Playoff format to change

[Screwball]

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:

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.

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.

[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.

[Screwball]

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.

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.

[killuminati35]

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?

[texasdave]

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

[Screwball]

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

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. :