MLB 2021 season: Corn-Driven Humidity

I'm rooting for the 4-way tie for AL wildcard. Be a nice scheduling bomb for Rob's geeks tonfigure out.

 

They don't use head-to-head or division records as tie-breakers?

 

Yes they do. I was just thinking of the two extra games mucking up the works. BTW, if I know MLB, it'll be a coin toss.

 

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

 

Seattle and Tampa need to turn it up right about now.

 

My yearly take that the playoff structure in the MLB is the most broken of all the major sports leagues.

There are four teams in the AL East that have better records than any team in the NL East. Heck, even Seattle could've won that division.

I understand there is a big historical love for having the AL and NL, but having a one game playoff for one of the four spots per league and having eight final teams out of thirty is insane.

Eliminate the divisions and take the top eight teams per league. This year, Toronto, Seattle & Oakland would've made it in the AL and Cincinnati, Philadelphia & San Diego would've made it in the NL. Have 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5 in three game series. Want to cut down on travel? Have game one in the lower seeded park and then the last two in the higher seeded park. You still get cut down to four teams each league pretty quick, but you have the gate revenue and excitement of six more teams making it and you don't have 86, 90 & 91 win teams missing the playoffs.

 

Seattle didn't

 

I've said it before, I'll say it again:

If there's another expansion, each league should just go to a four-division setup with NO WILDCARDS. Jump straight into the division series. Simple, logical, efficient.

The very concept of wildcards...THAT's what's broken. Why does a team deserve to make the playoffs if it isn't a division leader?

Unfortunately, we have to have wildcards now, because there's an odd number of divisions. With four, that wouldn't have to happen. (At least it's not as bad as, say, the NBA, where like half the fucking teams make the playoffs. That dilutes the whole thing.)

Yeah, that kind of sucks.

 

Ended up not mattering since BOS & NYY both won (also ). Hopefully the Red Schlox can knock off the Spankees tomorrow. The game in in BOS. Spankees are 8-10 vs the Schlox.


In other baseball news, the Mets have fired Luis Rojas after a fairly epic collapse (even if it was in the NL East....or is that "especially"?)

 

It was an impressive fight to that finish, and certainly in the division with the Astros it wasn't great odds. But, for once in a long time I am really, really will miss the baseball season.

Yeah, it was a tough road no matter what. But, it makes me a little more optimistic for next year (cliché, cliché).

 

As a Cubs fan, I'm not the least bit optimistic for next year, or even the year after that. Ricketts has all the sheep he needs to fleece for a while.

 

Sorry to hear that. Was hopeful for the Cubs for a time...now I'm more hopeful for the Mariners than the Cubs...that's weird to say.

 

They blew their window of opportunity by crying poor and not getting better pieces than, say, Jose Quintana in 2017.

 

Thank the fucking gods.

...but, yeah, assuming there's even a 2022 season.

 

Please, no. It is getting to the point we should just throw everyone in a tournament and shitcan the regular season. I live in Cincinnati, the Reds imploded down the stretch and didn't deserve to play in the post-season.

 

Perhaps.

But what's the alternative?

 

Agreed. And the Cards caught on Fire.

 

ala: the NBA and NHL? (not 6 teams per league in those, just the seeding). I mean, they still have divisions for those sports, they just no longer have any bearing on anything.