March/April – .499 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 10 series.
May — .484 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 9 series.
June – .498 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 8 series.
July — .506 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 8 series.
August — .487 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 9 series.
September — .480 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 8 series.
OVERALL – .492 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 52 series.
Before any off-season wheeling and dealing, and based solely on the
teams’ 2007 performances, the Phillies appear to have an easy schedule
ahead of them in 2008.
Interleague
Even though it’s not really special anymore, it is still worth noting which A.L. teams the Phillies will face.
May 16-18: Toronto Blue Jays (83-79, 3rd in AL East in ‘07)
June 16-18: Boston Red Sox (96-66, 1st in AL East in ‘07)
June 20-22: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (94-68, 1st in AL West in ‘07)
June 24-26: at Oakland Athletics (76-86, 3rd in AL West in ‘07)
June 27-29: at Texas Rangers (75-87, 4th in AL West in ‘07)
Those five series yield an average record of about 85-77 (.525).
The Phillies are home against the “good” teams, which bodes well
both from a perceived home field advantage standpoint, and from a
ticket sales standpoint.
Divisional Rivalries
The number of times the Phillies face division rivals by month…
March/April — 9 games out of 28 (32%)
May — 8 games out of 29 (27.5%)
June — 7 games out of 27 (26%)
July — 18 games out of 25 (72%)
August — 8 games out of 29 (27.5%)
September — 21 games out of 26 (81%)
I think it’s safe to assume that July and September are the most important months of 2008 for the Phillies.
Reservations
Finally, a look at the Phillies home/away match-ups…
March/April — 14 games home out of 28 (50%)
May — 15 games out of 29 (52%)
June — 11 games out of 26 (42%)
July — 13 games out of 25 (52%)
August — 15 games out of 29 (52%)
September — 13 games out of 25 (52%)
Every month, the Phillies have more home games than road games besides June, so that also bodes well.
The worst trips for Eastern teams like the Phillies, obviously, are westward. The Phillies head West four times:
April 21-22: Colorado for 2 games
May 5-11: Arizona and San Francisco for 7 games (4 ARI; 3 SF)
June 24-29: Oakland and Texas for 6 games (3 apiece)
August 11-17: Los Angeles and San Diego (4 LAD; 3 SD)
As mentioned, the Phillies’ 2008 schedule is tentative — it is subject to change.
Philadelphia is home to the least attractive people in the United States, a survey of visitors and residents showed on Friday.
The city of more than 1.5 million people was also found to be
among the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least
worldly, according to the “America’s Favourite Cities” survey by Travel
& Leisure magazine and CNN Headline News.
I was just getting some confidence in my self-image back, and then I hop onto the Internet and read this. That’s it! No more Pat’s and Geno’s cheesesteaks! No more Italian ice or pretzels! No more hoagies!
I think I’m going to start a group and go on a field trip to Los Angeles to get some plastic surgery, too.
Oh, nevermind, I just read more of the article and now I realize that while I’m not attractive, I’m also not unattractive:
[…] [Travel & Leisure senior editor Amy] Farley
pointed out the results don’t mean people in Philadelphia are ugly or
the city is a bad place to visit.
“We were asking people to vote on attractiveness, not
unattractiveness. Travel & Leisure editors believe there are a lot
of attractive people in Philadelphia,” she said.
Phew. I almost made a rash decision.
Blog Hoppin’
Check out these quality blogs:
Vancouver has a fool-proof plan to earn the right to host the 2010 Olympics. [100% Injury Rate]
Taco Bell is intensely patriotic with this new marketing ploy. [Babes Love Baseball]
The Eagles are so bad, Philadelphians are already counting down to Spring training. Only 115 days left! [Balls, Sticks, & Stuff]
Settle down, folks! We know it’s Willie Green season! [Broad Street ####s]
The guy responsible for the Indians’ seventh-inning baserunning
blunder is the leading candidate for the job as manager of the
Pittsburgh Pirates. [Bugs & Cranks]
How Scott Boras became the most hated man in baseball. [I’m Writing Sports]
It’s fun to blog when your favorite teams are winning. [Josh Q. Public]
Keyshawn Johnson’s interview with Chad Johnson is ironic. [Signal to Noise]
Visit my new website -- Crashburn Alley!>
Crashburn Alley is a fusion of the phrase "crash and burn" with Ashburn Alley, which is beyond the center field fence at Citizens Bank Park. You can read more about Crashburn Alley here.>
I'm a diehard Phillies fan who is still reeling from the 1993 World Series and Joe Carter's three-run homerun in Game 6.
