Playoff format to change

I saw JD Arney had posted this over at redreporter.com, and thought it to be a pretty big deal. Here's what he had to say:

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This probably won't surprise many people, but Fox is changing the postseason significantly for their own benefit. They are taking a page out of the NBA playbook and adding tons and tons of off days this year. Nothing says excitement like having to wait a couple of days for the next game. The previously linked article quotes on GM as saying:

"You might see somebody get by with three starting pitchers and two or three relievers," one GM said.

Pitchers going on short rest are a given in the playoffs, but this new schedule will probably make that a thing of the past:


The biggest beneficiary of the new format might be the Padres, given a healthy Jake Peavy and Chris Young, one of the best 1-2 combinations in the game. In one scenario, Young and Peavy could start 10 times in a 15-game postseason (four-game DS, six-game LCS, five-game World Series) -- including Games 1 and 2 of every round -- while making only one start on short rest.

That is absolutely ridiculous. I really hope baseball eventually heads back to one of the other major networks because Fox is butchering everything they touch.

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Wow. Peavy and Young 10 out of 15 games? That's a huge advantage to have. Instead of seeing who has the best team (over a relatively short series), all we're going to see now is who has the best 2 starting pitchers. I think even the Reds could do some damage with a playoff format like that.

Isn't that almost always the case anyway? The team with the best 1 and 2 starters almost always has the advantage anyway. I'm not saying I like the off days, because I don't. But the advantage seems to come more on the bullpen side of things than with starters. All of a sudden top end closers won't have to pitch 5 out of 7 days.

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Originally Posted by rotnoid

Isn't that almost always the case anyway? The team with the best 1 and 2 starters almost always has the advantage anyway. I'm not saying I like the off days, because I don't. But the advantage seems to come more on the bullpen side of things than with starters. All of a sudden top end closers won't have to pitch 5 out of 7 days.

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While it's always been an advantage to have the best 1-2 combo for starting pitchers, this new format only serves to magnify that. All of a sudden a team like the Padres (who are projected to win all of 88 games) could become a dominant force in the playoffs with the ability to throw Peavy and Young at you 2 out of every 3 games.

The article also goes on to say that should an NL team sweep the NLCS, they'll have 8 days off before the start of the World Series. An AL team would have 7 days if they swept. Tough to stay sharp under those circumstances.

Terrible, terrible idea. They shouldn't be extending the play-offs. In fact, they should go the opposite way. I think the Championship Series should only be 5 games --not 7.

Aren't the ratings for baseball down anyway? Why would they want to prolong this?

This really doesn't concern the Reds, so Reds' fans shouldn't get too upset one way or the other. :D

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Originally Posted by texasdave

This really doesn't concern the Reds, so Reds' fans shouldn't get too upset one way or the other. :D

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Hey, I'll have you know the Reds still have a 0.02% chance of making the playoffs. All we have to do is run the table from here on out, and then we can ride Harang, Arroyo, Bray, Burton and Weathers to a WS title. :p: