On the Horizon: June 4 - June 10
June 03, 2007
One of the new features that we'll be bringing you each week will involve each team's upcoming schedule. This can be a major boost for those of you who keep a flex spot on your roster so that you can pick up players and use them as plug and play options. By knowing not only who they'll be facing, but also where they'll be facing them, this should give you some insight as to who the hot pickups for next week might be a few extra days in advance.
On Tuesdays, we'll be publishing our ballpark data from last season and a three year average for each stadium so that you'll be a little more familiar with how each stadium plays and what, exactly, it plays well to (it's a myth that all hitter's parks only play extremely well to power hitters). For now, we'll be using some of the top hitter's and pitcher's parks based on that data to compile which offenses have favorable schedules coming up and which offenses will be playing in parks that are more geared toward pitchers. As the year wears on, each team's opponents will factor more into the equation, based on how they have performed.
Home games are listed in CAPS, while the number in parentheses shows how many games they'll be playing each team.
Favorable
Chicago White Sox: NEW YORK YANKEES (4), HOUSTON (3) - Not only do the White Sox play seven games at home in power-friendly U.S. Cellular Field, but they'll also face the beleaguered Yankee pitching staff. Most of you are already familiar with the fact that they're supposed to face Matt DeSalvo Monday, and definitely won't have to deal with Clemens. Furthermore, they avoid Roy Oswalt in the Houston series, meaning that baseball's current worst offense won't face a single legitimate ace.
Texas Rangers: DETROIT (3), MILWAUKEE (3) - While it's hard to envy having Justin Verlander, Chris Capuano, and Ben Sheets come to town, the Rangers bats should still do plenty of damage considering they'll play all six games in Ameriquest. The Rangers are scoring 5.04 runs per game at home as compared to 4.83 on the road, and they're also hitting 28 points higher in the friendly confines.
Arizona Diamondbacks: SAN FRANCISCO (3), BOSTON (3) - While they'll have to face Matt Cain, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Diamondbacks will get to face each of them at home in Chase Field, which played second overall for hitters last season. Arizona has continued to take advantage of its home field this season, batting ten points higher at home than they are on the road.
Houston Astros: Colorado (3), Chicago White Sox (3) - It's hard to face a favorable schedule when you're on the road all week and one of the best power parks is your home stadium, but the Astros found a way. They'll start out the week in Coors, which needs no explanation, before heading to baseball's top power-hitting park for the past three seasons, U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Get your Astros in the lineup!
Unfavorable
Los Angeles Angels: MINNESOTA (3), St. Louis (3) - While they won't face much in the way of top-notch pitching, the Halos will have to play all six of their games in parks that played in the top five for pitchers last season. Angels Stadium traditionally plays poorly for hitters, and played even worse for them than usual last season with an overall ranking of 92.53 (100+ plays for hitters). The new Busch Stadium didn't play much better for hitters last season, ranking 26th in the league with a 93.09 final score.
Seattle Mariners: BALTIMORE (3), San Diego (3) - While you may think the Angels have it rough, that's nothing compared to what the M's will have to suffer through. They'll start out at home, where they'll face two of the O's top three starters (Erik Bedard and Daniel Cabrera). Safeco played 29th for hitters overall last season. However, that's the better of the two venues they'll play in this week. Living up to the standards it had set in 2004 and 2005, Petco Park was the top pitcher's park in the big leagues last season, and the M's will also have to face stud Chris Young and red hot Justin Germano.
New York Mets: PHILADELPHIA (3), Detroit (3) - The Mets will begin the week in pitcher-friendly Shea in a series where they'll have to face Cole Hamels. Things shouldn't get much better when they take to the road, as they'll have to head to another pitcher's haven (Comerica Park) and deal with Jeremy Bonderman in that series.
Pittsburgh Pirates: LOS ANGELES (1), Washington (3), New York Yankees (3) - On the dockett this week will be Derek Lowe, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens, who all figure to keep the Bucs' offense down. Toss in that they'll be trading down to more extreme pitcher's parks when they head to both Washington and the Bronx, and the Pirate bats may be a bit more silent than usual this week.
San Diego Padres: LOS ANGELES (3), SEATTLE (3) - Nobody knows what to expect out of Jason Schmidt on Tuesday, but if he's completely healthy (and/or has his velocity back), it could set the tone for the Padres' week. They'll also face Randy Wolf and Felix Hernandez as they deal with some pretty stiff competition, while all six games will come at the biggest pitcher's haven in the big leagues, Petco Park.
St. Louis Cardinals: CINCINNATI (3), LOS ANGELES ANGELS (3) - If the fact that the new Busch Stadium played very well for pitchers last season doesn't scare you, consider this: The 88 runs the Cardinals have scored at home this season rank dead last in the majors. Toss in that they'll have to try and mow through Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Bartolo Colon, Ervin Santana, and Jered Weaver this week, and you may want to consider sitting any Cardinal not named Albert Pujols.
Teams playing seven games this week: Atlanta Braves (8), Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays
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