It's a joke the Astros keep ending the season on the road. This will make it six seasons in a row. And some of the road trips are ridiculous, though not as bad as the second half of this season when the Astros have basically spent July and August on the West Coast.
Still, all five of their AL East series are NOT paired with another AL East foe. A NY-Boston trip should be mandatory, especially for all teams west of the Mississippi.
Tampa-Arlington
Minnesota-Mexico in May
Detroit-Boston (same time zone, but not a close trip)
Cincinnati-New York (see above)
Breaking up a home stand for a two-game trip to Denver
Toronto-Milwaukee in August/September, which probably isn't too bad though it's a time zone change after getting out of customs.
But the worst is the incredibly convenient Baltimore-Chicago-Oakland road trip in August with no off-days once the trip starts and followed by another seven games at home with no off-days.
And if the Astros-Rangers rivalry was so important to the point that the Astros had to be the ones to switch leagues, why are the Astros and Rangers done in Arlington after mid-July for the second year in a row? The Astros play 17 of 19 with the Rangers before the end of July. This year, they were done completely before the end of July.
Screw the MLB office, which probably takes great pains to make sure the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Cardinals all get to make all of their West Coast trips in one fell swoop.
