Extra Wild Card Team

by jpoppejr on Oct 26, 2011 3:34 AM EDT

I'm still burning from the Yanks early exit. I do not like the best of 5 series. Too many upsets. Just does not seem right after 162 game marathon so here is what I'm thinking and would like to hear your thoughts:

1. The two wildcard teams play a best of three series instead of the proposed one game and in scenario. No travel days so the other teams only lose a five days at the most. Games one and three at the team's park with the better record. Could be difficult if the series is EC / WC but travel days could be problematic with stretching the season out too much.

2. The next series starts the next day after the third scheduled game of the wildcard series with the wildcard winner playing the team with the best record.

3. All series except the wildcard are seven game series. The cream rises to the top in a seven game series.

Effectively this structure is a big penalty for the two wild card teams as they will probably be unable to throw their #1 until game 2 or 3 in the next series.

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The more wildcards, the less the chance of the best teams advancing, regardless of the handicap of the wildcards.

One of the main differences between the regular season and the playoffs is that teams with inadequate starting pitching to win the division can do much better in the playoffs if they have two really good starters and nobody else. The off days mask lack of pitching depth, giving pitching staffs the extra rest they wouldn’t see in the regular season.

I think the best solution is to have the playoffs look more like the regular season with virtually no off days. This would reward teams able to sweep playoff series, since they could rest while their next opponent was still playing.

by designatedquitter on Oct 26, 2011 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

While I generally agree with this, this years playoffs make it obvious that even pitching is no guarantee. Texas probably had the worst staff in the AL and only the Diamondbacks had a worse staff than the Cards. If it was all pitching the Rays and Phils would be in the WS.

by Now Batting on Oct 26, 2011 7:03 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Worst staff in the AL among what teams?

Jesus Montero fangirl

by WhatwouldJeterdo on Oct 26, 2011 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Texas' pitching looks worse than it is because of their launching pad of a ballpark.

It’s obviously not entirely pitching, but think about how the Yankees lost the 2001 and 2003 World Series. They were clearly better than Arizona or Florida over 162 games, but in short series it was Johnson/ Schilling and Beckett/Burnett that made the difference.

by designatedquitter on Oct 27, 2011 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Burnett never pitched in the post-season

for anyone except the Yankees. In 2003, the Marlins beat the Yankees with: Brad Penny, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, and Braden Looper (for the most part).

by phonty on Oct 27, 2011 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

I prefer only one wild card team

and the division series expanded to best of seven games. The regular season is long enough as it is and adding more wildcard teams only makes it appear as a long exhibition season. I don’t want ~.500 W% teams in the playoffs. If MLB wants to increase revenue, they need to do a better job of marketing individual players.

by Scooby Snacks on Oct 26, 2011 10:16 AM EDT reply actions

simply put: No.

by jetanumba2 on Oct 26, 2011 5:19 PM EDT reply actions

Just scrap the second wild card

It’s just giving a “second chance” to the team that wasn’t quite good enough to make the postseason. Too bad for them!

Also not right to penalize the 1st wild card team by making them play a short series. I also don’t want the Yankees to sit around getting rusty while the lesser teams play their pitty series.

by Sports Fan! on Oct 26, 2011 5:24 PM EDT reply actions

But what about teams like the Red Sox and Rays?

I’m not saying that I like them, I just think they shouldn’t be penalized for being a play-off ready team in a tough division.

by yanksrule on Oct 26, 2011 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Good point, but I think by helping one team into the playoffs, you’re hurting the other at the same time.

by Sports Fan! on Oct 26, 2011 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions

x

Last night, a comedian died in New York. Somebody knows why. Somebody knows

by Rorschach44 on Oct 26, 2011 9:28 PM EDT reply actions

Aww.

by DCyanks21 on Oct 27, 2011 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Here are my thoughts

1. Get rid of the divisions make 2 leagues only.
2 The season goes back to 154 games.
3.Top 5 teams in each league make the playoffs.
4. 4th and 5th place plays a 1 game series
5. The team that wins that game plays the team with the best record. 5 game series. Only the 1st game is played at the winner of the 4 and 5th place team’s stadium. The last 4 games are played at the team with the best records stadium.
6. 2nd and 3rd place team plays a 5 game series in the current format.
7. Pennant series stays the same format.

By doing the above the series will end in October no more games in November.

by mordred0831 on Oct 28, 2011 4:14 PM EDT reply actions

If you want to end the World Series in October, I have 2 ideas:

1. Scrap the 1 game playoff. It’s even more meaningless without divisions in my opinion. I can see how with divisions, MLB would want to “punish” the wild card by making them play a 1 game playoff. But if we’re eliminating divisions, you can’t severely punish the 4th place team like that. Plus, this would cost at least 1 day.
2. Keep it the way it is. As long as we don’t have 3 off days in each series, MLB can finish the playoffs by late October.

by Sports Fan! on Oct 29, 2011 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Didn't this year's World Series end in October?

What’s with all the November talk, just because it happened three times (once because of a terrorist attack, once because of the WBC, and once because it was scheduled that way – in 2010)?

by phonty on Oct 30, 2011 3:38 AM EDT up reply actions

good ideas but...

you cant have it like your proposing with 3 game series in 3 days with no travel days. would work if it was philly and ny, but what if it was LA and ny.

by mspcpa on Oct 29, 2011 1:01 PM EDT reply actions

Also need to ban rain in October.

by garp on Oct 30, 2011 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

i think

just 3 teams in each leauge never will happen but the team with the best record in AL NL gets a bye to the LCS

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by j-man on Nov 1, 2011 11:22 PM EDT reply actions