MLB releases the ALCS schedule

The Red Sox get another extended rest before beginning the ALCS, and that’s probably a good thing as we all need time to recover from that ninth inning in the ALDS-clinching Game 4. Eventually this weekend baseball will be played again and the Astros will be coming to town as the Red Sox will once again have home field advantage in this series. On Wednesday, we learned the dates and times for all seven of the potential ALCS games, and there isn’t much of a surprise. Below is the full schedule, and all games will be televised on TBS.

Game 1: Saturday, 10/13, 8:09 PM ET (Boston)

Game 2: Sunday, 10/14, 7:09 PM ET (Boston)

Game 3: Tuesday, 10/16, 5:09 PM ET (Houston)

Game 4: Wednesday, 10/17, 8:39 PM ET (Houston)

Game 5*: Thursday, 10/18, 8:09 PM ET (Houston)

Game 6*: Saturday, 10/20, 5:09 PM ET (Boston)

Game 7*: Sunday, 10/21, 7:39 PM ET (Boston)

*-If Necessary

The schedule is pretty straight forward, though the varying start times are a little confusing to me. Specifically I’m not sure why Game 4 is 8:39 and Game 7 is 7:39. Seems random to me but I’m not a millionaire TV executive. Anyway, the Game 3 start time is probably the most annoying, but it’s not early enough that it’s worth a full-blown meltdown.

The only real annoying thing with this schedule is not anything that was done by the schedule makers but the fact that it’s a 2-3-2 format rather than 2-2-1-1-1. The latter gives more of an advantage to the team that earned the home field edge in the series, and while I understand that the way they do it makes it easier on travel and requires fewer off-days, I think we could handle the extra wait. Either way, that’s just me bitching for the sake of bitching. See you Saturday.