The wildcard(s)

[msgkings322]

A friend of mine made this suggestion (probably been made before, but seems like the best 'fix')

The one game play in is bogus and weird, baseball is a game of series'. So just have the first WC team host a normal 3 game series vs the 2nd WC team.

Only adds 2 days to the schedule, you can easily have 2 extra doubleheaders during the year and the season isn't any longer.

Makes the 2nd WC even worse than the first, which is a good thing, while eliminating the one weird game to define your whole season. Most people are used to having 1 WC team, now that WC spot is even better.

And finally, keeps the division winners that much ahead of the WCs, as it should be. More rest days for the division champs, easy to reset their rotations, etc. While still having a 2nd WC team which we all know will never go away. And maybe doesn't need to, still only 10 out of 30 teams make the playoffs, less than any other sport.

 

[BroncoInCALI]

That is exactly how I think it should be done too......

 

[calsnowskier]

I think this is actually a disadvantage for the Division Winners. Not playing for 3 days (actually, probably 4 to allow a day between the WC series and LDS) will kill any momentum they had. Just remember what happened to the Tigers in 2012.

 

[Mays-Fan]

A friend of mine made this suggestion (probably been made before, but seems like the best 'fix')

The one game play in is bogus and weird, baseball is a game of series'. So just have the first WC team host a normal 3 game series vs the 2nd WC team.

Only adds 2 days to the schedule, you can easily have 2 extra doubleheaders during the year and the season isn't any longer.

Makes the 2nd WC even worse than the first, which is a good thing, while eliminating the one weird game to define your whole season. Most people are used to having 1 WC team, now that WC spot is even better.

And finally, keeps the division winners that much ahead of the WCs, as it should be. More rest days for the division champs, easy to reset their rotations, etc. While still having a 2nd WC team which we all know will never go away. And maybe doesn't need to, still only 10 out of 30 teams make the playoffs, less than any other sport.

I imagine the powers that be have discussed this. Maybe they are incrementally moving toward it. One drawback is that it stretches the playoffs out quite a bit. I know you suggest they add 2 extra doubleheaders, but there is a reason you rarely see doubleheaders anymore - the players hate them (Ernie Banks notwithstanding), and who has the time to spend 6+ hours at the ballpark as a fan?

Plus, the extra playoff games between marginal contenders probably wouldn't get much for TV ratings, IMHO. Esp when coming at a time when football, both college and pro, is spinning up and sucking up all the available sports oxygen from TV and the fans. An Oakland-Seattle series for a quarterfinal berth just doesn't have a whole lot of national sizzle, fo' shizzle.

 

[msgkings322]

I imagine the powers that be have discussed this. Maybe they are incrementally moving toward it. One drawback is that it stretches the playoffs out quite a bit. I know you suggest they add 2 extra doubleheaders, but there is a reason you rarely see doubleheaders anymore - the players hate them (Ernie Banks notwithstanding), and who has the time to spend 6+ hours at the ballpark as a fan?

Plus, the extra playoff games between marginal contenders probably wouldn't get much for TV ratings, IMHO. Esp when coming at a time when football, both college and pro, is spinning up and sucking up all the available sports oxygen from TV and the fans. An Oakland-Seattle series for a quarterfinal berth just doesn't have a whole lot of national sizzle, fo' shizzle.

Some good points, but no one watches any baseball playoffs anymore, and to me this idea is an improvement over the current 1 game weirdness. The big babies can play 2 stinkin doubleheaders, sheesh.

 

[msgkings322]

I think this is actually a disadvantage for the Division Winners. Not playing for 3 days (actually, probably 4 to allow a day between the WC series and LDS) will kill any momentum they had. Just remember what happened to the Tigers in 2012.

A good point but does the disadvantage of 'losing momentum' outweigh the advantage of resting guys tired from a whole year and resetting your rotation? And doesn't getting rid of the 1 game weirdness outweigh that concern?

OK, 2012 Tigers...I'm sure there are many other examples of teams coasting into the playoffs and still winning it all. The 2005 White Sox are an example I (obviously) can recall, won their division by 6, went 11-1 in the playoffs. Including the ALCS in which they did something no team will ever do again...

 

[calsnowskier]

A good point but does the disadvantage of 'losing momentum' outweigh the advantage of resting guys tired from a whole year and resetting your rotation? And doesn't getting rid of the 1 game weirdness outweigh that concern?

OK, 2012 Tigers...I'm sure there are many other examples of teams coasting into the playoffs and still winning it all. The 2005 White Sox are an example I (obviously) can recall, won their division by 6, went 11-1 in the playoffs. Including the ALCS in which they did something no team will ever do again...

The momentum thing is not a proven fact, granted. I am sure there are plenty of example in both directions showing the affect of the layoff. I do not have empirical data to support my argument, so let's just agree that it is my opinion that it is a negative.

As for the weirdness of the WC round, I like it. Not because I think it adds drama, or because I think it more fair for this team or that, but because they are WC teams. Fuck 'em. If they really wanted to win the division, they wouldn't have started their inexperienced prospect against their heated rivals on the last day of the season (grumble grumble grumble).

The WC is a playoff, but they did not win the division, so they get what they get, and they should shut up and say "thank you, sir, may I have another". I actually want it to go a step further and give the winner of the WC game a 4-1 home-field disadvantage against the #1 seeded team. But I know that will never happen.

 

[calsnowskier]

Wow...

Matt Vasgersian was just on KNBR, and he stated a factoid that was amazing...

The first team to clinch a playoff spot has not won the world series since the '98 Yankees.

 

[Stokes1931]

Wow...

Matt Vasgersian was just on KNBR, and he stated a factoid that was amazing...

The first team to clinch a playoff spot has not won the world series since the '98 Yankees.

Bad news for the Angels then. Heart breaking. #2002

 

[calsnowskier]

Bad news for the Angels then. Heart breaking. #2002

Of course '02 hurts, but I still have never been able to muster any bad blood for the Halos. They are the LA anti-doggies, and it is just hard to hate that...

I have more animosity for the Rox because of '93 than I do for the Angels for 2002.

Of course, the '93 team was one of the most formative teams of my Giants-youth (if you consider 20-ish "youth"; baseball wise, I was only about 5 or 6, though)

 

[msgkings322]

Wow...

Matt Vasgersian was just on KNBR, and he stated a factoid that was amazing...

The first team to clinch a playoff spot has not won the world series since the '98 Yankees.

That is amazing, thanks for the post...

Just more evidence for the craziness/randomness of the playoffs. Just get in there.