OT: MLB Realignment
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6651634
Sounds like the MLB is seriously considering realigning. Not sure exactly how I feel about it. I know purists will hate the interleague games happening all season long, but that doesn't bother me that much. What concerns me is getting rid of divisions all together - while I like the idea of larger divisions (as opposed to 4 teams in the AL West), I also like for a pennant race to mean something. Determining a fair advantage to the league champion in the postseason is critical, IMO.
So what do you guys think? Anybody have some crazy, complicated ideas on re-aligning the MLB and re-doing it's postseason?
are completely and utterly meaningless.
Might as well rethink the playoffs then, since 4-2 and 4-3 are good enough to advance.
I want to get rid of the playoffs completely, and go to the system the EPL uses. Everyone plays everyone else an equal number of times. Team with the best record at the end of the year wins the championship.
Relegate the bottom three?
Of course.
Who wouldn't love to see Erie playing in the majors, or the incredibly dramatic Astros/Cubs game at the end of the season to determine who gets to stay in the majors?
It would give the Cubs something to play for in September!
I know people want the playoffs to be the entire AL east against the phillies, but it's a joke. I like having the seahawks sneek in at 7-9 and upset the saints. Eliminating the divisions will dilute the rivalries and only further expose how terrible the small market teams are. If you think Pittsburgh is struggling to break .500 (tho doing well this year), just imagine if they don't get the luxury of playing the astros, cubs, and reds 19 times a year.
I think rivalries matter a lot more to the fans than to the players and for every Pittsburgh there is a Toronto that would love a shake up of divisions.
I've always felt terrible for the blue jays and orioles. Just zero chance of ever being relevant.
I agree that they have it rough and are definitely longshots - but what makes their situation different from the Rays?
MOAR TRADITION! REALIGNMENT MAKE HULK SMASH!
I tend to be a "get off my lawn" type of a person. So from that perspective, I dislike the current MLB setup and postseason. Before the wildcard, four teams total made it to the postseason, out of 26. Now, the number of teams in the postseason has doubled, and the number of teams in baseball has only risen to 30. I know that more playoff spots and more pennant races has been fun for fans and good for baseball's bottom line, but when the postseason is as much of a a crapshoot as in the MLB, it seems silly to open the door so widely.
Personally, if they do change it up, and make it easier for the League Champs to get to the World Series, I'm all for it. And if this whole "November Baseball" turns into a thing of the past as well.
would take away one of the few things that makes the long baseball season somewhat bearable, the penant races.
Shouldn't the Brew just come home?
I agree. They're talking about Houston so as to "create a rivalry," which is an oxymoron. Bring the Brew Crew back to the AL if this is the route they're gonna go.
In either league they have a close proximity to other teams. The Brewers-Cubs series gets both sets of fans excited. The Astros, on the other hand, are pretty far away from anybody else in the NL. While there are a ton of other reasons that the 'Stros don't draw as well as they should, giving them a few neighbors that they'll play against regularly can't hurt.
And Twins-Brewers matchups wouldn't if the Brewers were worth much their last few seasons in the AL? Houston won't be close to anyone other than Texas in the AL.
In terms of distance, after Texas, the closest teams to Houston are St. Louis, Kansas City, Atlanta, Cincinnati, White Sox, Cubs, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Miami. So out of the nearest 10 teams, only 4 teams are in the AL.
Pretty much any northeastern and midwestern team can switch leagues and still have a bunch of regional rivals - the only reason not to is tradition (which doesn't really work in the Brewers case).
However with Houston, like you said, there's nobody close to them except Texas. I mean, St. Louis and KC are both more than a day-trip away - but DFW is not a tough trip to make for a weekend series. Every other city on that list is a bit too far for me to reasonably consider them a possible "regional" rival. Since KC and StL are a wash, and Texas is legitimately close, I definitely see the logic in moving them to the AL.
Realignment is necessary. 4 teams in the AL west and 6 in the NL central is stupid.
But at least realignment is possible. The thing that isn't likely but needs to happen is contraction.
As far as realigning, purists would hate it but I would simply move the Astros from NLC to ALW. They have the in-division regional rivalry with the Rangers that way. No other team makes obvious sense to move, IMO.
The small market teams struggle to compete and spend with the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, etc., but most teams have recently invested in newer ballparks and have seen positive results at the gate. While they may not draw as many fans, they draw enough to remain viable.
Rather than contraction, which would be nearly impossible to get approved by the players' union, I'd rather see a salary cap. That itself is unlikely
Contraction is horrible from a marketing standpoint. You'd instantly alienate the diehard fanbases of the contracted teams, and a lot of casual fans of the game as well (who will feel that the sport doesn't give small-market franchises a chance.) And you could never contract enough teams to create payroll equity between the Yankees and anyone else. They simply have access to more resources than any other team. A salary cap is a far more sensible option.
This is the big issue and the reason why they should not switch it up:
A sticking point involves interleague play. Because of the odd number of teams in each league, it is possible that a team in contention late in the season will have to be playing its final games in interleague play.
I don't think it makes sense to have interleague match ups at odd times in the year. It's nice now because you know when everyone is going to play interleague. You need to have an even number of teams in each league so that the scheduling works.
If I had power over all of baseball and could do, without objection, whatever I wanted, I would get rid of Toronto, Kansas City, Florida, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Colorado. The players on the 40-man rosters would go into a supplemental draft - position determined by lottery and draft done snake format, with each team getting 10 picks. 25 man rosters would become 28 and 40 man rosters would become 25.
Let's face it, there have been guys for years playing in the majors that had no business there.
Imagine Bautista, Morrow, Romero, Soria, H Ramirez, J Johnson, Stanton, Werth, Zimmerman, Strasburg, Harper, Tulowitzki, C Gonzalez on other teams. Maybe in that world Raburn is never a starter and Kyle Davies doesn't have 140 career starts.
There would be more time to develop players and they would be better when they come to the bigs and more emphasis on the minor league system.
Considering that Colorado consistently finishes near the top of the NL in attendance, and was in the world series four years ago, not really sure why they're on this list.
While I understand Florida, I really think they'll be a great draw when they play in a park designed for baseball in downtown Miami - I expect great things for the Marlins from 2012 onwards.
And I think PNC Park alone is a reason not to mess with Pittsburgh. But on top of that, contracting one of the NL's "classic eight" franchises seems a bit loopy to me. Sure they've been terrible for a while - but they're showing signs of progress, and Pittsburgh is a good enough sports town and that ballpark is pretty enough that if the Pirates ever finish a season above .500, they'll be raking in the money.
I can't really make a great argument for KC and Toronto, but I'd much rather see a salary cap that helps out those smaller market teams and keeps them able to buy as much as the big boys, rather than contraction - which seems heartless to me.
and Yankee hater here (Reggie Jackson ruined many of my Octobers) - get a salary cap and make it competitive. This proposed "realignment" seems to be a plot to just set up Boston or New York to play Philly or some West Coast team for the World Series every year - yawn.
Yes, a salary cap would be great, but it would also have to have a salary floor. You can't have a system where the Yankees are told they have to stay under $125 million and share profits but the Mariners can have a salary of $35 million and sit back and get rich.
Plus, like basketball, there needs to be max contracts for individual players.
I live in the Tampa Bay area, and I'm tired of seeing the Rays and their $60 million payroll travel around 1000 miles to play most of their games against Boston and New York and their $200 million-plus payrolls. I think it might be great if they totally redid the leagues on a regional basis. Let Tampa Bay be in a division with Atlanta, the Marlins, the Rangers, and the Astros. Let the Tigers play with Cleveland, Cincinnati, the Cubs, and the White Sox. How about a division with the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, and Orioles?
It would save a lot of money on transportation, and encourage fans to travel to away games.
I think, especially for southern teams, it'd be great if they were all in the same division/league. But I like the AL/NL split in metros with two teams - it gives those cities two pennant races to pay attention to. I think it'd be crazy to see the Giants and A's, Nats and O's, or the Angels and Dodgers in the same league - and as a traditionalist, I can't even imagine the Cubs and Sox or the Yanks and Mets.
But the Rays, Marlins, and Braves? The Rangers, Royals, Astros and Rockies? I feel like one of the reasons the MLB isn't as strong in some of the smaller markets is the lack of regional rivalries there - and putting those teams together solves that problem.
Braves fan here(obviously). Believe me there is no lack of dislike for the Phillies or Mets. They come in a tie for 2nd for me behind tOSU for most hated teams.
Next we're going to see Vince McMahon as the MLB Commissioner.
Until MLB realises that 162 games is way too many, nothing is going to change. I've never seen an organization consistently step on its collective weiners as much as MLB. The worst is starting playoff games so late that kids (aka future fans) cannot watch.
In my house, I don't know if we've watched an MLB game yet this year. NCAA baseball however, we've watched almost everyday since the CWS began and regularly watched games during the season.
A shorter season makes game matter. 162 games cheapens the product to the point where every one is , "We'll get 'em next time".
Damn it, the divisions are fine right now. No need to realign.
People want a ton of change in the game, the game is fine as is. It's the 2nd most popular sport in America (because no sport will ever supplant football), and people still ramble on about how there should be "more teams in the playoffs" or how "divisions should be realigned". Everything is fine in baseball as is, except for instant replay, which for some reason isn't used, especially when Detroit Tiger pitchers throw perfect games and no-hitters.
Demographics show 80% of baseball fans are 55+. Baseball needs to do something quickly. Young people in general are out on baseball.
I would much rather see the AL adopt the no DH rule than the other way around. I have coached little league for a few years and most of the time, my best pitcher is also my best hitter. That is the way it was when Babe Ruth played, but then we started babying pitchers. The Reds have 3 pitchers that can hit, but thier average isn't great right now. However, the Reds have been known to use Mike Leake as a pitch hitter at times. I just feel that having a DH is kind of bush league and it's not real baseball. You have major league players that can't field at all. Guys that are WAY past there prime, but because of this odd rule they can extend thier career in the junior circuit (AL). I guess I am just a purist, but I also don't mind the AL having the DH, I just don't want it for my team.
Also, FU*K the Cardinals!!!
GO BLUE
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I'd be fine with realignment if there was some way to make sure that all teams had reasonable maximum and minimum payrolls to keep to. Otherwise, you'll have a couple of teams bunched at the top with a whole bunch with no legitimate chance at the playoffs, and over the long haul it is going to turn people off if you aren't from NY/Bos/Philly/LA. I mean, for as much as people talk about the Rays or the Rangers, both teams suffered through years (and in TB's case, over a decade) of absolute irrelevance before they had a couple of years of contention before the realities of the market set in.
I watched the same thing happen to the Expos, and it was just sad to see a team with so much young talent lose it to free agency and cheap ownership.
I like the interleague play year around but I think they should keep the divisons. I have always wanted the Tigers to play more of these terrible teams in the NL because we have a great interleague record.
MLB should do similar to the NBA, where divison foes play each other 12 times a year (2 home series & 2 road). I hate seeing the Indians and Royals 18, 19 times a year. Plus, it would help teams like the Marlins and Pirates, that really sell out, if the Yankees and Red Sox came to town more.
I'm fine with it. As a Tigers' fan, I wouldn't mind being able to go to Comerica and seeing say the Phillies more often or any other NL team as opposed to the Royals a million times a year. I would like to see the DH rule adapted as well in the NL. The pitching position is so unique and requires such a special skill set, it just really makes no sense to ask them to hit. A lot of the pitchers don't even put in the effort to become good hitters, so we're watching an auto-out usually.
Please, please, please allow this to happen.
Seriously, I'm an extremely depressed baseball fan due to the fact my team will never have any legitimate chance at a pennant, and only a very slight chance for a wild card.
Sincerely,
Orioles Fan.
you that you're an Orioles fan, so this would change nothing.
Eliminate the divisions, do away with interleague play, 15 teams per league, top 5 teams in each league make the playoffs.
It makes so much sense.
There are six teams in the National League Central and four in the American League West. As with many things in baseball, that's just flat out stupid.
15 teams and no interleague means one team from each league doesn't play for 3 days. Odd numbers don't work out.
Why is interleague play such a big deal in baseball? Because they didn't do it 70 years ago? The pros outweigh the cons IMO (which don't hold very much water).