A schedule based on geography could be tough in the East

If reports of the latest proposal to play Major League Baseball in 2020 are true, the Orioles may have a very tough schedule. Whether it be 78 gmes, 82 games or some other number.

The latest plan reportedly calls for teams to only play in their geographical region. The Orioles would play against teams in the American League East and the National League East. The same would be true for the Central and West in both leagues. The six divisions would remain intact, but instead of the Orioles playing every other AL team and some in the NL, they'd play only those clubs in the two East divisions.

Well, for those that like high draft picks, this could be a schedule for you. It is going to be rugged.

We know how tough the AL East can be and the NL East last year produced two teams that won 90 or more games, four teams that played .500 ball or better and the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals.

The two East divisions combined produced six winning records last year, four teams that won 90 or more games and four playoff teams. The two Central divisions produced five winning records, three that won 90 or more games and three playoff clubs. The two West divisions produced four winning records, three that won 90 or more games and three that made the postseason.

The East looks the toughest, although the West does have two teams in Houston (107) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (106) that won 106 or more and another in Oakland with 97 wins.

The 10 teams in the West combined to win 831 games in 2019 with the East at 818 and Central at a combined 780 wins. The East got hurt by Toronto winning just 67 and Baltimore just 54. Nine of 10 West clubs won 70 or more.

So it appears that while the Orioles would be playing all nine other East clubs, the standings would remain with competition in six divisions. So the division winner would still come from among the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Jays and O's in the AL East.

Yesterday came word that MLB owners had approved a proposal for the 2020 season and now officials will present that to the MLB Players Association. That is expected to happen today.

Let's sure hope that money doesn't get in the way. That would be a terrible look for MLB at a time when many people have lost jobs and some can't pay their bills. MLB simply has to work out a way to make it work with the understanding that games that initially have no fans just can't generate the revenue both sides are used to. They just need to work through it and get this done.

The Orioles last year versus the AL East:

* O's went 7-12 against Boston
* O's were 2-17 versus New York
* O's went 7-12 against Tampa Bay
* O's were 8-11 versus Toronto

So the Orioles played .316 ball (24-52) last year within their division. They went 10-29 (.256) at home versus the AL East and 14-23 (.378) on the road. The Orioles were 7-13 against the NL last season when they played the NL West teams, except for four games against the Nats, where they went 2-2.