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.