pmoehrin Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 My own suggestion would be for MLB to adopt the NFL playoff system with a 3-3-5-7 format for the rounds.I'm not a big fan of 8 and I do think there is a bit of a drop off between 6 and 7 for both leagues. The Angels played in a tough division and were in it all year, the White Sox played in an easy division and collapsed in September. NL isn't quite as bad, but by the end of the year that Dodger was starting to look scary and the Brewers traded away their best pitcher mid-season, so how much damage could they really have done in the playoffs?I have no issue with four teams being it in from each league, I don't even object too much to five. My problem with the current format is the Wild Card game being a winner take all. I got a problem with setting up a system where four teams seasons are coming down to one game every year. I would just go best of three and if it means they would have to cut a few games off the LCS or LDS then so be it because I think the LCS should be best of five anyway. I don't like having non championship series dragging out for up to potentially two weeks and that's with any sport. Just these things over with already and move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burmy Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 YOU HAD ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO GAMESWhich, if that has to be cut down a bit to make my idea so, so be it. I want the World Series to remain at the end of October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Yeah, let's take away lucrative home games so a team that finishes in 8th place can get a crack at the postseason after playing every day for six months and proving themselves to be worse than seven other teams in the league. That makes sense. People fetishize the idea of "The Playoffs." The year is your playoff. I think it's cool that there are 162 games and sometimes, they actually matter! ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOldRoman Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 The 1995-2011 format was perfect. One wildcard, one single shot for teams which couldn't win their division to make it in. Four playoff teams was too few, but eight is perfect. Things are basically the same now, except for the faux wildcard that gets to pop champagne only to lose in a play in game.Selig has done plenty of dumb things, and we hear talk of expanding the playoffs a few times a year, so it will happen eventually. However, that is the exact wrong thing for baseball. Fans don't want more baseball. They are happy with the baseball they have. They might even want less. Look at the TV ratings for the playoffs and World Series dropping each year. A large part of that is the variety of entertainment alternatives, but part of it is that fans are somewhat worn out of the game which they have watched for seven full months. The answer to "our ratings are down" is NOT "well, we just need to play more games."The Admiral is 100% right about 162 games being more than enough to decide the eight best teams. Baseball fandom isn't like football, where you know to turn your TV on at noon on Sunday and your team will play (with the exception of a Thurdsay night and maybe SNF/MNF). It's not even like hockey or basketball, where you have to check "do we play today?" and your team routinely gets two to three days off in a row. Baseball is every day for six freaking months. It's a huge emotional and time investment to follow a team for that long. Fans are going to be less likely to go to games if it's freaking August 15 and you've clinched a playoff spot, and homefield advantage doesn't mean that much. A 162 game season has to mean something and has to take randomness out of the game as much as possible. It's really bad for the sport if a 105 win team is gone a few days into the playoffs because their offense stalls against an awful team like the Mariners because they ran into Felix Hernandez and then Jason Vargas had a good game. NOBODY wanted to see the 75 win Mariners in the playoffs last year, and if they would have happened to upset the 95 win Yankees in a best of three series, it would have really sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 So far the extended playoffs have given us a blown call and garbage-throwing on one side and the protracted leg-pissing of the Texas Rangers on the other. Could've done without it! ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 486 games are required to determine the best teams based solely on game results according to the current inter-league scheduling format.Inter-league play is really ruining the balance of the MLB. A hard salary cap (with no luxury tax penalty) is the only way to go.Best divisions based on (1/2) 2012 avg. w/l records and (1/2) 2013 projected opening-day payroll, 2013 inter-league opponent in parentheses:1. AL East (NL West)2. NL East (AL Central)3. NL West (AL East)4. NL Central (AL West)5. AL Central (NL East)6. AL West (NL Central)The best inter-league games this year will be between the AL East and NL West (Yankees vs. Dodgers).The worst inter-league games this year will be between the AL West and NL Central (Astros vs. Pirates).The least evenly-matched inter-league games this year will be between the AL Central and NL East (Twins vs. Nationals).*The World Series is arbitrary and The All-Star Game is unbalanced (played at an NL Stadium this year). Why should I care about either? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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