said. "I think everybody gets buzzed by the big crowds."

The Cubs held on for a 5-4 win Monday night. On Tuesday night, Victor Santos was sailing along with a shutout until the seventh inning. Geoff Jenkins then dropped a fly ball in right field, and Derrek Lee followed with a homer to tie it, 2-2.

Rickie Weeks booted a grounder, and Aramis Ramirez followed with another homer. The Brewers suddenly trailed 4-2 and lost by that score.

Carlos Zambrano was scheduled to face the Brewers' Doug Davis on Wednesday night. Ben Sheets will face former Brewer Glendon Rusch in the series finale on Thursday.

Players of the Week

Bill Hall and Brady Clark share the honor this week. Hall hit two homers against the Cubs Tuesday night and has set a career high already in that category. He hit .314 on the recent road trip.

Clark had a great series in Toronto and generally has continued to get on base no matter whether the Brewers are hitting overall or not. He brought a six-game hitting streak into Wednesday night and is leading NL centerfielders in fielding despite committing his second error of the season Monday.

Bucks' Draft Pick

The Bucks had their top two possible No. 1 picks into town for workouts this week. Marvin Williams and Andrew Bogut both have assets that should help the team become more competitive.

This writer casts his vote for Bogut, a 7-footer from Utah via Australia. A talented big man still can have more impact on a team than a player at any other position. Bogut has the kind of talent to become a player the Bucks could build around.

Hot Tix

As mentioned, the Twins come to Miller Park for games at 7:05 p.m. Friday, 6:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday. Before that series, the Brewers wrap up the current series with the Cubs with a 1:05 p.m. game on Thursday.

The main weekend of the Badger State Summer Games is scheduled for this weekend. Athletes from all over the state will compete in a variety of events in Madison. Some events already were held last weekend. Competition this week actually starts Thursday.

Wave United holds its home opener at 1 p.m. Saturday against Polonia SC at Uihlein Soccer Park. The game is part of Polish Fest.

NASCAR Busch Series racing comes to The Milwaukee Mile Saturday with the SBC 250. More information on that event can be found at milwaukeemile.com.