9-News: 36.016 – YS9 Schedule Hijinx Continues

[RonCo]

If nothing else, perhaps the team has learned it’s best to just shut up and take it. After spending a chunk of last year bickering over the schedule, the BBA planners have apparently tossed semi-shade at the team, sticking with the weirdly balanced schedule as well as putting the team behind the 8-ball with an early schedule that sees the club on the road 38 times and at home only 17 in the first two months of the season.

ROAD-HEAVY SCHEDULE MAKES CLIMB UPHILL

“That’s a tough situation because it makes finances a little hard to figure,” said a team insider. “In addition, that kind of split will obviously lead to a tough start, and that can hurt fan involvement. If the team fall behind early, you need to find ways to keep them coming to the park.”

Unspoken in those ways might include ticket price reductions—which lead to lost revenue opportunities.

“We’ll play them how they schedule them,” said manager Bret Richards as his team prepared for its first spring games.

IMBALANCED BALANCE

As with last season, the Nine will see Heartland rivals only 12 times each, six at home and six on the road—meaning the team will play only 48 of its 162 games against its Heartland division rivals.

The schedule’s odd structure will leave them playing 10 games against eight of the other Frick League teams, split in 4 Home/6 Away packets (Vancouver/Edmonton in the Frontier and Long Beach/Hawaii in the Pacific) and 6 Home/4 Away packets (Seattle/Boise in the Frontier and California/San Fernando in the Pacific). In addition, the team will play 6 Home and 3 Away with Calgary and 3 Home/6 Away with Valencia.

This leaves 98 games that the Nine will play in the Frick League but outside its division.

HEARTLAND DRAWS ATLANTIC AS INTRADIVISION PARTNER

The league has once again provided the Atlantic division as the Heartland’s JL competition, and once again the process will be imbalanced within the “balance.” The Nine will host Montreal and Brooklyn for three games each and travel to Atlantic City and Rockville for three. Rounding out interdivisional play, the club will host Charm City twice as well as travel to Baltimore for two more, leaving the tally at 16 games played outside the Frick League.

Team officials had not comment about the silliness of the schedule, preferring for once we guess to avoid making waves beyond the gloriously meta-nature of this Team News itself.

[7teen]

That's how many PPs you get for that gloriously written Team News. Based on the brute strength of our division, perhaps not having us beat up on one another is more beneficial. Take it out on the other peasants of the league.