Fenway's Green Monster will be a familiar sight for some AL West clubs.
Much to the delight of the five AL Central clubs, the big bad Boston Red Sox show up on this year's schedule just 33 times. Perhaps to the dismay of the AL West, the Red Sox appear on the slate for 39 games between the four clubs in that division.
Such is the state of the MLB schedule these days.
It wasn't that long ago that you heard the phrase 'unbalanced schedule' in the majors and knew that meant teams within a division played each other more than they did the teams outside their division. But 'unbalanced' didn't mean 'unfair.'
That has not been the case since the 1994 season when baseball split into three divisions within each league. The introduction of interleague play in 1997 caused another shift in the order.
Nowadays the phrase has turned into 'skewed schedule,' causing some teams within the same division to have three more road games against a rival than they get versus that same divisional foe on their own field.
If you're going to bet baseball futures, especially season win totals, taking a good, hard look at a team's slate is a necessity. That is unless you're good at throwing darts blindfolded.
Overall, the AL is at least fairly level as far as division games go. Both the East and Central divisions will play teams within their own groups 18 times each, split evenly home and away. The West gets a little funky with 19 games versus division rivals that are cut with 9-10 or 10-9 home-away setups.
After that nothing is level at all.
Here's a quick look at some of the schedule inequities in the Junior Circuit coming up in 2010.
AL EAST
BALTIMORE: 37 games vs. ALC, 17-20 (Home-Away) ... 35 games vs. ALW, 19-16 (H-A) ... 6-4 (H-A) split vs. OAK; 6-3 vs. SEA; 4-6 vs. TEX; 4-6 vs. DET ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. WAS; 3-0 vs. NYM and FLA; 0-3 vs. SFG and SDP
BOSTON: 33 games vs. ALC, 16-17 (H-A) ... 39 games vs. ALW, 20-19 (H-A) ... 7-3 (H-A) splits vs. LAA and TEX; 3-6 vs. OAK; 3-7 vs. SEA ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. PHI; 3-0 vs. ARZ and LAD; 0-3 vs. COL and SFG
NEW YORK: 36 games vs. ALC, 18-18 (H-A) ... 36 games vs. ALW, 18-18 (H-A) ... 6-4 (H-A) split vs. SEA; 4-6 vs. OAK; 5-3 vs. LAA; 3-5 vs. TEX ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. NYM; 3-0 vs. HOU and PHI; 0-3 vs. ARZ and LAD.
TAMPA BAY: 39 games vs. ALC, 22-17 (H-A) ... 33 games vs. ALW, 14-19 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) splits vs. CLE and SEA; 3-6 vs. LAA; 2-7 vs. OAK ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. FLA; 3-0 vs. SDP and ARZ; 0-3 vs. HOU and ATL
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TORONTO: 41 games vs. ALC, 19-22 (H-A) ... 31 games vs. ALW, 17-14 (H-A) ... 7-3 (H-A) split vs. TEX; 3-7 vs. CLE; 3-6 vs. LAA ... 18 interleague games, 3-0 vs. PHI, STL and SFG; 0-3 vs. ARZ, COL and SDP
AL CENTRAL
CHICAGO: 35 games vs. ALE, 17-18 (H-A) ... 37 games vs. ALW, 19-18 (H-A) ... 7-3 (H-A) vs. SEA; 6-3 vs. LAA; 3-6 vs. OAK and TEX ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. CHC; 3-0 vs. FLA and ATL; 0-3 vs. PIT and WAS
CLEVELAND: 41 games vs. ALE, 21-20 (H-A) ... 31 games vs. ALW, 15-16 (H-A) ... 7-3 (H-A) vs. TOR; 6-3 vs. OAK; 3-6 vs. TAM; 3-6 vs. LAA ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. CIN; 3-0 vs. WAS and NYM; 0-3 vs. PIT and PHI
DETROIT: 39 games vs. ALE, 20-19 (H-A) ... 33 games vs. ALW, 16-17 (H-A) ... 6-4 (H-A) split vs. BAL and LAA; 3-6 vs. TEX ... 18 interleague games, 3-0 vs. PIT, WAS and ARZ; 0-3 vs. ATL, LAD and NYM
KANSAS CITY: 35 games vs. ALE, 18-17 (H-A) ... 37 games vs. ALW, 18-19 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) split vs. OAK; 4-2 vs. BAL; 3-6 vs. SEA; 4-6 vs. LAA ... 18 interleague games, 3-0 vs. STL, COL and HOU; 0-3 vs. CIN, ATL and WAS
MINNESOTA: 36 games vs. ALE, 18-18 (H-A) ... 36 games vs. ALW, 18-18 ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. OAK; 6-4 vs. TEX, 3-7 vs. SEA ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. MIL; 3-0 vs. ATL and COL; 0-3 vs. PHI and NYM
AL WEST
LOS ANGELES: 57 games vs. ALW, 28-29 (H-A) ... 42 games vs. ALE, 21-21 (H-A) ... 45 games vs. ALC, 23-22 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. TAM, TOR and CLE; 3-7 vs. BOS; 3-6 vs. CWS; 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. LAD; 3-0 vs. MIL and COL; 0-3 vs. STL and CHC
OAKLAND: 57 games vs. ALW, 29-28 (H-A) ... 45 games vs. ALE, 26-19 (H-A); 42 games vs. ALC, 17-25 (H-A) ... 7-2 (H-A) split with TAM; 6-3 vs. CWS and BOS; 3-6 vs. CLE, KCR and MIN ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. SFG; 3-0 vs. CIN and PIT; 0-3 vs. CHC and STL
SEATTLE: 57 games vs. ALW, 28-29 (H-A) ... 43 games vs. ALE, 19-24 (H-A) ... 44 games vs. ALC, 25-19 (H-A) ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. SDP; 3-0 vs. CIN and CHC; 0-3 vs. STL and MIL
TEXAS: 57 games vs. ALW, 29-28 (H-A) ... 44 games vs. ALE, 20-24 (H-A) ... 43 games vs. ALC, 23-20 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) splits with CWS and DET; 3-7 vs. BOS and TOR ... 18 interleague games, 3-3 vs. HOU; 3-0 vs. CHC and PIT; 0-3 vs. MIL and FLA