2011 MLB Season Discussion

[Scout101]

Other than having them play in the snow, in November.

Always thought it was dumb that a sport that's basically defined as a summertime sport plays it's championship games in cold, almost wintery weather. 95% of the games are played at 80 degrees or so, then the championship series is played in 35 degree conditions.

Don't see the urge to add another WC team. this year's races were boring, but usually not the case. Add another one, and in the AL, for example, suddenly a team that's 8 games back from qualifying is suddenly good? Can make the 2 WC teams fight for a single spot, but is it really valid if the team that misses the division by a game (or even a tie-breaker, which happens) suddenly has to compete in a 1 game (or 3, which would drag it out even more!) playoff with a team 10 games behind them?

Really think they need to shake up the divisions, or maybe even get rid of them and go to a balanced schedule instead of what's going on now. There's no parity in the schedule, teams miss the playoffs in one division, but someone in another division walks in despite being 10 games behind the guy that didn't make it, just doesn't make sense. The Cardinals, for example, seem to usually be that team that can walk in with 80-85 wins, while the Sox-Yankees-Rays are battling it out to the point where the 94 win team just doesn't cut it...

 

[clint g]

There should be another Wild Card team, IMO. Baseball already has ridiculously few teams qualify for the postseason in comparison to other sports, so adding another two teams into the post season is hardly going to ruin the game.

Unlike other sports, baseball is 160 games long. If you're not among the top few by the end you don't deserve to be in the post season.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

There should be another Wild Card team, IMO. Baseball already has ridiculously few teams qualify for the postseason in comparison to other sports, so adding another two teams into the post season is hardly going to ruin the game.

Other sports don't have 162 games, though. I would say the season is the playoffs in many ways.

That being said, if they could find a way to avoid lengthening the season, I might be convinced we should have two Wild Card Teams play a three game series. I'd have to think about it in a season where things are competitive and interesting to see if it would kill that. I love pennant races. They're unique to baseball and just as exciting as playoffs.

 

[Canadave]

There should be another Wild Card team, IMO. Baseball already has ridiculously few teams qualify for the postseason in comparison to other sports, so adding another two teams into the post season is hardly going to ruin the game.

Unlike other sports, baseball is 160 games long. If you're not among the top few by the end you don't deserve to be in the post season.

The NHL plays an 82 game season and lets 16 teams in the playoffs. I'd say that's pretty comparable to 162 games and 10 teams.

Anyway, the solution seems pretty simple to me: shorten the regular season by two games, and hold a three game playoff between the two wildcard teams in each league. Bam.

 

[clint g]

There should be another Wild Card team, IMO. Baseball already has ridiculously few teams qualify for the postseason in comparison to other sports, so adding another two teams into the post season is hardly going to ruin the game.

Unlike other sports, baseball is 160 games long. If you're not among the top few by the end you don't deserve to be in the post season.

The NHL plays an 82 game season and lets 16 teams in the playoffs. I'd say that's pretty comparable to 162 games and 10 teams.

Anyway, the solution seems pretty simple to me: shorten the regular season by two games, and hold a three game playoff between the two wildcard teams in each league. Bam.

It's not comparable at all, that's HALF the amount of games. Putting it another way, why on earth should a team eight games behind have the chances to knock off a team that has proven itself to be ahead of the curve for most of the season JUST cause they're on a streak at the moment? Right now if you were to take an additional team from each league and stick them into the playoffs it would be the Rays and the Cards. They had 162 games to prove that they should have been in the post season and right now it looks like they won't make it. They had their shot. The last thing the MLB needs is to turn its post season into a joke like the NBAs.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Yeah, if you want to go with that argument, 82 games = 16 teams, 162 games = 8 teams. Then again, American Football, 16 games, 12 teams (while, based on some kind of weird comparative approach, it probably should be every team).

 

[Scout101]

Football doesn't play series, though, it's all one and done games. Different experience.

Easy to figure out how to set up the 2 wild card scheme, just still waiting to hear anyone explain why it would be a good thing to DO. I guess it could make more teams try at the end of the year, with more spots in play, but it kinda kills the Division races, which are more exciting, doesn't it? For example, the Red Sox and Yankees could have stopped trying around June this year, as if there was the division and 2 wild card teams, they'd have been a post-season lock for months now.

Trying to make a race amongst mediocre teams more exciting at the expense of having the elite teams fighting it out seems counterproductive.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The only other reason I can think of is to make the Division win more important (they get a bye). But, yeah, most of the time, it'll mean the top two teams from two divisions will be safe and there will only be one important race between the crappiest of teams.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Posada is catching in tonight's NYY/LAA game. First time all year!

 

[1001001]

Posada is catching in tonight's NYY/LAA game. First time all year!

HA!

I love playing the Yankees.

Go Angels!

 

[clint g]

Well, I said it earlier in this thread that in baseball anything can happen. That being said, the AL East is looking alot more interesting now. With the slump the Yankees and the Red Sox have had lately combined with the Rays resurgence things are getting a bit tight.



Also, in other news the cocksuckers at MLB declared that the Mets will not be allowed to wear the hats representing the NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD during the game tonight

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

the cocksuckers at MLB declared that the Mets will not be allowed to wear the hats representing the NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD during the game tonight

MLB officials also said that back when the first game after 9/11 happened. The Mets wore the special caps anyway.

Didn't do that tonight, though.

 

[Scout101]

Might wanna check that source. The thing I saw said that they wore them during batting practice (back in 2001), but then changed to the regular hats for the game... So, basically what they did yesterday

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ I have that game on DVD, I checked... Mets wore those caps for the entire game.

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[Scout101]

Hmm, article I read must have gotten it wrong, then. Odd thing to screw up...

 

[SmoothieX]

^ I have that game on DVD, I checked... back on that first game after 9/11 the Mets wore those caps for the entire game.

They wore them for the rest of the season.

 

[Chaos Descending]

I don't have any position whatsoever on the wearing on the Mets caps personally, but looking at it from the MLB point of view, the MLB is a VERY conservative organization that stresses uniformity and conformity. And frankly, the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 isn't even remotely in the same ballpark (no pun intended) as the time immediately following 9/11 itself.

 

[clint g]

I don't have any position whatsoever on the wearing on the Mets caps personally, but looking at it from the MLB point of view, the MLB is a VERY conservative organization that stresses uniformity and conformity. And frankly, the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 isn't even remotely in the same ballpark (no pun intended) as the time immediately following 9/11 itself.

So? Who cares. It's a hat. It would make people feel good, that should be enough of a reason to allow it. It's what the fans wanted. Plus, considering how much the MLB has been praising itself over the Mets wearing the hats after 9/11 (just check their website) you would think they would be okay with it. They're just a lot of hypocrites.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It kind of sucks that Joe Torre, of all people, was put in the position of having to issue this order in the first place.

 

[SmoothieX]

Have your memorial and get on with it. The hats were a nice, organic sort of remembrance at the time. Now it's just an exploitative attention grabber.