Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

[TheMatrix31]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Let's say there's a three game series. If the season ends on a Sunday, are you going to have Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday with the main round starting on Thursday? What abut weather delays? Are you going to have the team with the better record have Games 1/2 at home or 2/3?

There's a lot of logistical issues too.

[DrJones]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Let's say there's a three game series. If the season ends on a Sunday, are you going to have Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday with the main round starting on Thursday? What abut weather delays? Are you going to have the team with the better record have Games 1/2 at home or 2/3?

There's a lot of logistical issues too.

Agreed. It's got to be single-game playoff or bust.

[Sportsforever]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Another thing, and I think Matrix makes this point, I hate how the cadence of baseball playoffs have become.

I can't think of any other sport that changes the rhythm of play in the playoffs. Baseball players play every day for almost 6 months and then we have these 4,5 or 6 day layoffs. This isn't the NFL where a bye week helps you get healthy and prepare for a team. They need to eliminate the days off crap...a lot of times it can't be helped when one team sweeps and waits on their opponent to finish up a series, but that isn't what's been happening the last few years. I fear this will just make it worse.

[KSUowls]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Question: by that same logic, do you not feel that the 1 seed, or the team with a better record than both of those other teams, should be rewarded by facing a team who does not have it's ace or has a different rotation setup? I guess I'm asking do you think it's fair that for all intents and purposes, a wild card team that wins 86 games is on equal footing with a division winner who won 100 at the beginning of a series? I guess I look at it more as a punishment for the 4th team than a reward for the 2nd team.

They aren't on equal footing. The #1 seed has home field advantage. That is how it is in all sports. You have the better record you get home field/court/ice. In other sports if you are the lower seed you don't have to sit your goalie for the first game, or play without your quarterback for the first quarter.

On the other hand. If there was a 1 game playoff scenario where teams go in and use up their ace in that one game to make it to the next round. That wouldn't make for a very exciting playoff series considering the WC's ace could potentially not even get a chance to throw in a best of 5 series (or more likely just be pitching a game to avoid elimination).

[KSUowls]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Let's look at the AL wild card "races" over the last 5 seasons.

2010: Yankees win WC by 6 games
2009: Red Sox win WC by 8 games
2008: Red Sox win WC by 6 games
2007: Yankees win WC by 6 games
2006: Tigers win WC by 5 games

How many of those September games really mattered?

Well first off your argument only points out the American League. It also deals with a very small sample size.

Also, those numbers are slightly disingenuous. For instance, as you noted in 2009 the Red Sox won the Wild Card by 8 games. However, As late as September 10 Texas was within 2 games of them. It wasn't until a big winning streak by boston and a losing streak by Texas at the same time did that gap expand to 8 games.

In 2007 the Tigers were within 2.5 games of the Yankees on September 15. Once again the gap shown about 3 weeks later was the result of a good stretch for NY and a bad one for Detroit.

There was a another similar situation in 2006, and in 2005 there were 3 teams within 1 loss of eachother on the last day of September.


What you've shown is similar to the outcry from the most recent NFL season where the Seahawks made the playoffs with a losing record. People wanted to change the whole system because of something happening in a small sample size.

Sports are cyclical. There are going to be stretches of dominance no matter what you do. After a few years those teams who dominate will fade off some and be replaced by someone new. People are being far too reactionary about all of this.


edit:
I saw a few people mention double headers
I'm a fan of double headers but I don't want to see them all the time. For the simple fact that I think it would reduce the quality of pitching which would make for some boring baseball to me.

[Brandon13]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

I probably should be against it, but I actually like the idea. I've always hated the idea of a "Wild Card Champion," and hopefully the opening round would be short and sweet (and would encourage teams to go for the division title).

I pretty much feel the same way. I like it in the sense that, at least in theory, it would provide the division winner a tangible advantage over the wild card in a series.

[wwharton]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Another thing, and I think Matrix makes this point, I hate how the cadence of baseball playoffs have become.

I can't think of any other sport that changes the rhythm of play in the playoffs. Baseball players play every day for almost 6 months and then we have these 4,5 or 6 day layoffs. This isn't the NFL where a bye week helps you get healthy and prepare for a team. They need to eliminate the days off crap...a lot of times it can't be helped when one team sweeps and waits on their opponent to finish up a series, but that isn't what's been happening the last few years. I fear this will just make it worse.

Definitely agree with that. I HIGHLY doubt it, but maybe adding a game or 3 will get them to tighten up all the others too. I have no idea why they don't already besides tv ratings, but it's the damn playoffs... fans will watch if the games start at midnight on Mondays.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Just a thought of course.....but what if they do something like a two game series?

4th seed (traditional WC) has to win one game
5th seed has to win both games

[DocHolliday]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

The most asinine thing about baseball is that you play a 162 game season, then have the first round decided by a 5 game series. That just seems ridiculous to me.

Got to 10 teams.

[Sportsforever]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

The most asinine thing about baseball is that you play a 162 game season, then have the first round decided by a 5 game series. That just seems ridiculous to me.

Got to 10 teams.

Exactly...it would be like NFL saying that the playoffs are determined by who's winning at halftime.

[Sportsforever]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Another thing, and I think Matrix makes this point, I hate how the cadence of baseball playoffs have become.

I can't think of any other sport that changes the rhythm of play in the playoffs. Baseball players play every day for almost 6 months and then we have these 4,5 or 6 day layoffs. This isn't the NFL where a bye week helps you get healthy and prepare for a team. They need to eliminate the days off crap...a lot of times it can't be helped when one team sweeps and waits on their opponent to finish up a series, but that isn't what's been happening the last few years. I fear this will just make it worse.

Just to piggy back on this, I read a Jim Caple article the other day in which he pointed out the San Francisco Giants had 20 off days in the 2010 regular season...and 15 off days in the playoffs. That has got to change.

[phenom1990]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

Just to piggy back on this, I read a Jim Caple article the other day in which he pointed out the San Francisco Giants had 20 off days in the 2010 regular season...and 15 off days in the playoffs. That has got to change.

If I was MLB, I would just expand the first round from best of 5 to best of 7. Instead of expanding the playoffs by teams, they should just expand it by games if they are serious. I think people rather see the top teams play more games than the middle level teams play more. In an ideal world, a best of 7 for baseball should take no longer than 9 days. ( 7 games, 2 travel days in a 2-3-2 format). So the playoffs should take no longer than 27 days.

[wwharton]

Re: Commish: 10 teams in playoffs for '12

If I was MLB, I would just expand the first round from best of 5 to best of 7. Instead of expanding the playoffs by teams, they should just expand it by games if they are serious. I think people rather see the top teams play more games than the middle level teams play more. In an ideal world, a best of 7 for baseball should take no longer than 9 days. ( 7 games, 2 travel days in a 2-3-2 format). So the playoffs should take no longer than 27 days.

I disagree with this 100%. People aren't baseball starved. With 162 games, there's only a small percentage that may want this. You keep the average fans interested by keeping their favorite teams in the hunt longer. That's the point of adding teams.