Turn Off Ads?
Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 57

Thread: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

  1. #1
    Moderator Gallen5862's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Wilmington,NC
    Posts
    7,386

    MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

    MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012
    By Tim Dierkes [February 29 at 3:32pm CST]
    3:32pm: MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that "we'll have an answer in the next couple of days." Nightengale confirms that players and owners have agreed to expand the postseason for 2012.


  2. Turn Off Ads?
  3. #2
    Posting from Southwest VA redsfaninbsg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Big Stone Gap, Va.
    Posts
    831

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Basically, if the Reds miss the playoffs now we will all be furious.
    This is the ol Left Hander rounding third and heading for home.

  4. #3
    KungFu Fighter AtomicDumpling's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Hamilton, OH
    Posts
    3,038

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    As if having 2nd place teams winning the World Series wasn't bad enough. Might as well open the doors to 3rd place teams as well.

    Why play 162 games to determine the best teams if you are going to allow teams into the playoffs that have already proven they are not the best?

    Winning the World Series used to mean that your team had a great season and earned a hallowed place in history. Now it often means that your team proved they weren't all that good in the regular season but snuck into the post-season anyway, caught a few breaks and had a little hot streak at the right time. Teams that can't even win their own little division do not deserve a chance to earn a spot in history. It cheapens the World Series championship and dilutes the accomplishments of the great teams of yesteryear to now be lumped in with some of the mediocre World Series winners of recent years. 2nd place = not good enough, or at least it used to.

    How far will Bud Selig go? Won't be long until MLB sinks to the level of the NFL, NBA and NHL where the regular season is almost meaningless and only the playoffs matter.

    Making the postseason used to be an exhilarating experience for the fans because it meant your team was thisclose to winning a World Series, but now it doesn't really mean much since 1/3 of all teams make it. Then you still have to win a big tournament before you can claim the championship. It is kind of like youth athletics nowadays where everybody gets a trophy even if you stink.
    Last edited by AtomicDumpling; 03-01-2012 at 01:34 AM.

  5. #4
    Member 1990REDS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    472

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by AtomicDumpling View Post
    As if having 2nd place teams winning the World Series wasn't bad enough. Might as well open the doors to 3rd place teams as well.

    Why play 162 games to determine the best teams if you are going to allow teams into the playoffs that have already proven they are not the best?

    Winning the World Series used to mean that your team had a great season and earned a hallowed place in history. Now it often means that your team proved they weren't all that good in the regular season but snuck into the post-season anyway, caught a few breaks and had a little hot streak at the right time. Teams that can't even win their own little division do not deserve a chance to earn a spot in history. It cheapens the World Series championship and dilutes the accomplishments of the great teams of yesteryear to now be lumped in with some of the mediocre World Series winners of recent years. 2nd place = not good enough, or at least it used to.

    How far will Bud Selig go? Won't be long until MLB sinks to the level of the NFL, NBA and NHL where the regular season is almost meaningless and only the playoffs matter.

    Making the postseason used to be an exhilarating experience for the fans because it meant your team was thisclose to winning a World Series, but now it doesn't really mean much since 1/3 of all teams make it. Then you still have to win a big tournament before you can claim the championship. It is kind of like youth athletics nowadays where everybody gets a trophy even if you stink.
    You don't think a 1 game playoff between cardinals/braves last season would have been exciting and made for great tv.
    During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball. ~Mickey Mantle, 1970

  6. #5
    Member 1990REDS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    472

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Sorry on my phone and did not mean to bold that section in your post
    During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball. ~Mickey Mantle, 1970

  7. #6
    Member blumj's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Northern MA
    Posts
    5,120

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    It's going to be fun, but people are still going to freak out when a 95 win team that used their best pitchers trying to win the division falls a game short and ends up losing the 1 game to an 88 win team that coasted to the 2nd WC and got their pitching lined up and rested.
    "Reality tells us there are no guarantees. Except that some day Jon Lester will be on that list of 100-game winners." - Peter Gammons

  8. #7
    Member cumberlandreds's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Mid Atlantic, USA
    Posts
    16,160

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    This will actually help the division winners. The two wild cards will have to use their best pitcher in the one game playoff. Which will throw the rotation out of whack for the winner of that game. In a weird sort of way it legitimizes the regular season just a bit more, IMO.
    Reds Fan Since 1971

  9. #8
    Waitin til next year bucksfan2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Cincinnati
    Posts
    12,371

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by cumberlandreds View Post
    This will actually help the division winners. The two wild cards will have to use their best pitcher in the one game playoff. Which will throw the rotation out of whack for the winner of that game. In a weird sort of way it legitimizes the regular season just a bit more, IMO.
    Not necessarily. It all depends on how the season winds up. If you are contending for a division championship your going to keep your pitchers pitching on normal rest. The only time your going to set your rotation is if you are guaranteed something.

  10. #9
    Future Fame of Holler WildcatFan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Lexington, KY
    Posts
    2,650

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    My one gripe is that one game in baseball rarely determines the better team--it usually only determines the better ace. Also last year the AL East would have had three teams in, which, puke.
    "I never argue with people who say baseball is boring, because baseball is boring. And then, suddenly, it isn't. And that's what makes it great." - Joe Posnanski

  11. #10
    Member muddie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    2,035

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by AtomicDumpling View Post
    Why play 162 games to determine the best teams if you are going to allow teams into the playoffs that have already proven they are not the best?

    $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

  12. #11
    Charlie Brown All-Star IslandRed's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2001
    Location
    Melbourne, FL
    Posts
    5,042

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    If it's the format they were talking about last fall, I don't have a problem with it. They've come up with a format that accomplishes seemingly opposite goals: keeping hope alive in more places in September while making it far more important to win the division. The wild-card play-in game will be must-see TV. I usually don't give MLB credit for being that smart.
    Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice

  13. #12
    Member 1990REDS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    472

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by IslandRed View Post
    If it's the format they were talking about last fall, I don't have a problem with it. They've come up with a format that accomplishes seemingly opposite goals: keeping hope alive in more places in September while making it far more important to win the division. The wild-card play-in game will be must-see TV. I usually don't give MLB credit for being that smart.
    Agreed, I love how much emphasis this new format would put on winning your division.
    During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball. ~Mickey Mantle, 1970

  14. #13
    Moderator Gallen5862's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Wilmington,NC
    Posts
    7,386

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Think about this interesting scenario. Two teams end the season tied for the division lead. They also had the best record in the League. The winner of tie breaker game is a division champion and the loser is wildcard seed number 1. The team that knows it will be wildcard number 2 knows this in advance. They get their rotation lined up for the wildcard playin game. Meanwhile the wildcard number 1 team uses their ace and lost in the division playin game. Now a team that possibly could have been the team with the second best record in the league will be at a severe disadvantage to a weaker team.
    Last edited by Gallen5862; 03-01-2012 at 07:00 PM.

  15. #14
    KungFu Fighter AtomicDumpling's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Hamilton, OH
    Posts
    3,038

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    Quote Originally Posted by 1990REDS View Post
    You don't think a 1 game playoff between cardinals/braves last season would have been exciting and made for great tv.
    No I don't. Because neither one of those teams deserved to be in the playoffs last year. Both of them got smacked around in their own divisions and finished in second place by wide margins.

    Do we really want to determine who gets a chance to win the World Series based on TV ratings?

    Seems to me the goal should be to reward the best team with a championship, not create a system that makes it less likely that the best team wins the championship. How often in the era of expanded playoffs has the best team in baseball won the World Series? Not very often.

    It used to be that the World Series winner had a very strong claim to being the best team in baseball that year. Nowadays that is simply not the case. For example, the Cardinals last year were nowhere close to the best team in baseball, and not coincidentally we saw one of the worst-played World Series in history as a result. That mediocre Cardinals team earned the same accolade as the great 1975-76 Big Red Machine. It cheapens the honor earned by great champions of the past to be lumped in the same category as the 2nd-place champions of the wild card era.

  16. #15
    Haunted by walks
    Join Date
    Apr 2000
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    9,933

    Re: MLB To Announce Expanded Playoffs For 2012

    We could have the coaches and sportswriters vote for the champion, like in a poll or something.

    But I always wondered why the 63rd to 66th best college basketball teams in the country act like they expect a shot at the championship.


Turn Off Ads?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.

Thank you, and most importantly, enjoy yourselves!


RedsZone.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds or Major League Baseball


Contact us: Boss | Gallen5862 | Plus Plus | Powel Crosley | RedlegJake | The Operator