Expanded Playoffs

[brad1176]

Per MLBTR: The MLB playoffs will expand from eight to ten teams for 2012.

[Alpha Zero]

I like this a lot. It gets more teams into the playoffs while giving the division winners a decided advantage over the wild card teams. It should add excitement and increase interest in the sport.

[Captain13]

Originally Posted by Alpha Zero

I like this a lot. It gets more teams into the playoffs while giving the division winners a decided advantage over the wild card teams. It should add excitement and increase interest in the sport.

I agree with that 100%. Anything that adds interest to baseball is good in my book.

[takealeake]

Selig is crap. What a horrible move to add to his legacy of ruining the game.

[texasdave]

Originally Posted by takealeake

Selig is crap. What a horrible move to add to his legacy of ruining the game.

If it is going to be a one game crap shoot, I tend to agree. You can tell the better team in one game? I don't think so. Not even close. If getting more teams involved is good then let the division winners get a spot and draw a freaking ping pong ball out for the fourth participant. One game is a joke, in line with pretty much everything else Selig has done.

[takealeake]

Originally Posted by texasdave

If it is going to be a one game crap shoot, I tend to agree. You can tell the better team in one game? I don't think so. Not even close. If getting more teams involved is good then let the division winners get a spot and draw a freaking ping pong ball out for the fourth participant. One game is a joke, in line with pretty much everything else Selig has done.

Yup. In a one game situation, anyone can beat anyone. I already dont like how the divisional series are best of 5.

The simple answer to me is to go back to two division and go to a 156 game flex schedule. Two divisions eliminated the one crap division winner that in inevitable, and schedule 156 fairly for everyone, and then making the last 6 games between the teams fighting for spots makes the end of the year much more important.

Instead they learned nothing from how last year turned out, and it was one of the greatest nights of baseball in recent history for those playoffs spots, determined completely by luck scheduling. Most of the time its "oh hey can X wildcard team beat the Pirates this weekend who have their late season call up starters making his 2nd career start?"

This isn't complicated, but Selig makes it more complicated.

[LeDoux]

I think the wildcard winners should be determined by:

1. The entire team (including mascots, managers, and bullpen catchers) urinate into a barrel at the end of the regular season.

2. A sample is taken from the barrel for PED testing. The “cleanest barrel” obtains spot #1- after all, they play fair.

3. The team which is able to drink the most urine from the barrel in an hour wins spot #2- after all, they really, really want it.

[texasdave]

Originally Posted by LeDoux

I think the wildcard winners should be determined by:

1. The entire team (including mascots, managers, and bullpen catchers) urinate into a barrel at the end of the regular season.

2. A sample is taken from the barrel for PED testing. The “cleanest barrel” obtains spot #1- after all, they play fair.

3. The team which is able to drink the most urine from the barrel in an hour wins spot #2- after all, they really, really want it.

=== The manager of the team winning the World Series gets a urine shower instead of a gatorade shower.
=== If you go 0 for 4 with four strikeouts you have to play the next came in a hat dipped in the urine barrel. Now that is a real Golden Sombrero.

[The Rage]

Actually by expanding the playoffs this way, Selig is trying to make life for the "WC" winner tougher as they hit the divisionals.

[texasdave]

Joe Sheehan on the ridiculousness of the addition of a second wild card team and a one-game coin flip.

http://www.cnnsi.com/2012/writers/jo...&sct=hp_t11_a2

[texasdave]

A third-place team in a five-team division will hang the World Championship banner one day. Sweet. Now baseball has a regular season and a postseason tournament. October Sadness. Thanks, Bud Selig.

[swaisuc]

Originally Posted by texasdave

A third-place team in a five-team division will hang the World Championship banner one day. Sweet. Now baseball has a regular season and a postseason tournament. October Sadness. Thanks, Bud Selig.

This will bother me less than the current mindset of nobody caring about winning the division. I think it's a good move. It provides more excitement by giving more teams "a chance", but makes winning the division and avoiding the 1 game situation a huge advantage.

[takealeake]

Originally Posted by swaisuc

This will bother me less than the current mindset of nobody caring about winning the division. I think it's a good move. It provides more excitement by giving more teams "a chance", but makes winning the division and avoiding the 1 game situation a huge advantage.

How does adding another team make the division title mean more? You just then added yet another team to the playoffs who doesn't have to worry about winning the division to get in the playoffs. Maybe the #1 WC team would wish they won the division, but if they're five games behind the best team in the league in their own division and at the same time 6 games better than some mediocre division winner (ahem, NL West many a year) - division "winning" becomes even more of a farce.

Selig screwed up. Again. He's an idiot.

[swaisuc]

Originally Posted by takealeake

How does adding another team make the division title mean more? You just then added yet another team to the playoffs who doesn't have to worry about winning the division to get in the playoffs. Maybe the #1 WC team would wish they won the division, but if they're five games behind the best team in the league in their own division and at the same time 6 games better than some mediocre division winner (ahem, NL West many a year) - division "winning" becomes even more of a farce.

Selig screwed up. Again. He's an idiot.

Teams will try very hard to get the bye and avoid the 1 game crap shoot. The last few years, people have been playing AAA lineups once they clinched the WC and it's been ugly.

[getfoul]

Originally Posted by takealeake

How does adding another team make the division title mean more? You just then added yet another team to the playoffs who doesn't have to worry about winning the division to get in the playoffs. Maybe the #1 WC team would wish they won the division, but if they're five games behind the best team in the league in their own division and at the same time 6 games better than some mediocre division winner (ahem, NL West many a year) - division "winning" becomes even more of a farce.

Selig screwed up. Again. He's an idiot.

Do you really look at these wildcard teams as playoff teams? I don't.

The way to look at this is there are 6 playoff teams that get in because they won their division, and there are four other teams that had good years, but didn't win their divsion that have a second chance to make the playoffs. There are still 8 playoff teams at the end of this process.

It's not like the losing wildcard team is going to raise a banner the next season--or at least they shouldn't. Heck, I don't think these wildcard teams should celebrate in the clubhouse or have t-shirts, hats, etc., until they actually win the Wildcard Game and get in the playoffs.