Analyzing the NY Yankees' April Schedule and Why the Blue Jays May Contend Early

Despite the additions of Hiroki Kuroda and Michael Pineda to a 97-win team, the New York Yankees will have a difficult time navigating their April schedule. 

The Bombers pick up the 2012 season where they left off at the end of the 2011 regular season, with three games in St. Petersburg against the Rays, then to Camden Yards for a three-game set with the Baltimore Orioles. 

The home opener will be on Friday the 13th of April, when Albert Pujols will make his first appearance at the new Yankee Stadium as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim come to the Bronx. 

After three games against the Halos, the Yankees will play four games at Yankee Stadium against the Minnesota Twins, who will try to capitalize on the health of Joe Mauer and Justin Mourneau and rebound from a dismal 63-99 record just a season ago.

The Yankees’ second road trip of the season will take them to Fenway Park for three games against the Boston Red Sox and new manager Bobby Valentine, and then to Texas, where they will take on the two-time defending American League champion Rangers in a three-game set.

They’ll close out the month with three games at home against the Detroit Tigers, who eliminated the Yankees from the playoffs in 2011 and added Prince Fielder during the offseason, followed by the first game of three against the Orioles.

If this sounds like a difficult April schedule, that’s because it is.  Fifteen of 23 games will be against Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay and Texas, who are considered to be the biggest contenders for the American League title.  Overall, the Yankees’ April opponents had a 2011 record of 590-544, for a .520 winning percentage.

Fortunately for the Yankees, the Rays and Red Sox will have equally difficult April schedules.

The Rays will also play the majority of their games against American League contenders (16 of their 23 will be against Boston, Detroit, Texas and the Yankees).  And the Rays will play three in Toronto, an up-and-coming team that could play spoiler for the contenders throughout the season. 

The combined 2011 record of the Rays’ April opponents is 675-621, for a .521 winning percentage.

While the Red Sox avoid the Angels in April, they will play Detroit, Tampa Bay, Texas and the Yankees 12 times, as well as Toronto.  Their opponents’ combined 2011 record is 676-620, for a .522 winning percentage.

Rays, Red Sox and Yankees fans will certainly learn a lot about their teams during the season’s opening month, as their teams face the competition they are likely to face in October should they advance to the playoffs.

However, the Toronto Blue Jays play a much lighter schedule in April, and therefore it should not surprise anyone if the Jays find themselves in the midst of the AL East race early on.

They will play three games each against Boston and Tampa Bay at home, and the first of three games at home against Texas to finish the month.

But will not play Detroit, Los Angeles or the Yankees.  Instead, they get to play some of the likely bottom-feeders of the league: Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City and Seattle.  The combined 2011 record of Toronto’s April opponents is just 564-570 for a .497 winning percentage.

For Yankees fans, I think this is good news. 

The Yankees will be playing exciting games against top-level competition, which will make for a great atmosphere at the ballpark and will show the front office where the team needs improvement.  Plus, the schedule will lighten up greatly in May (when, out of their likely contenders, the Bombers only play three games against Tampa Bay and three against Los Angeles). 

The Yankees may not get off to as fast a start as they hope to, but at the end of the season the schedule more or less evens out, and the Yankees will be better off for having played tough competition early on.