CHICAGO -- General managers look at strength of schedule all the time; players and managers almost never look at it, because they’re in the fight and focused on the micro, rather than the macro.
But the GMs are always watching the upcoming slate of games because it gives context and shapes decisions. The Pittsburgh Pirates, for example, had by far the toughest on-paper starting schedule in the majors -- and once they got through that stretch with a respectable record, they vaulted toward the top of the NL Central.
Here are the strength-of-schedule rankings for Major League Baseball’s contending teams in the second half; they are listed toughest to easiest. I considered every team within eight games of the top of its division as of Saturday afternoon.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 35
Home/road: 37 of 71 games at home
Schedule quirks: Between the rain makeups that have squeezed out their off days and 20 games remaining against Detroit and Cleveland, the Royals have a major challenge ahead of them -- and it starts right away, with seven games against the Tigers and Orioles right out of the break. From July 30 through Sept. 11, Kansas City will play 44 games in 44 days.
In mid-September, the Royals will play four consecutive series against the Tigers and Cleveland, so they will have an opportunity to run down the teams in front of them.
The big finish: The Royals close out with a week on the road -- three games at Seattle, then four games against the White Sox.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 37
Home/road: 28 of 66 at home
Schedule quirks: Among the contenders, they have the fewest home games remaining, and during one of their homestands, they’ll have to break away to Kansas City for a rainout makeup on Aug. 26. On top of that, they have seven games against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers in interleague play -- and they have two extended trips to the West Coast.
The big finish: They’ll spend the last week on the road, with three games in the Bronx and three games in Toronto.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 41
Home/road: 34 of 65 at home
Schedule quirks: Boston’s lead will be tested right out of the gate in the second half, with consecutive series against the Yankees, Rays and Orioles. So the Red Sox will have the opportunity to put an early stranglehold on the division. But the challenges will continue, because the Red Sox have 12 games against Baltimore in the second half, 13 versus the Yankees and seven versus Tampa Bay.
The big finish: It’s kind of weird. The Red Sox have two games at Colorado, before traveling to Baltimore for their final three games.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 40
Home/road: 36 of 68 at home
Schedule quirks: They are most dangerous at home, and they’ll open the second half with 10 games at home, including one rainout makeup against the Reds in San Francisco in which they’ll be the road team. So they’ll have an early chance to climb back into the NL West race and give the front office an opportunity to clarify the team’s needs -- or start selling. The Giants have a weird road trip in mid-September, which takes them to Dodger Stadium for four games, Citi Field for three and Yankee Stadium for three.
The big finish: They have six games at home against the Dodgers and Padres to end the season.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 38
Home/road: 38 of 69 at home
Schedule quirks: They have a whopping 24 games remaining against the two teams that are chasing them, the Pirates and Reds, including 13 straight games -- a stretch that starts Aug. 26.
The big finish: The Cardinals close out the regular season with six straight home games against the Nationals and Cubs.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 38
Home/road: 30 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: The Yankees have managed to hang in the AL East race despite some serious offensive struggles -- and they will have their hands full with the schedule right out of the All-Star break, with 12 consecutive games against teams with records over .500, including Boston, Texas, Tampa Bay and the Dodgers. How they fare in that time will determine a lot of what the Yankees’ front office does before the trade deadline.
The big finish: The Yankees will close out the season with three games in Houston.
Games left against teams with records of .500 or better: 38
Home/road: 32 of 66 at home
Schedule quirks: After Sept. 8, the Orioles play only AL East teams, including two home-and-home series with the Red Sox.
The big finish: They close out the year with six home games against the Blue Jays and Red Sox.
Games left against teams with records of .500 or better: 34
Home/road: 34 of 66 at home
Schedule quirks: If the Rockies are going to make a run back toward the top of the division, it would probably behoove them to take advantage of the pillow-soft schedule right after the All-Star break -- 10 games against the Cubs, Marlins and Brewers. Because it’s going to get really tough after that.
The big finish: Colorado has a really nice, long homestand in late September -- nine games against the Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Red Sox -- before closing out with three games in Dodger Stadium.
Games against teams with records over .500: 34
Home/away: 34 of 66 at home
Schedule quirks: The Phillies can either view this as an opportunity or a stumbling block. They still have 13 games remaining against the team they are chasing, the Braves, including the final four games of the season -- on the road.
The big finish: They’ll be living on the road at the end. Before they face the Braves for that final series, they’ll have three games in Miami.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 33
Home/road: 31 of 69 at home
Schedule quirks: The second half will begin for the Pirates with a long road trip through Cincinnati, Washington and Miami. Pittsburgh also has a nine-game road swing that takes the Pirates through Milwaukee, St. Louis and Texas in early September.
The Pirates can go 26-44 the rest of the way and still finish over .500 and end their streak of losing seasons. But they’re not worried about that now; they’re trying to make the playoffs.
The big finish: Six of Pittsburgh’s final nine games will be against the Reds, and the Pirates’ final six games of the season are on the road, at Wrigley Field and in Cincinnati.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 29
Home/road: 31 of 68 at home
Schedule quirks: The Dodgers will log a lot of miles in the second half, making four separate trips to the East and Central time zones.
The big finish: They have a long, long road trip that starts in mid-September, taking the Dodgers on a 10-game swing through Arizona, San Diego and San Francisco, before closing out with three games against the Rockies.
12. Cincinnati Reds
Games left against teams with records of .500 or better: 32
Home/road: 35 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: Over the course of about a month, from Aug. 2 to Sept. 5, they’ll have 10 games against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The big finish: They’ll wrap up the regular season with six games at home -- three versus the Mets and three against the Pirates, which could weigh very heavily in the playoff race.
Games left against teams with records of .500 or better: 28
Home/road: 34 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: From July 30 through Aug. 22, the D-backs play a series of really tough out-of-division opponents -- Tampa Bay, Texas, Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
The big finish: After a seven-game road trip through Colorado and San Diego, the Diamondbacks will play their final three games at home against the Nationals.
14. Texas Rangers
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 26
Home/road: 35 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: They have 13 games left against the Angels, and along the way, they’ll play 20 straight days coming out of the All-Star break, including a one-game makeup against Arizona on Aug. 1.
The big finish: They play the final seven games at home, against the Astros and Angels.
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 24
Home/road: 36 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: The Athletics have 13 games remaining against the Angels, who haven’t had a good first half, but have played better of late. From late August through early September, the Athletics play 13 consecutive games against contending teams, including Baltimore, Detroit and Tampa Bay.
The big finish: Oakland will finish with six games on the road, with three games in Anaheim and three in Seattle.
Games against teams with records over .500: 24
Home/road: 36 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: They need a chance to push the restart button and they’ll get it right after the All-Star break, with 11 consecutive home games -- although the first seven will be against the Dodgers and Pirates.
The Big Finish: The Nationals will close out the year with a tough road trip, six games on the road, with three at St. Louis and three at Arizona.
Games left against teams with records of .500 or better: 19
Home/road: 32 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: They would appear to have a chance to do some serious second-half damage because of how light their schedule appears to be. (The Royals are something of an X factor, because they can be tough.) Cleveland’s final 23 games -- all 23 -- are against teams with records under .500: the Mets, Royals, White Sox, Astros and Twins. The Indians will finish their season series with Detroit on Sept. 1.
The big finish: After six games at home against the Astros and White Sox, the Indians close out the regular season with four games in Minnesota.
18. Detroit Tigers
Games against teams with records of .500 or better: 19
Home/road: 32 of 68 at home
Schedule quirks: The Indians might feel really good about their schedule -- if not for the fact that the Tigers' is almost identical. The final 22 games of the Detroit schedule are against teams that currently have records under .500, including the Mariners, White Sox and Marlins. The question will be whether they face Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Chris Sale in some of those games.
The big finish: They play their final six games on the road, with three at Minnesota and -- oddly -- three in Miami.
19. Atlanta Braves
Games left against teams with records of .500 or better: 19
Home/road: 35 of 67 at home
Schedule quirks: The Braves would be the first to acknowledge just how road weary they have been from time to time. But think about this: Atlanta plays zero games outside of the Eastern or Central time zone in the second half.
The big finish: For the team that played more road games than just about anybody in the early part of the season, the payoff is to play the final week at home: three games against Milwaukee and four versus Philadelphia.
• Tim Lincecum reminded us all why you just don’t turn your back on the Giants, because they’ve had so much success and know what it means to win. Lincecum said he was running on adrenaline at the end, Henry Schulman writes. Lincecum made a speech to his teammates, Alex Pavolic writes. From his story:
“I just want to thank you for the big plays and the big offensive output we had,” [Lincecum] said. “There was no lack of excitement or energy throughout the game. That was awesome. A lot of guys were proud of me and happy to be a part of this thing. I’m happy to be a part of it, too."
Hunter Pence had a big assist.
Here was Bruce Bochy talking about letting Lincecum throw 148 pitches. “He’s a guy, we’ve used him in the pen. He’s logged pitches throughout his career at times, in college and in our games. There are times when you throw that out the window. You want to see if he’s laboring. He wasn’t.”
• The Cubs are making progress on their Matt Garza trade talks, according to rival executives, and now it appears likely -- maybe an 80 percent chance -- that he will be traded during the break. Garza threw effectively here again Saturday night. The Rangers and the Blue Jays are the front-runners right now, writes Bruce Levine. Mike Olt could be in this deal, which makes sense. The Orioles are out on Garza, unless there is a dramatic turn, because of the price in prospects and cash.
• Twins GM Terry Ryan says he’s willing to field offers for anybody -- including coveted reliever Glen Perkins. From Mike Berardino’s story:
"If somebody overwhelms you with something, then you've got to listen," Ryan said. "There's no question. You just can't say, 'No.' It's not just Glen Perkins. It would be anybody in this situation. If somebody wants to talk about a guy, I'm all ears. Go ahead."
Perkins hadn't pitched for a week before notching his 21st save in 23 chances in a 4-1 win over the New York Yankees on Saturday. The St. Paul native and former first-rounder out of the University of Minnesota is under contract for a combined $10.3 million through 2015 with a team option for 2016 at $4.5 million, a relative pittance for a top-shelf closer.
"Anybody would like Glen Perkins," Ryan said. "There's a lot of guys on this team people would like to have, even as much as we're struggling. There's very attractive players on this ballclub that people would like to have, and some of them are certainly guys that you would discuss and some of them would be very difficult to free up."
Perkins, making his first all-star trip at age 30, appears to be the Twins' most-sought available asset.
"Glen Perkins would be very difficult (to relinquish)," Ryan said, "because he's talented, he's under contract, he's in the prime of his career. He sets up your bullpen. ... Glen Perkins? Well, we've got a lot of interest in Glen Perkins."
Rival officials still continue to believe that Ryan doesn’t want to trade Perkins, but there is no question that the lefty’s trade value will never be higher than it is right now, and he would fetch a really nice return.
• The Pirates are looking at Nate Schierholtz and Alex Rios. If Schierholtz is traded, it’s likely to be closer to the All-Star break.
• Yasiel Puig was out of the starting lineup Saturday.
• Jose Altuve got an extension.
• Alex Rodriguez could consider a plea bargain. Don Hooton is withholding judgment, for now.
He was a no-show on Friday and the Yankees weren’t happy about it, writes Joel Sherman. He has not looked good in his 18 at-bats, getting only two balls out of the infield.
• Jennifer Laaser and John Fauber ask the question: Is baseball’s testing system easily beaten?
• Max Scherzer’s ailing wrist is a concern.
And today will be better than yesterday.