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Chipper Jones Makes a Good Point

MFS62 May 14 2007 02:54 PM

] Chipper: Braves, Mets have tough interleague draws Associated Press PITTSBURGH -- Chipper Jones likes interleague games, playing in ballparks he hasn't seen before and opposing teams the Atlanta Braves seldom face. What he doesn't like is this kind of interleague play. With interleague games resuming next weekend, the Braves third baseman on Sunday sharply criticized the current format that requires the Braves to meet the Red Sox six times, while the Mets oppose the Yankees six games, but other NL East teams play less-rugged schedules. "I don't think there's any question it's not fair, but I don't think major league baseball is concerned with fair," Jones said before Atlanta's 13-2 loss in Pittsburgh. "If you play the top teams in the American League and everybody else doesn't, it's pretty unfair." While the Braves oppose the Red Sox (6 games), Tigers (3), Twins (3) and Indians (3), and the Mets face the Yankees (6), Tigers (3), Twins (3) and Athletics (3), the other NL East teams look to have less-demanding schedules. The Phillies, for example, play three games each against the losing-record Blue Jays and Royals, plus three each against the White Sox, Indians and Tigers. "Is it fun? Yeah. It's fun playing in new cities. It's fun playing in front of new crowds, it's fun playing new teams," said Jones, who sat out Sunday's game with sore hands from a fall on Friday. "What's not fun is when they're all contenders and your competition doesn't have to play the same competition you do." What Jones most dislikes is the recently added wrinkle that requires teams to play so-called regional rivals in home-and-home series each season, such as Braves-Red Sox, Yankees-Mets and Angels-Dodgers. "It's a factor [in the pennant race]," Jones said. "We play Boston six times, and they've got the best record in the American League. We play the top three teams in the toughest division in baseball [the AL Central]. We, without a doubt, have the toughest schedule in baseball, bar none. You don't play in our division and play the interleague schedule we play and not say we don't have the toughest schedule." Since interleague play started in 1997, the Braves' 91-75 record is the sixth best in the majors. The Yankees are the best with a 103-71 record; the Pirates are easily the worst with a 52-84 record. But, at the start, teams from one division played only those from another division, so each team played roughly the same schedule. The regional rivalry concept changed that. This season, the Mets play interleague games against teams from all three AL divisions. "If we're going to play the American League Central, everybody has to play all the teams in the American League Central," Jones said. "This split-it-up and we have to play our rival in the American League East stuff, I don't get it. It's unfair for us and the Mets on a year-in, year-out basis to have to play the Yankees and Red Sox when other teams don't. "This is no disrespect to the rest of the teams in the American League East, because Tampa is up and coming, and in two or three years, Tampa might be the class of the American League East and the Florida Marlins are going to have to deal with it," he said. Interleague play creates a difficult pre-All-Star schedule for the Braves, who play 12 interleague games in 13 days next month against the Twins and Indians on the road and the Red Sox and Tigers at home. After that, they play the Nationals at home, then go on the road for a 10-day road trip to Florida, Los Angeles and San Diego before the All-Star break. "We should do it the way we did it the first five or six years of interleague play, and that's play every team in the American League East, every team in West and so on," Jones said. Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press (You have no idea how much it hurt me to type that thread title) Later

Iubitul May 14 2007 04:36 PM

This should be titled, "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA... We don't get to play the Devil Rays any more..."

Centerfield May 14 2007 04:57 PM

We're lucky that our 6 come against a sub-.500 team with an aging rotation.

Iubitul May 14 2007 05:40 PM

Centerfield wrote: We're lucky that our 6 come against a sub-.500 team with an aging rotation. It's this kind of thinking that really frightens me. I have a bad feeling about this coming weekend...

Frayed Knot May 14 2007 06:44 PM

Chipper is, of course, correct that the system is unfair. With the so-called "traditional" rivals and the random nature of the other opponents it can't help but be unevenly distributed. It's just not all that seemly to go complaining about it only during the season when the deck seems stacked against you.

Rockin' Doc May 14 2007 07:03 PM

I'm not a fan of Chipper, but he does have a point. Some teams are getting screwed in the current format for interleague play. While the Mets face the Yankees for 6 games and the Braves face the Red Sox for 6 games, their division rival Marlins get 6 games against the Devil Rays and the Nationals get 6 games against the Orioles. The Phillies play just about everyone and didn't catch any great breaks other than three against the Royals. We're just fortunate that the Braves get a tough draw along with us.

Elster88 May 14 2007 08:24 PM

If six games is that big a difference than you don't deserve to make the playoffs. Quit fucking whining and play the games. I love playing the Skankwhores. Even when they were at their peak.

Rockin' Doc May 14 2007 08:47 PM

Easy to dismiss since it is Florida and Washington that catch the break and neigther team appears to be a serious threat to win the NL East. However, I can imagine the outcry if it were the Braves that drew 6 against Tampa Bay or Kansas City while the Mets drew the Yankees for 6 games. Granted that's not the situation, but to say that such sceduling couldn't possibly effect the outcome of a pennant race is naive. Many pennant races are determined by only one or two games over the course of the season. Maybe the timing of his statement could have been better, but that does not negate the validity of his point.

Frayed Knot May 14 2007 09:15 PM

It's not just the six games against the Yanx (the Mets play ALL 15 IL games against last year's AL playoff teams while other NL squads play ZERO), and it's not just whether the distribution goes for or against your team in any particular year, I just don't like when schedules are made uneven, especially when they're that way mostly for marketing purposes.

attgig May 15 2007 07:32 AM

Rockin' Doc wrote: Easy to dismiss since it is Florida and Washington that catch the break and neigther team appears to be a serious threat to win the NL East. However, I can imagine the outcry if it were the Braves that drew 6 against Tampa Bay or Kansas City while the Mets drew the Yankees for 6 games. Granted that's not the situation, but to say that such sceduling couldn't possibly effect the outcome of a pennant race is naive. you realize that that HAS been the situation over the past few years. last year, mets played yankees 6 games and 0 games against the rays, while braves had 3 with yanks and 3 with devil rays. i didn't hear chipper complaining then. mets 05, played 6 games against yanks, 0 against baltimore, 0 against bosox Braves: played 0 games with yanks, 3 balitmore, 3 bosox. nope, chipper didn't complain then either. we've been playing the yankees 6 games each year, while the braves have always had 3 extra games with an easier team.

metirish May 15 2007 08:01 AM

This is all for us the fans ,right?,that's why MLB started doing this ,Jones may well be right but as a Mets fan I have zero interest when they play teams from the AL West,and not much interest when it's the AL Central..of course I watch but I suppose I just don't care for any of those teams,at least if it's the AL East I have more than a passing knowledge of the teams. I have no interest in seeing the Royals and A's and the like.

seawolf17 May 15 2007 08:17 AM

Actually, if we could play all 18 interleague games against the Royals, I'd be down with that.

seawolf17 May 15 2007 08:21 AM

http://dugout.progressiveboink.com/archive/b82.html Today's Dugout references this story, and includes some of my favorite Dugout characters: Dontrelle Willis, Dmitri Young, and of course, David "Dudley-Do" Wright.

Rockin' Doc May 15 2007 10:56 AM

Good catch attgig. I hadn't really looked back to see the exact match ups the past few years of interleague play. I guess my point is that anytime teams are not playing similar schedules, then there is an inequity that could potentially effect the outcome of the divisional races. I think all teams within any given disvision should play the same interleague opponents. On a personal level, I really don't care much about interleague play. The only time I care about the Mets facing the Yankees is if they meet in the World Series. I want the Mets to win (just in all other games), but it has no special meaning to me beyond the double joy of the Yankees also losing. I truthfully have that same joy from beating the Braves. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I haven't resided in the metropolitan New York region in over 40 years. I can understand how it has special significance for many that do live around New York, but I don't think it holds any special attraction to the rest of the country. Just as the Dogers vs. Angels is just another baseball game to most of us. I guess MLB is simply looking to cash in on the appeal to local fans without regard as to whether such scheduling is equitable to all teams.

Edgy DC May 15 2007 09:30 PM

ThemsGoodEaton

metirish May 16 2007 07:08 AM

DudleyDoWright: /makes Pac-Man death noise I love that site.