A Quirky One

[luckymann]

Hello again scheduling maestros. I have a slightly unusual request that can hopefully be done without too much drama. While it seems convoluted to me and has a few associated details, I get the feeling the schedule itself might be relatively straightforward (he says hopefully...).

In any case, the details are as follows.

2 subs with 6 teams in each, 120 games. No interleague, just 24 games against your division rivals.

This save is attempting to pose as an international competition so were it IRL the logistics would require longer series with a bit of a break between and I'd like to try replicate that if possible.

So I was thinking the 24 games each team plays could be broken into two series of 12, with those series broken up further with a couple days off.

In other words 4 games - day off - 4 games - day off - 4 games.

Then I'd like a three day break until the next series to simulate "travel time".

By my calculation, you would need to repeat this 10 times for the full 120-game schedule.

I would like a 7-day break right in the middle of the season (so after five of these mini-series have been completed), with an ASG scheduled on day 4 of this break.

Not sure if it will be helpful (if not then ignore) but I had GPT do a mocked-up version of it that I have attached.

I would like this schedule to start on April 1 regardless of what day that falls on. By the AI's calculation that means the ASG falls on Day 86 / June 28.

I would like the playoffs to start as close to October 1 as possible (or, preferably, on it) but not sure if that can be hotwired into schedules or whether the game overrides it regardless. FWIW, the GPT version of this schedule ends on Sep 21.

OK, thanks in advance and let me know if any other info is required.

Much appreciated

G

[luckymann]

That GPT rendering obviously only features one half / six teams of the draw.

G

[gmo]

Not to imply I notice everything, but this is the first instance here I have seen with someone using an LLM for schedule work.

Since there is a simple structure and precise, consistent pattern to the games it is relatively easy to lay out.

I did not pore through the attachment, but it seems fine as a start. The home/away is not specified, or if you read it as such the home/away is not well dispersed. Also there are extra days around the All-Star Game. But I think there are a complete set of matchups in each half.

The catch here is the playoff start. Subtracting the few extra days the attachment has around the All-Star Game, the season ends Sep18. AFAIK the game always has one offday after the regular season end (including any tiebreakers). So the playoffs here could be expect to begin Sep20. I do not think there is a consistent way to change that. Postseason games cannot be set properly in the schedule, and in editing after the fact I have sometimes been able to change something but have also broken the playoffs in doing so. It could be something on which to experiment with a dummy test league.

[gmo]

#
# 12 team schedule, 120 games
# Designed for the following configuration:
# 2 subleagues, each with 1 division of 6 teams
#
#
# 24 games against 5 other teams in division (12H/12A)
#
# balanced schedule
# no interleague
#
#
# Team play each opponent in 12-game blocks
# Each block is three 4-game series separated by offdays
# Each block is separated by 3 more offdays
#
# Five blocks in first half, one against each division opponent
# Second half is same matchups with home/away reversed
#
# No homestands or roadtrips longer than 2 blocks (24 games)
#
# All game times set at 7:05pm
#
# Season begins April 1
# Season ends September 18
# Season spans 171 days
#
# All-Star Game June 25 (day 86)
#
# Built 2025-05-02
#

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by gmo

Not to imply I notice everything, but this is the first instance here I have seen with someone using an LLM for schedule work.

Since there is a simple structure and precise, consistent pattern to the games it is relatively easy to lay out.

I did not pore through the attachment, but it seems fine as a start. The home/away is not specified, or if you read it as such the home/away is not well dispersed. Also there are extra days around the All-Star Game. But I think there are a complete set of matchups in each half.

The catch here is the playoff start. Subtracting the few extra days the attachment has around the All-Star Game, the season ends Sep18. AFAIK the game always has one offday after the regular season end (including any tiebreakers). So the playoffs here could be expect to begin Sep20. I do not think there is a consistent way to change that. Postseason games cannot be set properly in the schedule, and in editing after the fact I have sometimes been able to change something but have also broken the playoffs in doing so. It could be something on which to experiment with a dummy test league.

Yes, the playoff request was done pretty much already knowing the answer but it's always worth throwing it out there especially after a new version has come out - you just never know if things have changed.

Glad to hear the request was delivered in a way that was helpful, wasn't sure if it would be or just confuse matters. Not sure how much further the LLM could take this, it took a few goes to simply get that csv right but I suspected it might move the needle for you a wee bit once it had.

Mate thanks as always for getting this done, will report back if any issues but the description makes it look spot on.

Cheers

G