Who was in charge of making the MLB schedule this year? After playing 13 of their first 19 games at home, the Orioles have to play 17 of their next 20 games on the road.

That’s bad enough, but it’s worse when you consider that they travel to the West Coast for three games against the Seattle Mariners before heading to Chicago to play the White Sox for four games. After flying home to play three games against the Tampa Bay Rays at Camden Yards, they have to travel all the way back out west to play the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics for three games each before stopping in Kansas City for four games against the Royals. And they don’t even have one off day during the stretch.

Does that make much sense to you? It’s a good thing gas prices aren’t skyrocketing or anything. Don’t worry because the Orioles weren’t the only team to receive a bizarre schedule to start the year.

The New York Yankees are in the middle of a stretch where they’ll play 18 out of 20 games away from Yankee Stadium. Of course, their situation is a little bit different because they had to modify their schedule to accommodate Pope Benedict XVI, who celebrated Mass at the historic ballpark on Sunday. According to the MLB.com article, the Yankees could finish April with 18 road games, which would be the most in MLB history for the month.

Don’t ask the Boston Red Sox how the schedule looks if you’re world champions. They started 2008 with two games against the Oakland Athletics in Japan before playing the final two games of that series a week later in Oakland. Then, they had to fly to Toronto to play three games against the Blue Jays before finally playing their first game at Fenway Park. That’s some reward for winning the World Series.

I know that the schedule is a difficult thing to make. Believe me, there is no way that I would want to have that job. Between having to make sure all 30 teams have 81 home games and 81 away games, as well as the correct number of games against divisional opponents, it's a challenging task. And that doesn’t even take into consideration any conflicts that may occur with venues. Still, it just seems like the schedule is a little more out of the ordinary than normal. What does everyone else think?

Anyway, the Orioles will play the Mariners for three games beginning at 10:10 p.m. tonight. Since being swept by the Orioles in the four-game series in Baltimore, the Mariners are 8-5.

Felix Hernandez starts tonight for the Mariners and Carlos Silva will pitch tomorrow night’s game. Thursday’s starter still hasn’t been announced. Former Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard, who has been on the disabled list with inflammation in his left hip, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session before tonight’s game. He’s eligible to come off the disabled list on Thursday, so he could be making his first start against his former team if everything goes well tonight.

Pitching matchups

Tuesday 4/22: Jeremy Guthrie (0-1, 4.38) vs. Felix Hernandez (2-0, 1.47)
Wednesday 4/23: Daniel Cabrera (1-0, 5.16) vs. Carlos Silva (3-0, 2.79)
Thursday 4/24: Adam Loewen (0-1, 6.32) vs. TBA

Who you should play from the Mariners

Raul Ibanez, LF – In the four-game series in Baltimore, Ibanez was 6-for-15 with a double, two home runs and three RBIs. His two home runs came against Guthrie and Cabrera. He’s hitting .316 with five home runs and 16 RBIs so far this season. In his career, Ibanez is 7-for-22 against Cabrera with four doubles, two home runs and five RBIs.

Who you should bench from the Mariners

Kenji Johjima, C – A lot of fantasy owners were counting on the Mariners catcher to have a solid season. It hasn’t been too promising to this point for the 31-year-old from Japan. He’s hitting .196 with no home runs and five RBIs. Against the Orioles this season, Johjima is 0-for-12. It might be a good idea to find someone else to fill in at catcher until Johjima starts hitting again.

Who you should play from the Orioles

Luke Scott, LF – As I suspected, Scott struggled against Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte on Sunday. He’s still one of the hottest players in the major leagues right now. Before he went 0-for-4 in the series finale against New York, Scott had hit safely in seven consecutive games. In the first series against the Mariners, Scott was 7-for-10 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. While he may not hit .700 in this series, Scott should be in your lineup everyday until he shows signs of a slump.

Who you should bench from the Orioles

Brian Roberts, 2B – Roberts is 2-for-24 in his last six games. His batting average has plummeted from .327 on April 14 to .247. He had a sacrifice fly in Sunday’s game against the Yankees, but overall he’s been pretty invisible in the fantasy categories. It won’t be long before Roberts is out of his slump. It may even happen during this series, but you should still be aware of his recent struggles if he’s in your lineup everyday.