The Cardinals and Pirates will play three extra games at Wrigley Field in 2010.
We looked at how 2010 American League schedules
shape up last week, and now it's time to take a look at the Senior Circuit where quirky schedules are redefined, especially in the Central Division.
The NL East and West Divisions each play balanced schedules within the five-team groups. Teams in both divisions will play 72 games inside their clusters, meeting the other four teams for 18 games each, split evenly with nine at home and nine away.
Teams in the NL Central don't even play the same number of division games, much less an even home-away split.
Milwaukee, for example, plays 77 games against NL Central opponents while the Cardinals and Astros play 78 and Cubs, Reds and Pirates play 79.
The consensus this season is St. Louis and Chicago will be the teams to beat in the division, and if you believe those two will finish close to each other then you might want to back the Cubs to win the Central. Why?
The two old NL rivals meet 15 times on the field this year, with nine of those games at Wrigley and only six at Busch. The Cubs won't even venture into the Gateway City until the second weekend of August.
Imagine delivering the Steinbrenner's a schedule that had their Yankees playing three extra games at Fenway than the Red Sox played in the Bronx, and the Beantown Nine first coming to the Big Apple in August.
Don't worry; as soon as I'm installed as baseball's next commissioner, I plan to take care of this mess. Until then, here's a quick team-by-team breakdown of National League slates for 2010.
NL EAST
Atlanta:
41 games vs. NLC, 19-22 (Home-Away) ... 3-6 (H-A) vs. PIT ... 34 games vs. NLW, 17-17 (H-A) ... 15 interleague games, 9-6 (H-A); 3-0 vs. TAM, DET and KCR; 0-3 vs. MIN and CWS
Florida:
40 games vs. NLC, 21-19 (H-A) ... 35 games vs. NLW, 18-17 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. SDP ... 15 interleague games, 6-9 (H-A); 3-3 vs. TAM; 3-0 vs. TEX; 0-3 vs. BAL and CWS
New York:
40 games vs. NLC, 21-19 (H-A) ... 32 games vs. NLW, 15-17 (H-A) ... 18 interleague games, 9-9 (H-A); 3-3 vs. NYY; 3-0 vs. DET and MIN; 0-3 vs. BAL and CLE
Philadelphia:
40 games vs. NLC, 19-21 (H-A) ... 2-4 (H-A) vs. CHC and PIT ... 32 games vs. NLW, 17-15 (H-A) ... 18 interleague games, 9-9 (H-A); 3-3 vs. BOS; 3-0 vs. CLE and MIN; 0-3 vs. NYY and TOR
Guaranteed DonBest.com Picks
Washington:
39 games vs. NLC, 20-19 (H-A) ... 4-2 (H-A) vs. STL ... 33 games vs. NLW, 16-17 (H-A) ... 18 interleague games, 9-9 (H-A); 3-3 vs. BAL; 3-0 vs. CWS and KCR; 0-3 vs. CLE and DET
NL CENTRAL
Chicago:
79 games vs. NLC, 40-39 (H-A) ... 9-6 (H-A) vs. PIT and STL; 6-9 vs. MIL ... 31 games vs. NLE, 16-15 (H-A) ... 4-2 (H-A) vs. PHI ... 34 games vs. NLW, 16-18 (H-A) ... 18 interleague games, 9-9 (H-A); 3-3 vs. CWS; 3-0 vs. LAA and OAK; 0-3 vs. TEX and SEA
Cincinnati:
79 games vs. NLC, 39-40 (H-A) ... 6-9 (H-A) vs. HOU ... 32 games vs. NLE, 16-16 (H-A) ... 36 games vs. NLW, 20-16 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. LAD ... 15 interleague games, 6-9 (H-A); 3-3 vs. CLE; 3-0 vs. KCR; 0-3 vs. OAK and SEA
Houston:
78 games vs. NLC, 39-39 (H-A) ... 9-6 (H-A) vs. CIN and PIT; 6-9 vs. MIL and STL ... 34 games vs. NLE, 17-17 (H-A) ... 35 games vs. NLW, 19-16 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. SFG ... 15 interleague games, 6-9 (H-A); 3-3 vs. TEX; 3-0 vs. TAM; 0-3 vs. NYY and KCR
Milwaukee:
77 games vs. NLC, 39-38 (H-A) ... 9-6 (H-A) vs. CHC and HOU; 6-9 vs. STL ... 34 games vs. NLE, 16-18 (H-A) ... 36 games vs. NLW, 17-19 (H-A) ... 3-6 (H-A) vs. COL ... 15 interleague games, 9-6 (H-A); 3-3 vs. MIN; 3-0 vs. TEX and SEA; 0-3 vs. LAA
Pittsburgh:
79 games vs. NLC, 39-40 (H-A) ... 9-6 (H-A) vs. STL; 6-9 vs. HOU and CHC ... 36 games vs. NLE, 20-16 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. ATL ... 32 games vs. NLW, 16-16 (H-A) ... 15 interleague games, 6-9 (H-A); 3-0 vs. CWS and CLE; 0-3 vs. OAK, TEX and DET
St. Louis:
78 games vs. NLC, 39-39 (H-A) ... 9-6 (H-A) vs. HOU and MIL; 6-9 vs. PIT and CHC ... 33 games vs. NLE, 15-18 (H-A) ... 36 games vs. NLW, 18-18 (H-A) ... 3-6 (H-A) vs. ARZ ... 15 interleague games, 9-6 (H-A); 3-0 vs. LAA, SEA and OAK; 0-3 vs. KCR and TOR
NL WEST
Arizona:
32 games vs. NLE, 18-14 (H-A) ... 43 games vs. NLC, 21-22 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. STL ... 15 interleague games, 6-9 (H-A); 3-0 vs. NYY and TOR; 0-3 vs. BOS, TAM and DET
Colorado:
34 games vs. NLE, 16-18 (H-A) ... 41 games vs. NLC, 23-18 (H-A) ... 6-3 (H-A) vs. MIL ... 15 interleague games, 6-9 (H-A); 3-0 vs. BOS and TOR; 0-3 vs. MIN, KCR and LAA
Los Angeles:
33 games vs. NLE, 17-16 (H-A) ... 42 games vs. NLC, 19-23 (H-A) ... 3-6 (H-A) vs. CIN ... 15 interleague games, 9-6 (H-A); 3-3 vs. LAA, 3-0 vs. NYY and DET; 0-3 vs. BOS
San Diego:
34 games vs. NLE, 15-19 (H-A) ... 3-6 (H-A) vs. FLA ... 41 games vs. NLC, 21-20 (H-A) ... 15 interleague games, 9-6 (H-A); 3-3 vs. SEA; 3-0 vs. TOR and BAL; 0-3 vs. TAM
San Francisco:
33 games vs. NLE, 17-16 (H-A) ... 42 games vs. NLC, 19-23 (H-A) ... 3-6 (H-A) vs. HOU ... 15 interleague games, 9-6 (H-A); 3-3 vs. OAK; 3-0 vs. BAL and BOS; 0-3 vs. TOR