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Sox/Yankees interleague disparity is ridiculous

By Evan Brunell | June 24th, 2008

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The difference in interleague schedule of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees could mean the difference between playing in October or going home. And the Yankees have the advantage. Apart from the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros that both the Red Sox and Yankees face, the two teams go in completely opposite directions in regards to how tough the opponent is. Interleague opponents of the Red Sox are 27 games over .500, while the Yankees face teams that are 17 games under .500. A .25 win percentage difference. (Thanks to Sean O for the math.) That’s a huge, huge swing.

Not all the blame can be laid at the feet of the schedule-makers. How are they supposed to know which teams are good and bad? How could they have projected the Seattle Mariners or Chicago White Sox?

But what you CAN lay at their feet is the ridiculous notion that teams should spread out and play different teams. The schedule needs to be similar to absolve any illusions of wrongdoing or unfairness. The teams that the Red Sox play should be the same teams the AL East in its entirety plays. Period. That’s the way it used to be sans the “rivalry” team, and it’s spiraled out of control since. Should we fix this? I say yes. What say you?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 12:09 pm and is filed under New York Yankees, Evan Brunell. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

22 Responses to “Sox/Yankees interleague disparity is ridiculous”

Daniel Rathman says:

June 24th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

I noticed this too, and it’s ridiculous. If we’re going to have interleague play, I agree that the teams in each division need to play the same opponents.
Tim Daloisio says:

June 24th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

If the Mets were the team everyone expected…i.e. ten games over instead of one game under .500…I think that would sway things alot. That’s 7 games right there that become tougher for the Yankees.

Yankees - 7 vs the Mets, 3 vs Hou, 3 vs SD, 3 vs Cin, 3 vs Pit
Red Sox - 4 vs Mil, 3 vs Cin, 3 vs Phi, 3 vs. STL, 3 vs. Ari, 3 vs. Hou

Cancel out the Cin and Hou series and bundle the Brewers and Dbacks vs. the Mets seven games. That leaves the Yankees with 3 vs. SD and 3 vs. Pit and the Red Sox with 3 vs. Phi and 3 vs. STL. Thats six games of inequity….and yes it stinks…but I don’t think its as big of a schedule gap as the numbers may initially point out.
Zach says:

June 24th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

It’s a big difference and it kind of pisses me off, but the Red Sox still shouldn’t lose 3 of 4 at home to the Cards and D’Backs, who were just swept by the Royals and Twins, respectively. Whatever. This will just make another division title all that sweeter.
Billy Fairweather says:

June 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

There go the rich frat boy Sox fans crying in their chowder. For God Sake stop whining…you sound pathetic.
Kevin says:

June 24th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

You can only play the games that are on you schedule.

The Mets and Phils should’ve been neck and neck, STL is playing over their heads . . . therein lies the bulk of the difference.

The unbalanced schedule does suck in that it creates unfair schedules, but that is what the owners and the PA have agreed to and so these are the schedules they’re left with.
Joe says:

June 24th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

I say we just win our games. So the schedule is a little tougher, who cares? If we are as good as we believe we are (i.e. World Series caliber) we can beat these teams. No excuses.
Russ Smith says:

June 24th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/a-defense-of-red-sox-nation
Mostly Running. says:

June 24th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

I’m with Joe and others. Let’s just win the games and make any perceived disparities mean nothing. It’s a good team that needs to play up to and above the talent it possesses.
Doug Malott says:

June 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pm

I’m a die - hard yankee fan through thick and thin. This message is for Cashman, Hank and the rest of the so called brain trust - pay me 10 cents and I could have told you for 8 years now the pitching has sucked. It’s all about the post season. If you don’t have 2 quality starters the caliber of a Santana forget it. Period. How many first round playoff exits does it take to figure that out? Did you really think an injury prone Hughes and Ian [who] Kennedy were going to take you to the promised land? My stomach hurts from laughing. I dream of Cone, Wells, and El Duque. Ring a bell?
[sp?] all solid 6 -7 lnning starters who could pitch. Ring a bell?
Joseph P. says:

June 24th, 2008 at 3:57 pm

Could you whine any harder? The Sox were 16-2 in interleague play in 2006, and the Yankees were 10-8. Yet who sat home in October?
Jumpin Joe says:

June 24th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

the red sox should stop crying and eat shit
Ric says:

June 24th, 2008 at 8:03 pm

thank you, yankees fans, for reminding me how terrible you all are.
Ken C says:

June 24th, 2008 at 9:21 pm

The bloody sox fans will fine anything that will allow them to think the are being persercuted,
tell Manny to get a hair cut.
Sean O says:

June 24th, 2008 at 9:47 pm

Ken has a tremendous grasp on the english language. Yankees fans are great.
Colin says:

June 24th, 2008 at 10:28 pm

Hey Yankees…how about getting butt-raped by the Pirates.

Thank you Pittsburgh. Looks like you do honor your 1960 heroes.
gerry says:

June 25th, 2008 at 12:12 am

Yankee fans keep us laughing. Always on the attack, always quick to belittle, always complaining, always holding up their team and players as the model for all, yet publicly tearing down their own team and players (Hughes, Kennedy, A-Rod, etc.), bragging about the House That Babe Built, yet tearing it down for profit, and always swaggering as if they had won the WS this century. Amazing. Be nice, you guys.
Evan Brunell says:

June 25th, 2008 at 7:07 am

Geez, guys, chill out. It has nothing to do with being the “rich, frat boys” and everything to do with equality across baseball. Take off your pinstriped glasses for a second and approach this like a baseball problem. Because that’s what it is.
bandit says:

June 25th, 2008 at 7:56 am

If the WS champs can’t beat NL teams in interleague then they’ve got a lot more problems to worry about. Quit the f’ng whining.
Evan Brunell says:

June 25th, 2008 at 9:05 am

It has nothing to do with whether or not we can’t beat the NL teams, bandit. Nothing at all.
Mike Harding says:

June 25th, 2008 at 11:27 am

You’ve seriously got to be kidding me with this pathetic nonsense! Quit your sniveling and play baseball! This is precisely the reason why the Sox will always be a second rate organization compared to the Yanks.
Evan Brunell says:

June 25th, 2008 at 12:25 pm

Ladies and Gentlemen, your egotistical New York Yankees fan!

(No idea why they think they’re a first-rate organization, though. A whiny, overbearing owner, an overinflated payroll, a vicious fan base… that’s first-rate?)
Colin says:

June 25th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Wow Mike, for a team to be a first-rate organization you must be required to have a douchebag as an owner, overhyped prospects (Hughes/Kennedy I’m looking at you), and the feeling that the World Series automatically is granted to you. Good thing you never thought the NBA Championship belongs to you because your Knicks consistently suck. Sure Boston had a rut but those days are over.

I bet there are Yankees fans that think the same way Sox fans do about interleague, so shut your gob and accept the fact you’re no longer on top and that a disparity can exist from time to time. And for God’s sake stop sending your douchebag, gelled-up, chain-wearing guidos into New England and tarnishing our image.