We’re about to get a huge dose of Blue Jays

[Camden_yardbird]

Put me in the camp that likes interleague play.  First because my wife is a pirates fan (pity points accepted for our household) and we get to go to some fun games.

I think the unbalanced schedule is absolute trash.  Its just another reason that shows MLB does not care about parity in the league.

Either way, what the Orioles and Jays are about to do shows the absurdity of that system.

[Sports Guy]

You should play your division more than anyone else.  Every sport does it I believe.

[CarrRun49]

10 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

He should start the AS game on the mound and at the plate because it’s such a great story.

But how will he pitch with a cue ball the rest of the season and no spider tack?

[HowAboutThat]

1 hour ago, VaBird1 said:

If they put the DH in the NL (as it sounds is likely) there isn’t any reason to not have a balanced schedule.   The two “leagues” are now run by the same people and the DH is the only difference.  Once that is gone they might as well put everyone together and you play each team the same number of times.

I don’t see what the DH has to do with anything but I hate the DH in the NL as well. The subtle differences between the leagues are valuable. But interleague play is stupid.

[Moose Milligan]

I agree, I'm over interleague play.  It was cool back in the 90s when it started and you could see teams that you normally wouldn't see like the Braves and their rotation.  

But with the advent of mlb.tv and other avenues, you can kinda see the players you want whenever you want.  Even back in the 90s, the Braves were always on TBS, but at least you'd get to see them against YOUR team.  I remember like '97 when they thought that the Orioles/Braves was a World Series preview.

These days, I'm less interested in seeing National League teams.  My level of interest drops when I see that we're playing the Mets, Pirates, and even the Nationals.  I really don't care about an I-95 rivalry. 

I also don't mind an unbalanced schedule, where we play more against the AL East.  We should.  In the NFL you play half your schedule against your division.  The games mean more.  I think we forget because we've been so bad for so long that a win for us is a game up in the standings when we beat a division opponent.  If you have a balanced schedule, we're playing Oakland and wondering if the Yankees are beating Kansas City.  It's harder to gain ground (or in our case, easier to lose ground) when you're not playing your division more than the rest of the teams.  IMO, the last 3-4 weeks (and I think they already do a decent job of this) should be nothing but playing your division.  

[Camden_yardbird]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

You should play your division more than anyone else.  Every sport does it I believe.

In MLB its a little over 44% of your schedule.

In the NFL its 35% of your schedule.  Add to that the schedule is balanced and teams play all the same opponents outside the three games placed on previous years finishes (something MLB should be doing).

In the NBA its 20% of your schedule and the schedule is completely balanced.

Baseball should be closer to the NFL in my mind.  44% is way too high especially because there is a lotnof arbitrary decisions.  Sometimes its 19 games, sometimes one team has 2-3 more home games.  Sometimes you play more games against another OoD team.

[oriolesacox]

I selfishly like IL play only because my wife and I are trying to see the Os play in every MLB stadium.  I don’t know if we ever will be able to complete it but it’s fun trying. I can also see the argument against it as well.  

[jabba72]

In recent years I've read attendance is still higher for Interleague games so thats why they're still being played. For me though the mystery and intrigue of it ended after a couple years. 

[Can_of_corn]

20 minutes ago, jabba72 said:

In recent years I've read attendance is still higher for Interleague games so thats why they're still being played. For me though the mystery and intrigue of it ended after a couple years. 

They are being played because you have two leagues with 15 teams in them. 

[JR Oriole]

We play 76 games against NY, Boston, Toronto, and Tampa.  76 out of 162 is 47%.  That is completely insane and way too much.  I am sick of seeing those teams and those players all the time.  When I was growing up we used to play teams like NY and Toronto 12 or 13 times a year.  Those games felt really important and I think part of the reason is that you didn't see them as much.  Of course, I was also a kid when there was no interleague play so the World Series was always between two teams that never met (outside of spring training)....which made it more special in my mind.  

I definitely think the NFL and NBA are more appropriate in terms of division v. non-divisional opponents.  

[glenn__davis]

49 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I also don't mind an unbalanced schedule, where we play more against the AL East.  We should.  In the NFL you play half your schedule against your division.  The games mean more.   

But it's not at all an apples-to-apples.

If you're a Ravens fan, you play the Steelers twice.  2 days out of 365.  Makes those days seem extra special.

I don't want to play the same team 18-19 times in a baseball season.  And it truly has nothing to do with the competitive side of things.  I just don't want to play the same team that many times.  When I was a kid I felt like I knew all of the players around the AL just by following the Orioles.  This year we were done with the Athletics before May I believe?  That's just dumb.  It makes all of the games outside of your division seem not as interesting because you have no idea who half the players are, and meanwhile you get overloaded on the teams within your division.

I'm not sure what the best answer is.  I hate IL play also but it's not going anywhere.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

3 minutes ago, JR Oriole said:

We play 76 games against NY, Boston, Toronto, and Tampa.  76 out of 162 is 47%.  That is completely insane and way too much.  I am sick of seeing those teams and those players all the time.  When I was growing up we used to play teams like NY and Toronto 12 or 13 times a year.  Those games felt really important and I think part of the reason is that you didn't see them as much.  Of course, I was also a kid when there was no interleague play so the World Series was always between two teams that never met (outside of spring training)....which made it more special in my mind.  

I definitely think the NFL and NBA are more appropriate in terms of division v. non-divisional opponents.  

You could keep an unbalanced schedule versus intradivision teams, but reduce it to 60 games total instead of 76 games. Then it's 37% of a teams scheduled games are against opponents within their division. 

[Moose Milligan]

10 minutes ago, glenn__davis said:

But it's not at all an apples-to-apples.

If you're a Ravens fan, you play the Steelers twice.  2 days out of 365.  Makes those days seem extra special.

I don't want to play the same team 18-19 times in a baseball season.  And it truly has nothing to do with the competitive side of things.  I just don't want to play the same team that many times.  When I was a kid I felt like I knew all of the players around the AL just by following the Orioles.  This year we were done with the Athletics before May I believe?  That's just dumb.  It makes all of the games outside of your division seem not as interesting because you have no idea who half the players are, and meanwhile you get overloaded on the teams within your division.

I'm not sure what the best answer is.  I hate IL play also but it's not going anywhere.  

I don't disagree with you 100%.  If anything, I'd rather swap the IL games out for more games against AL opponents, not necessarily just in the division.  

But I still think the last games of the season should be primarily against your division.  It should be your division beating up on each other and seeing who comes out on top.

[vab]

They're not going to give up the Yankees-Mets, Angels-Dodgers, Cubs-White Sox and if you're going to have those you need the rest of the interleague slate to keep the schedules as even as possible within the divisions. The 19 division games should go, though. That's just too much, they need more balance in the intraleague when you have that wild-card spot up for grabs among the entire league. 

[eddie83]

The impact is about WC races. The schedules are equal within divisions, obviously aren’t equal outside. The Indians schedule is much easier than the Blue Jays.