Observations on 2015 Orioles Schedule

The 2015 Orioles schedule has been released, and though there are some things yet to be determined (a few times, including first game of the season, are listed as TBD), there are a few interesting notes to be gleaned from what the schedule makers have handed the Orioles.

Here’s what I like:

I love the extended trip in New York, much like the 2014 trip through Chicago. Following an off-day, the Orioles will play two against the New York Mets and four more against the Yankees. Easy on the team, great road trip opportunity for the fans. It would be nice to see an extended orange presence in New York.

The full home/away set with the Washington Nationals is back! Rather than a split four-game series in both locations back to back, the Orioles play host to the Nationals for three games just prior to the All-Star break, and play three games in Washington in September. Why is this a great thing? Because whether or not this is a “rivalry,” these games are starting to mean more. The intensity is higher, there is more on the line (in the win column, and in fan base pride). Separating the series means twice the hype, twice the expectation. I’m in favor.

Buck Showalter and my colleague Scott Magness feel that playing a National League series that late in the season is a horrible thing for Major League Baseball to do. I see their point, but I have no choice but to shrug and say that this is the new MLB. Fifteen teams in each league means that someone has to play outside of their comfort zone in a pennant chase.

Hosting the Yankees at home to close out the season. Hopefully these two teams are vying for the division next year. I want to beat them, and I want to do it in our stadium. I want to see the hope die out of the eyes of the Yankees “fans” who flock to Camden Yards from the Baltimore suburbs. Even if the 2015 season means nothing, having the opportunity to beat the Yankees provides a reason to watch. After having become accustomed to not needing moral victories, I still manage to appreciate them.

Playing the Red Sox on Patriots Day. What is great about having an 11:00 game on the schedule? Nothing. But is there anything better than an opportunity to rain on their parade?

Here’s what I don’t like:

I hate two-game series. I get that the unbalanced schedule means there are fewer games available for non-division foes, but two-game series are silly and fulfilling. I can’t imagine that they are easy on the players, either.

Opening the season on the road. I know that nobody can open at home every year, but come on! Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a jewel of Major League Baseball, and should be promoted and celebrated on baseball’s big day. Instead, the Orioles will open in baseball’s finest minor league facility: Tropicana Field. Understanding that this is a convenient trip for the club, coming from Sarasota, I hate opening on the road in a crappy venue, while Camden Yards sits idle.

I’m projecting here, but… if part of the decision by baseball’s schedule makers is that Washington and Baltimore cannot support opening day festivities on the same day, then the franchises should not be so close together. Traffic is not impacted, and if the fan bases are truly separate, it will be fine.

OK, I’ll flip flop. I don’t like that the Orioles play that series in Washington in September. I defended the late-season National League series in the first section, but that defense would make sense if the opponent were any other club. It seems like a very easy solution would have been to flip the location of the series. We fans are not privy to all the details (what, if anything, does MLB have to schedule around in the two municipalities?), but this series is going to be a bear for the AL club.

Final Take-away:

Unlike so many years before, I don’t have to care about the 2015 schedule. There is still so much left to enjoy in 2014. Including October.

Buckle Up.