MLB Realignment

[BBTV]

Why not move the Pirates to the AL Central and have the Royals play in the AL West? Wouldn't this also secure that states with two or more teams, have at least one team in each league?

Why does that even matter? Markets with two or more teams should be split up, but even then, since revenue sharing isn't what it is in some of the other sports and the TV contracts aren't done by league, even that doesn't really matter much.

It was more of an observation, not a point, skipper.

Skipper? Cute.

"Wouldn't this secure" implies that it's a goal to have a state represented in each league. If it's not really your goal, then it doesn't matter. If it is, then I'm just curious as to why, since there's no reason to make it happen.

[Drakonius26]

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of realignment in terms of evening out the divisions, having interleague play intact, as well as the historical structure of the AL and NL, but here's another thing that will be devalued beyond the wild-card... the one-game playoff. That's another thing that will disappear with adding another wild-card team, and some people might say... "well, it would be a best-of-five series/playoff between the top two wild-card teams"... okay, that's fine, but what if we have a year, like a few years ago, where a divisional champion is 82-80, and the wild-card teams were just as mediocre? Well, screw making 100 wins special, or 90 wins a goal, I can coast in at .500 and still qualify for the playoffs.

Point being, if MLB wants to look at making improvements to it's game, stop looking at the NHL and NBA for advice... look at the NFL. Have they expanded the playoff field to 14 or 16, has some media members and players wanted? No, that would water down the product. It still means something to make the playoffs, and even the Seahawks proved that beyond their record, they could take down the defending champions. So their existence in the playoffs wasn't a complete fluke.

[raysox]

I like the 15 team- split leagues. You play like 6 interleague series a year? The chances are more likely that the teams wont meet in the World Series. With no divisions, it's a fair race for the best 5 teams to make it into the playoffs. That way, there wont be a team that is better than a former division winner to be left out of the playoffs. Without the divisions, then the Brewers could go to the AL anyway, not screw up the divisions, and make everyone happy.

[Seadragon76]

You know, instead of five teams in each league makes the playoffs, why not just keep it at four in each league and, now that you'll get rid of divisions in supposed plan, seed the teams 1 through 4?

It seems so simple. Why mess with a good thing?

[Lights Out]

Here's how you fix baseball:

1. Get rid of divisions. Best 5 teams make the playoffs.

2. No more DH.

3. Salary cap and salary floor.

4. Increased use of instant replay and more consistent officiating.

No other changes necessary.

[Seadragon76]

Here's how you fix baseball:

1. Get rid of divisions. Best 4 teams make the playoffs.

2. No more DH.

3. Salary cap and salary floor.

4. Increased use of instant replay and more consistent officiating.

No other changes necessary.

Had to fix one. I don't like the idea of adding another wild card. Finishing in fifth in a 15 team league should mean your ass is golfing in October, not having to be in a one game playoff against the fourth place team to see who's going to be a sacraficial lamb to the first place team.

[YessSir32]

Now, Jim Bowden has his own idea...geographic realignment:

http://espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office/post/_/id/363/mlb-needs-geographic-realignment

I like it! Tigers and Reds battling for playoffs sounds good. Honestly, I don't care what they do as long as it helps my Tigers. Beat that Biased opinion.

[Drakonius26]

Now, Jim Bowden has his own idea...geographic realignment:

http://espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office/post/_/id/363/mlb-needs-geographic-realignment

I like it! Tigers and Reds battling for playoffs sounds good. Honestly, I don't care what they do as long as it helps my Tigers. Beat that Biased opinion.

I didn't click on that link until now.

Jim Bowden doesn't have his own good ideas, he just wastes oxygen.

[BBTV]

Here's how you fix baseball:

1. Get rid of divisions. Best 5 teams make the playoffs.

2. No more DH.

3. Salary cap and salary floor.

4. Increased use of instant replay and more consistent officiating.

No other changes necessary.

The entire reason for realignment in the first place is that there is no salary cap or revenue sharing. If you were to (somehow) implement that, then the rest of the discussion is moot.

[TBGKon]

Now, Jim Bowden has his own idea...geographic realignment:

http://espn.go.com/blog/the-gms-office/post/_/id/363/mlb-needs-geographic-realignment

I like it! Tigers and Reds battling for playoffs sounds good. Honestly, I don't care what they do as long as it helps my Tigers. Beat that Biased opinion.

I didn't click on that link until now.

Jim Bowden doesn't have his own good ideas, he just wastes oxygen.

Agreed, so says the guy who drove this up and down the Nats spring training complex in Florida.

[Brass]

EDIT: Nevermind. Taken to PM.

[Mac the Knife]

Bowden's idea is a bad one. But as long as we're discussing radical realignment scenarios, let's take it to a logical extreme and touch the third rail of American professional sports: promotion and relegation.

Want a 15-team American League and a 15-team National League? Cool. Want the top 5 teams in each to qualify for playoffs? I'm okay with that. Align the teams in each league any way you like. But let's add another wrinkle - the last place team in each of the leagues every year moves down to AAA, while the champions of the IL and PCL move up...and not only get to keep whatever players from their roster they won the title with (thereby taking them away from their MLB 'parent' club) but also get to cherry pick from the Major League roster of the team they are replacing.

While it'd be blasphemy to purists, it would essentially force teams into spending for player talent, as the risks inherent in being 'sent down to AAA' (particularly, loss of TV and gate revenue) would be so devastating that they'd have no choice but to do whatever they could to avoid finishing dead last.

[McCall]

Bowden's idea is a bad one. But as long as we're discussing radical realignment scenarios, let's take it to a logical extreme and touch the third rail of American professional sports: promotion and relegation.

Want a 15-team American League and a 15-team National League? Cool. Want the top 5 teams in each to qualify for playoffs? I'm okay with that. Align the teams in each league any way you like. But let's add another wrinkle - the last place team in each of the leagues every year moves down to AAA, while the champions of the IL and PCL move up...and not only get to keep whatever players from their roster they won the title with (thereby taking them away from their MLB 'parent' club) but also get to cherry pick from the Major League roster of the team they are replacing.

While it'd be blasphemy to purists, it would essentially force teams into spending for player talent, as the risks inherent in being 'sent down to AAA' (particularly, loss of TV and gate revenue) would be so devastating that they'd have no choice but to do whatever they could to avoid finishing dead last.

No offense and I know you were just showing a very radical realignment plan amidst the current discussion, but that is the stupidest idea I have ever heard. This is America, not Europe. I really wish people would stop this "relegation to all sports" desire for our leagues. It especially does not make sense for a league that uses a farm system like MLB. I know you addressed this in your plan, but it just would never work.

[Roger Clemente]

Doing a full season of interleague play wouldn't be a problem at all. A season lasts 26 weeks and there are a total of 90 3-game interleague series a season. Just make sure there is always exactly one or exactly three series going on at any one time.

[McCall]

Doing a full season of interleague play wouldn't be a problem at all. A season lasts 26 weeks and there are a total of 90 3-game interleague series a season. Just make sure there is always exactly one or exactly three series going on at any one time.

Well that's the point that a lot of us "traditionalists/purists" are trying to make. We DON'T want yearlong interleague. Frankly I'd be happy if they did away with it altogether.

[RyanB06]

Doing a full season of interleague play wouldn't be a problem at all. A season lasts 26 weeks and there are a total of 90 3-game interleague series a season. Just make sure there is always exactly one or exactly three series going on at any one time.

Well that's the point that a lot of us "traditionalists/purists" are trying to make. We DON'T want yearlong interleague. Frankly I'd be happy if they did away with it altogether.

And that would require expansion to 32 teams. I'll take the yearlong interleague play, thanks.

[McCall]

Doing a full season of interleague play wouldn't be a problem at all. A season lasts 26 weeks and there are a total of 90 3-game interleague series a season. Just make sure there is always exactly one or exactly three series going on at any one time.

Well that's the point that a lot of us "traditionalists/purists" are trying to make. We DON'T want yearlong interleague. Frankly I'd be happy if they did away with it altogether.

And that would require expansion to 32 teams. I'll take the yearlong interleague play, thanks.

Not if you leave the leagues 16-14.

[BBTV]

Bowden's idea is a bad one. But as long as we're discussing radical realignment scenarios, let's take it to a logical extreme and touch the third rail of American professional sports: promotion and relegation.

Want a 15-team American League and a 15-team National League? Cool. Want the top 5 teams in each to qualify for playoffs? I'm okay with that. Align the teams in each league any way you like. But let's add another wrinkle - the last place team in each of the leagues every year moves down to AAA, while the champions of the IL and PCL move up...and not only get to keep whatever players from their roster they won the title with (thereby taking them away from their MLB 'parent' club) but also get to cherry pick from the Major League roster of the team they are replacing.

While it'd be blasphemy to purists, it would essentially force teams into spending for player talent, as the risks inherent in being 'sent down to AAA' (particularly, loss of TV and gate revenue) would be so devastating that they'd have no choice but to do whatever they could to avoid finishing dead last.

I love ya Mac, but this is beyond absurd. For one thing, you'd have teams playing in minor league facilities competing in the major leagues. For another thing, how on earh could a parent club be beneath it's affiliate (so if the Royals got relegated, would the minor league front office have final say over call ups and options etc.?) For a third thing, the minor league team would "cherry pick" the entire major league roster... because, well, if the minor-league players were major-league ready, they'd have been on said roster.

The only way a relegation thing would work (and really, it wouldn't no matter what) would be for there to be a "minor" major league, where the teams were still "parent" clubs with their own affiliate system.

[Lights Out]

Even then, it would be a disaster. In promotion/relegation, you could say goodbye to any small-market champions. The only hope a small-market team would have is for a multi-millionaire with more money than sense to buy the team. And good luck getting fans to go see a team in or soon to be relegated to the crappy division.

[DustDevil61]

I really don't see why, with a 100-plus game schedule, each MLB team wouldn't be able to play every other MLB team at least once or twice each season. I really don't disagree with much of this, though if any team switches, I don't see why Milwaukee can't be the team to go back to the AL. Bud Selig must really like the idea of having the Brewers in the NL (he was their owner when they switched), because they are never mentioned.