2008 Interleague Inequity – NL West
Posted by: Richie Rich in 2008 MLB, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Interleague Play, Padres, Rockies
Home Run Derby continues the analysis of 2008 Interleague Schedules, compared by Division.
So far we’ve seen that the Cubs have a clear advantage in the NL Central and the East is sorted out according to competiveness.
In 2008, the NL West is matched up against the AL Central. Or is it?
| I/L | BOS | NYY | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | LAA | OAK | SEA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM | SOS | .593 | .580 | .444 | .593 | .543 | .426 | .488 | .580 | .469 | .543 |
| SD | .548 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |||||
| LAD | .548 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||||||
| ARZ | .504 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| COL | .499 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||
| SF | .491 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Well, now we know where the Cubs’ games against the Yankees and Red Sox went. They went to San Diego and Arizona.
I think Padres fans have something to bitch about this season when I look at this. First off, this season they’re one of the NL’s swing teams, which means they play 18 Interleague games instead of 15 … and 15 of them are against AL Contenders. That might be nice if those extra set is against Kansas City or Baltimore, but not when it’s an extra road trip to Seattle. Next, and more glaring, is that the D-Backs and Rockies have much easier opponents than the Pads.
Arizona gets a road trip to Fenway Park and hosts Detroit, but after that … Minnesota, KC and Oakland won’t threaten them much.
Joe Torre and the Dodgers get twelve games against the Angels, Tigers and Indians. Only the White Sox had a losing record last season … and if they get Buehrle or Vasquez, look out. This is a tough schedule.
Colorado might be the only team in MLB who is playing all its interleague games against a single division. Wouldn’t that make life so much easier if it was done across the board? The Giants play four games against the AL Central in addition to the A’s.
Overall, the NL West has a big disparity in Interleague Strength of Schedule in 2008.
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February 29th, 2008 at 9:53 am
[...] look now, but the Padres have a tough interleague schedule. We’ll see what impact this has on the [...]