Philadelphia Phillies: Dumb features of the 2020 schedule

Midwest head scratcher

In many years, the Phillies will visit the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs in succession. It’s a trip that makes a lot of sense, as the two cities are only about 100 miles apart. Yet, if they don’t end up happening back-to-back, it’s not a huge deal because it’s a fairly quick jaunt from Philadelphia at a later time.

But I really don’t understand why baseball monkeyed with the Phillies’ schedule in April to put the two trips so close to each other.

The issue really starts with the Phils’ visiting the Cincinnati Reds for four games form April 9 to April 12. After that, they proceed to Milwaukee for another four-game set. And maybe it’s because it’s so unconventional to have back-to-back four-game series on the road that MLB did not want to tack Chicago onto the end of the trip. To a point, I get it.

But instead, the Phillies come home for a measly five games after leaving Milwaukee. Then, after a day off, they go right back out to Chicago for three games at Wrigley. It’s clear that schedule makers were trying to check off all three of these road series in one trip but then decided against it for whatever reason.

The Phillies lose by having to go right back out to where they had been a week before, and Phillies fans who were hoping to “double dip” on a road trip to Milwaukee and Chicago lose as well.