Mets April Schedule Could Determine 2010 Success

There's something about the Mets schedule each year that always seems a bit disconcerting.

Last year there was June and early July when the Mets played 20 games in a row, and August, when the Mets played 29 games with one day off.

I chronicled the scheduling issues quite a bit last year, including this piece on 20 games in 20 days.

In 2009 the Mets got off to a sluggish start in April, only to turn on the jets in May and take what was their only division lead for the year.  In June the wheels fell off as the injuries mounted, and we were all left to think what could have been as one frustration piled on top of another all the way to the merciful end.

Still, with all of the challenges of 2009, the team was far better at home than on the road:

2009 Home/Road
Split	W	L	RS	RA	WP
Home	41	40	343	350	.506
Road	29	52	328	407	.358
2009 Month by Month
Split	W	L	RS	RA	WP
April	9	12	96	97	.429
May	19	9	138	111	.679
June	9	18	108	146	.333
July	12	14	93	108	.462
August	10	19	117	151	.345
September	8	20	103	142	.286
October	3	0	16	2	1.000

This year's schedule is quite a bit more balanced:

• April:  16 home games, 7 away games, 3 off days, 16 games in a row
  
• May:  12 home games, 17 away games, 2 off days, 17 games in a row
  
• June:  12 home games, 14 away games, 4 off days, 9 games in a row
  
• July:  11 home games, 15 away games, 5 off days, 11 games in a row
  
• August: 13 home games, 15 away games, 3 off days, 13 games in a row
  
• September: 14 home games, 13 away games, 3 off days, 10 games in a row
  
• October:  3 home games, 0 away games

The real question surrounding the 2010 schedule is a simple one, "can the Mets take advantage of of the abundance of April home games?"

It's possible, but when we look at the Mets opponents in April, the home field advantage becomes obscured as the Mets play some of the best teams in the NL.  In fact, other than the Nationals, the Mets go up against the cream of the crop to start the year, including games against all four playoff teams.

April opponents:
3 vs Dodgers (.586--won division)
1 vs Philly (.574--won division)
3 vs Colorado (.568--wild card)
3 vs St Louis (.562--won division)
3 vs Florida (.537)
3 vs Atlanta (.531)
4 vs Chicago (.516)
3 vs Nationals (.364)

So the Mets have two opposing forces to begin the year--a plethora of home games, yet those games are against the best teams the senior circuit has to offer.

When you're a losing team, the schedule always looks tougher than it probably is.  But make no mistake, the Mets are going to get challenged early and often, and though the season is certainly a marathon, the first month might just tell us a lot.

Mets Back in First Place!

The gritty and determined Mets are now back in first place thanks to Jose Reyes, David Wright, Daniel Murphy and yes, the bullpen.

Jerry Manuel once again masterminded a beauty, and he has his team on top.

With a Phillies loss, and another Brewers loss, the Mets are now positioning themselves nicely for a playoff spot.

See you tomorrow for a very "Good Morning Mets Fans" writeup!

Remaining Games: Mets and Phils

As we come down to the wire, let's take a look at the Mets and Phillies remaining games courtesy of our friends at Coolstandings.com.

Mets:

2008 Remaining Schedule
vs. Team	PCT	H	A	Tot
ChiCubs	.616	4	0	4
Milwaukee	.584	0	2	2
Philadelphia	.543	3	0	3
Florida	.507	3	0	3
Atlanta	.428	3	3	6
Washington	.384	2	4	6
TOTAL	.486	15	9	24

Phillies:

2008 Remaining Schedule
vs. Team	PCT	H	A	Tot
Milwaukee	.584	4	0	4
NYMets	.558	0	3	3
Florida	.507	3	3	6
Atlanta	.428	3	3	6
Washington	.384	3	2	5
TOTAL	.481	13	11	24

I would give the Mets a slight advantage, primarily because of the remaining home games for each team.

It really looks like these next 5 games will tell us a great deal about who will win the NL East.

50 Games to Freedom

Here we stand, 50 games left in the Mets regular season, and I believe things are looking up.

"What? Send him to a loony bin! The guy is shaking like a crack junkie! He's crazier than a Yankee fan wearing a Carl Pavano is the Savior jersey!"

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know...we're injured, the bullpen is off, Church isn't back, etc, etc.

So why all this great hope? Easy--the schedule.

Yes, the schedule is our friend.

Thanks to the good folks at Coolstandings we can see just what's left for us, the Phils, and the Marlins.

Mets Remaining Schedule
vs. Team	PCT	H	A	Tot
ChiCubs	.596	4	0	4
Milwaukee	.553	0	3	3
Philadelphia	.545	3	2	5
Florida	.531	6	3	9
Houston	.482	4	0	4
Atlanta	.460	6	3	9
Pittsburgh	.451	1	4	5
San Diego	.381	2	0	2
Washington	.372	2	7	9
TOTAL	.480	28	22	50

Phils Remaining Schedule
vs. Team	PCT	H	A	Tot
ChiCubs	.596	0	4	4
Milwaukee	.553	4	0	4
Florida	.531	5	3	8
NYMets	.527	2	3	5
LADodgers	.500	4	4	8
Atlanta	.460	3	3	6
Pittsburgh	.451	3	0	3
San Diego	.381	0	3	3
Washington	.372	6	3	9
TOTAL	.482	27	23	50

Marlins Remaining Schedule
vs. Team	PCT	H	A	Tot
ChiCubs	.596	3	0	3
St. Louis	.548	4	3	7
Philadelphia	.545	3	5	8
NYMets	.527	3	6	9
Arizona	.522	0	3	3
Houston	.482	3	0	3
Atlanta	.460	3	3	6
Cincinnati	.456	0	1	1
San Francisco	.420	0	3	3
Washington	.372	3	3	6
TOTAL	.499	22	27	49

No more long road trips, few games against teams with a winning record, and 9 of our 14 remaining games against the Phils and Marlins are at home. Moreover, 14 of our 22 remaining road games are against teams that, for all intents and purposes, have given up on this season.

I like our chances.

Destiny is Calling

After all of the bumblings and grumblings of the first 99 games of the season, the Mets suddenly find themselves in 100% control of their own destiny, and they partly have the MLB schedule makers to thank for that.

Consider these factors:

• The Mets won't travel to the West coast again unless it's to play the Dodgers in the Playoffs (and we'll all welcome that )
• The Mets have 35 Home games and 28 Away games remaining
• The combined winning percentage of the Mets remaining opponents is .488
• The Mets have 8 games left with the Phils, and 6 are at home
• The Mets finish the season with a 7 game homestand
• Of the Mets 28 remaining Away games, 7 are against the Nats and 4 are against the Pirates
• The Mets play the Marlins 12 more times, 6 Home and 6 Away, and can do major damage to the Marlins chances
• The Marlins play the Phils, Mets, Cubs and Cards 35 more times in their 64 remaining games--brutal
  
• The Cards and Brewers play the Cubs 9 and 10 times, respectively, and play each other 6 more times

The Phillies have a similar schedule with a few glaring differences--they have 31 Home games left and 32 Away games, and they have a 7 game West coast trip during the dog days of August.

Additionally, the Phils go to Chicago for their 4 games against the Cubs, while the Mets play host. This is important because the Cubs are far and away the best Home team in the NL--37-12 at Home vice 21-28 on the road.

All things being equal I like the Mets chances, and it all starts tomorrow night, at Home, against the Phils.

Has Major League Baseball Lost It's Mind?

The Mets have the strangest, most nonsensical and yes, stupid, schedule in June that I have ever seen.

ZERO division games and two West coast trips a few days apart.

This is just plain bad stuff...not good for the game, not good for anyone.

They can, and should, do better.