Don't touch it BUD!

[Twins01]

Several years ago, Major League Baseball formed a committee to examine expansion but Selig said there were several factors that ended the discussion. Now, he thinks the time is right to revisit it.

 

We have less teams than any other sport [in the playoffs]. Eight teams make the playoffs. One wild card in each league. We certainly haven't abused anything - MLB commissioner Bud Selig

 

"It's a fair question," Selig said Friday before the St. Louis Cardinals played the Chicago Cubs. "We have less teams than any other sport. Eight teams make the playoffs. One wild card in each league. We certainly haven't abused anything."

 

He's not afraid of upsetting the purists, who were vocal in their opposition when the sport added the wild card.

 

"As the guy who brought the wild card and took a lot of abuse -- maybe from nobody in this room -- it's worked out great, nobody's against it," Selig said.

 

 

 

Don't screw with it BUD! 8 is perfect.

What do you all think?

Edited September 25, 2010 by Twinsfan1965

[MattZakrowski]

I like that baseball and football have regular seasons that matter. If they expand, they can't go to 16 or they lose the value of the season. I could see 12 with 1st round byes, but that would be too much for a 30 team league IMO.

[Buehrlesque]

Several years ago, Major League Baseball formed a committee to examine expansion but Selig said there were several factors that ended the discussion. Now, he thinks the time is right to revisit it.

 

We have less teams than any other sport [in the playoffs]. Eight teams make the playoffs. One wild card in each league. We certainly haven't abused anything - MLB commissioner Bud Selig

 

"It's a fair question," Selig said Friday before the St. Louis Cardinals played the Chicago Cubs. "We have less teams than any other sport. Eight teams make the playoffs. One wild card in each league. We certainly haven't abused anything."

 

He's not afraid of upsetting the purists, who were vocal in their opposition when the sport added the wild card.

 

"As the guy who brought the wild card and took a lot of abuse -- maybe from nobody in this room -- it's worked out great, nobody's against it," Selig said.

 

 

 

Don't screw with it BUD! 8 is perfect.

What do you all think?

 

I don't want to see any kind of NBA/NHL playoff system in baseball, but I LOVE the 2-Wildcard idea that has started to gain steam recently. Tweaking the Wildcard = OK, tweaking the division titles/adding more teams elsewhere = bad.

 

First, read Tom Verducci's take on why MLB needs to add a second Wildcard. I've been campaigning for this to everyone who will listen for the past two weeks.

 

This is just the perfect solution, for so many reasons:

 

• Adds more teams to the playoff race without adding more team to the playoffs.
• Adds excitement, via a one-game, win-or-go-home playoff, to the Wildcard teams.
• It creates a genuine disadvantage/disincentive for the Wildcard vs. the division winners.
• Makes division races with two runaway teams (like the current meaningless one between the Yankees and Rays) become important.

This system would improvement fairness, excitement, relevance and (yes) revenue. There are people who aren't crazy about the idea of changing the Wildcard, but the bottom line on everything is "If you don't like it, then win your division." That mantra could replace the current one of "We don't care as long as we get in," which treats the Wildcard as equal to a division title and thus actually does devalue the regular season.

 

The great thing about this revised format is that, unlike most fads designed to bring in money, this one doesn't cheapening the playoffs; it only adds intrigue and excitement. It rewards teams more fairly based on their finish in the season, while still adding more teams to the playoff mix and throwing in a thrilling one-game playoff without watering down the product or adding more rounds to the existing bracket.

 

Baseball is the only professional sport in which winning your division actually means something very significant. Nobody cares about raising banners to division champions in the NBA, NFL or NHL. This is a way to make that even more significant, while at the same time adding excitement to the playoffs and more teams to the chase. What's not to like?

 

[flavum]

I could live with one more playoff team, but here's what I would do:

 

I would make both leagues 15 teams, no divisions, top 5 make the playoffs. Yes, there would be interleague games going all the time. 90 series total. Either 1 or 3 series going on throughout the season. 3 x 20=60; 1 x 30=30

 

You play everyone in your own league 10 games = 140, 6 home/4 road vs 6 teams; 4 home/6 road vs 6 teams; 5 home/5 road vs 2 teams.

 

Each team plays 18 interleague games, for a 158 game schedule. I don't like interleague, but it's not going away. Obviously, the natural rivalries would continue to play each other every year.

 

Season would be 25 1/2 weeks=158 games in 178 days.

 

At the end of the season, the 4 and 5 seeds play each other best of 3 to face the one seed. That would make teams really go for the one seed, since they'll be facing a team that really had to burn out their best pitchers to make it to the next round.

 

The main reason why they should eliminate divisions is to free the Orioles and Blue Jays from the Yankees and Red Sox. Even the Rays could be returning to badness, so get them out of that division, and just make 5 out of 15 make the playoffs with basically a balanced schedule.

 

[Twins01]

•Adds more teams to the playoff race without adding more team to the playoffs.

•Adds excitement, via a one-game, win-or-go-home playoff, to the Wildcard teams.

•It creates a genuine disadvantage/disincentive for the Wildcard vs. the division winners.

•Makes division races with two runaway teams (like the current meaningless one between the Yankees and Rays) become important

 

 

 

 

Very Intereting. I'm assuming the 2nd wild card team would have to win the one game play in on the road? The Monday after the last Sunday of the season?

[Balta1701]

I have no interest in adding any extra teams.

 

If you want to reform the postseason and make it better...you can do 2 things. Fewer days off, and a 7 game opening round.

[Carlo Paz]

Wow, flavum & Buehrlesque, that is two great posts right there. Unfortunately, they both make so much sense that it's unlikely they'll ever see the light of day.

 

 

[Mr. Showtime]

I'm sure some owners would be all for it if they could get 2-3 games playoff revenue.

[LittleHurt05]

Part of the reason why baseball is so awesome is because its so hard to make the playoffs during the six month, 162 game grind. No other sport celebrates making the playoffs the way MLB players do.

 

In any other sport, the Twins would be laughed at for their inability to advance in the playoffs. But in MLB, they are the darling for consistently winning their division.

[Milkman delivers]

No. I am absolutely against changing the format for baseball. The only thing that wouldn't bother me is changing the length of the opening playoff series.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Horrible idea. Eight playoff teams is a perfect amount. I wouldn't have a problem if they went to a seven game division series though.

[GoodAsGould]

I actually dig the 2nd wildcard spot idea, you don't mess with the division winners at all which is important and that 1 game would be awesome. Teams cant complain about it only being 1 game as well because the counter is just win your division.

[Texsox]

I'd be OK with adding two teams. Let the wildcard teams play each other in a 5 game series, giving the division teams a week off. Then each round should be 7 games from there.

[bigruss]

I'd be OK with adding two teams. Let the wildcard teams play each other in a 5 game series, giving the division teams a week off. Then each round should be 7 games from there.

If they do that, the turn around between series would have to be really short because you're adding alot of extra days then.

[Texsox]

If they do that, the turn around between series would have to be really short because you're adding alot of extra days then.

 

 

Maybe cut the wildcard to 3

 

Then Division 7, League 7, WS 7 games.

[Balta1701]

Maybe cut the wildcard to 3

How much of a mess do you get into with that though? Between home field advantage being huge because it's only 2 games to teams getting tossed from the playoffs for basically a single bad game. It's like taking all the bad things of a play-in game and all the bad things of the 5 game first round and combining them without keeping any of the good things like the added drama/excitement.

[NorthSideSox72]

And make the season even longer? No way. Only way its even worth considering is if they cut down the regular season by a week or two to make up the time. We're already looking at playing baseball in Minnesota in mid-October or even later, and then again in late March, which is insane.

 

[GoodAsGould]

And make the season even longer? No way. Only way its even worth considering is if they cut down the regular season by a week or two to make up the time. We're already looking at playing baseball in Minnesota in mid-October or even later, and then again in late March, which is insane.

 

Right, which is why the writers original idea still works because its only 1 extra game, would be no different than a tiebreaker like we had vs Minny and nobody can dispute the atmosphere of that game was amazing.

[Buehrlesque]

Two misconceptions about this 2-Wildcard format:

 

1. It would NOT lengthen the season, as it only adds one game (on what would be an off day)

2. It does NOT add teams to the actual playoffs, it only adds competition for the Wildcard,

 

thus strengthening the advantage of a division winner.

[MexSoxFan#1]

We can then focus on winning one of the 2 WC spots since Minny will most likely win the AL Central from here to eternity...

[chetkincaid]

I don't want to see any kind of NBA/NHL playoff system in baseball, but I LOVE the 2-Wildcard idea that has started to gain steam recently. Tweaking the Wildcard = OK, tweaking the division titles/adding more teams elsewhere = bad.

 

First, read Tom Verducci's take on why MLB needs to add a second Wildcard. I've been campaigning for this to everyone who will listen for the past two weeks.

 

This is just the perfect solution, for so many reasons:

 

• Adds more teams to the playoff race without adding more team to the playoffs.
• Adds excitement, via a one-game, win-or-go-home playoff, to the Wildcard teams.
• It creates a genuine disadvantage/disincentive for the Wildcard vs. the division winners.
• Makes division races with two runaway teams (like the current meaningless one between the Yankees and Rays) become important.

This system would improvement fairness, excitement, relevance and (yes) revenue. There are people who aren't crazy about the idea of changing the Wildcard, but the bottom line on everything is "If you don't like it, then win your division." That mantra could replace the current one of "We don't care as long as we get in," which treats the Wildcard as equal to a division title and thus actually does devalue the regular season.

 

The great thing about this revised format is that, unlike most fads designed to bring in money, this one doesn't cheapening the playoffs; it only adds intrigue and excitement. It rewards teams more fairly based on their finish in the season, while still adding more teams to the playoff mix and throwing in a thrilling one-game playoff without watering down the product or adding more rounds to the existing bracket.

 

Baseball is the only professional sport in which winning your division actually means something very significant. Nobody cares about raising banners to division champions in the NBA, NFL or NHL. This is a way to make that even more significant, while at the same time adding excitement to the playoffs and more teams to the chase. What's not to like?

 

 

You know... I was totally against the idea of fooling with the MLB playoffs, but after reading that article, I am completely on board. Man there is nothing like bonus play in games. I was at our game 163 in 2008 and it was electrifying. And even though I hate the twins and the tigers, their game 163 was one of the best games that I had ever seen. And we'd be guaranteed at least 2 games like that every year.

 

I think it's a very good idea. Plus, I am all for something good that will increase baseball's ratings. Screw the NFL and the NBA.

[witesoxfan]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/m...ns-count-again/

 

Not just a guy playing Devil's Advocate, but instead bringing up a legitimate argument against the 2 Wild Card system.

[The Bones]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/m...ns-count-again/

 

Not just a guy playing Devil's Advocate, but instead bringing up a legitimate argument against the 2 Wild Card system.

 

No way in hell can you give a team home-field advantage for an entire series. Horrible idea.

[witesoxfan]

No way in hell can you give a team home-field advantage for an entire series. Horrible idea.

 

I didn't like that, but I think it does bring up a legitimate point about hurting too many teams and incentivizing the second playoff team, and I think that scenario comes up more than people would like to believe.

 

I wouldn't mind an NFL structure in the playoffs where the 1 and 2 seeds get a bye, but then the season gets too long and you have to take games away from somewhere else (because baseball in late March or early November is just too early/late for teams in the northern part of the United States). I wouldn't be surprised if something was done about it in the next CBA though, for better or worse.

[danman31]

And make the season even longer? No way. Only way its even worth considering is if they cut down the regular season by a week or two to make up the time. We're already looking at playing baseball in Minnesota in mid-October or even later, and then again in late March, which is insane.

Yeah, if people don't want to add to the playoffs at least shrink the regular season. 162 games is freaking absurd. Go back to 144 and add a wild card playoff. It will never happen, but the monotony of the regular season is awful. The last 2 weeks of the season are meaningless for even good teams. It's not like the playoff races go away in the end of the year. Look at the Sox attendance in late September. There has to be an optimum number where you can cut off a few games to have a few extra teams still in the race and still increase revenue.