Originally Posted by
Willie Bee
In addition to posting some of the details with each team's schedule, this is my annual rant about what a joke the overall schedule is.
This year's slate actually is a little better for the four divisions that have each have five teams. Play within those divisions is split evenly with nine home games apiece. But that's where the level playing field ends.
Once again, the NL Central takes the brunt of the unlevel schedule, with teams playing six home games and nine road games against some of their divisional rivals, and a 9-6 split with others. No way it should be done in that manner. Figuring out a 162-game slate for 30 teams is not easy, especially with the imbalanced divisional alignment. But just because a task is difficult doesn't make it impossible.
Can you imagine the uproar if the Yankees played nine games against the Red Sox in Boston and only six in New York? Yet that has been the case for several years now in the NL Central. And no, before you ask, if it's out of whack one way this year -- for example, the Cubs play nine against the Cardinals in St. Louis this season and only six in Chicago -- it doesn't mean it will be the reverse next season.
One scheduling bit that is standing in the way of a fair slate is the interleague rivalry bull. With so many of the playoff races decided by a single game, it's simply not just to force teams like the Yankees and Mets to play six times against one another each and every year while a team like the Cardinals draws a half-dozen versus the Royals.
It would be an easy fix if baseball would just wake up and yank the bandaid off, realigning to six, five-team divisions.
Under the current alignment, the one team that takes the biggest beating is Texas. The Rangers are the only team in their division NOT in the Pacific Time Zone. Once again, can you imagine the fuss if every other team in the Mets' division was in the Mountain Time Zone or if the Dodgers were grouped with 3-4 other teams from the Central?
Ok, I got my rant out of the way. Time to move on because the schedule is what it is and we're stuck with it as far as trying to cap futures. One of the big factors in my futures betting is using the schedule we have in simulations. Those six contests against the Royals certainly figure into my calculations for Cardinals wins, just as those six games against the Yankees figure into my calculations for the Mets' total victories.
Here's a division-by-division breakdown of each team's Home-Away slate. If you find any errors, don't hesitate to let me know.
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Annual MLB rant about the schedule
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