Ibanez to mostly sit when Angels visit NL parks

DETROIT -- The Angels will make their first of four visits to a National League park on Monday for the start of a three-game series against the Nationals. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Raul Ibanez will make one start in left field, likely on Monday or Tuesday against an opposing right-hander.

But mainly, he'll sit.

"It's an unfortunate thing about going to play a National League club, but it's what we'll do," Scioscia said. "Right now it might be good to give Raul a day off. It's good for him to catch his breath a little. He's been working real hard in the cage and hasn't seen the results he wants in the batter's box."

Ibanez, who sat Sunday so that David Freese could serve as the designated hitter in his first game back from a tight right quad, is batting .150/.215/.317 to start the year. But his overall absence from the lineup these next three days alludes to a larger point, about the need for uniformity now that Interleague Play is spread out over the course of a full season.

Scioscia's club will also be in Philadelphia on May 13-14, Atlanta on June 13-15 and Los Angeles on Aug. 4-5, and is one of many who believes it has come to a point where both leagues should go by the same rules.

"If you'd asked me 20 years ago, I was absolutely for pitchers hitting in both leagues," Scioscia said, "but I've come to appreciate the DH. It opens up a lot of the stuff they say it suppresses as far as little ball.

"I don't know which way it's going to go, but I'm sure it's going to be standardized at some point. We'll see which way it goes."