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July 10, 2006
Scheduling the West
Every AL West team will play 74 games after the All-Star Break:
| Team | Home |
Road |
vs. BOS, CHW, DET, NYY |
vs KAN, TAM |
Opp. Win% |
| Los Angeles | 39 | 35 | 20 | 9 | .514 |
| Texas | 31 | 43 | 10 | 7 | .519 |
| Oakland | 35 | 39 | 16 | 10 | .520 |
| Seattle | 34 | 40 | 16 | 10 | .525 |
The last column is a weighted average of remaining opponents’ winning percentages and takes each team’s home and road record into consideration. Seems unfair that every team in the West must play a tougher-than-average schedule, yes? Well, courtesy of interleague play, the American League has an aggregate winning percentage of .523. Most Western teams actually catch a break because they play each other more than the teams atop the other divisions.
LA has the most games remaining at home but also has the most tough opponents, defined here as anyone more than ten games over .500. The Rangers will spend the most time on the road but is largely done with the toughest opponents. They also have only three more games against a strong Toronto club, while Oakland has seven.
Texas and Oakland meet up again on August 7th. Both teams have ferocious schedules until then, while LA gets to coast:
| Team | Home |
Road |
vs. BOS, CHW, DET, NYY |
vs KAN, TAM |
Opp. Win% |
| Los Angeles | 13 | 10 | 3 | 10 | .500 |
| Seattle | 9 | 12 | 6 | 0 | .539 |
| Oakland | 7 | 16 | 10 | 0 | .557 |
| Texas | 6 | 18 | 7 | 3 | .558 |
Might every team be under .500 in four weeks? Doubtful, but possible.
Posted by Lucas at July 10, 2006 10:13 AM