Same time next week

Washington pitcher Zach Groh touched on a subject Wednesday night that has puzzled me since the Wild Things joined the Frontier League back in 2002: the schedule. He said it was unfair to pitchers. I agree.

Groh was Washington's starting pitcher last night against Rockford. His most recent start also was against Rockford. It was the fifth time this season that Groh has faced the same opponent in consecutive starts. He also faced Traverse City three times in a four-start stretch. Jason Neitz has made consecutive starts against the same opponent four times.

This is a result of the Frontier League's scheduling method, which could use some improving. What I don't like about the schedule is each FL team will play two interdivision teams one week, then play the same teams the next week at the opposite site. This causes the same pitching matchups in consecutive weeks, which is good for the hitters and bad for pitchers (Groh's performance last night being an exception). To quote from the M*A*S*H* episode in which Hawkeye tries to make Radar a "Corporal-Captain" before entering the officer's club, "I don't like it. I don't like it at all."

The Frontier League does this because it makes scheduling easier. Simply copy and paste one week from the the master schedule and reverse the sites. It's scheduling made easy.

The FL isn't the only league that has done this. Major League Baseball did it for years. You might recall the Pirates making trips to the West Coast to play the Dodgers, Giants and Padres, then playing the same teams at home the next week. MLB started going away from this scheduling trend when they went to three divisions in each league.