Gene Honda Civic Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/...merican-league/ As amazing as Detroit's turnaround has been, I don't think they'll be making a serious run at the playoffs this year. However, they will still play a big role in which team does get there out of the AL Central. The White Sox, for some strange reason, have yet to play the Tigers at all this season, meaning they play them an astounding 19 times in the second-half. Chicago has also played sparingly against both Cleveland and Kansas City, and they combine to play those two teams a total of 24 times in the second-half. Add that all up, and the White Sox play the three sub-.500 AL Central teams a total of 43 times in the second-half, which makes up 55% of their entire remaining schedule. Meanwhile, the Twins play those three teams a total of just 26 times (35% of their schedule), including only seven games against the lowly Royals. If you ignore identical games that the two teams have scheduled (they both play Seattle three times, for instance), here are the differences in their second-half schedules ... CHICAGO MINNESOTA TEAM # TEAM # Detroit 13 Baltimore 9 Kansas City 7 New York 6 Boston 3 Cleveland 3 Oakland 3 Anaheim 3 Philadelphia 1 Tampa Bay 2 Texas 1 Overall, Minnesota's remaining schedule has a .501 winning percentage, while Chicago's remaining opponents have a .485 winning percentage. That may not seem like much, and it probably isn't (that's a difference of only three games over the course of an entire season), but even a one-game swing can make a huge difference in a tight division race. If you look at only their non-identical games (as shown above), Chicago's advantage grows. The Twins' unique opponents have a .515 winning percentage, while Chicago's unique opponents have a .469 winning percentage. More than likely, the division will be decided in the nine games the Twins and White Sox play against each other in the second-half, but if the two teams come out fairly even after those battles, the White Sox hold an advantage coming down the stretch. Taking it even further, if the Twins and White Sox are within a game or two heading into the final two weeks of the season, expect Chicago to walk away with the division championship. After the White Sox and Twins play a three-game series in Chicago from September 20-22, the Twins finish up with seven games against Cleveland and three games against the Yankees, in New York. Meanwhile, the White Sox finish up with seven games against Kansas City and three games against Detroit. I can't imagine why the schedule-makers would have the Twins playing the Yankees in the final week of the season, but as a Twins fan, I find it hard to complain too much. You see, last year the Twins finished up their title run with seven games against Detroit (one of the worst teams in baseball history) and two games against Cleveland (who went 68-94). The White Sox finished up with seven games against Kansas City (83-79) and three games against those same Yankees (best record in the league). I know my fellow Twins fans don't want to hear it, because they heard it in 2002 and 2003 and it didn't come true, but I really do think the Twins are in trouble this year. They might need a couple Shannon Stewarts (or at least one guy as valuable as Jayson Stark thought Stewart was last year) in the second-half this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 He's right. After last year, the Twinkie-ites have no room to b**** about scheduling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Let's just hope we can take advantage of some good luck scheduling wise this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeport_Joe Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Also, given that Minnesota has played the easiest schedule in baseball by a significant margin to date (the Sox have had a slightly-easier-than-average schedule), I have a hard time feeling sorry for the Twins. The Twins will almost certainly end the year with an overall lower SOS than the Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I liked reading the numbers on that right there. That was a cool way at looking what could happen in the 2nd half. However, if any team knows it, it's the White Sox, that just because it looks good on paper, it doesn't mean it's going to look that way on the playing field. Let's do it Sox! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnB Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 I was very happy to see that twins fan not b****ing about the schedule and realizing it happened to us last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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