Jeff Sullivan of SB Nation’s LookoutLanding.com provides a thorough breakdown of the Seattle Mariners 2011 MLB schedule, which was released late last night.
Sullivan notes…
Every team in the AL West plays 57 divisional contests – 19 against each. Of those, the Angels get to play 30 at home, while the Mariners get 29, the A’s get 28, and the Rangers get 27. I don’t know how meaningful that is, but it isn’t insignificant. Divisional games are the most important games, and playing at home is a bigger advantage on a game-to-game basis than I think most people realize.
This, and further analysis, leads Sullivan to conclude that the Mariners seemingly have the most difficult schedule in the American League West.
Obviously, it’s too soon to try and figure out who has the easiest schedule, and whose schedule looks the most difficult. A lot is going to change between now and next year. A lot is then going to change between Opening Day next year and whenever some of these games are played. The Padres look like a tough interleague opponent for the M’s, but they may make the mistake of looking down. While it definitely seems like the Mariners are looking at the toughest slate in 2011, who the hell knows? Maybe it evens out in the home/road discrepancies. Maybe it evens out in some other way. Maybe it doesn’t even out at all.
For everything Mariners, head over to SB Nation’s Lookout Landing.