Giant Sucking Sound
Here’s what the three-division plus wild card format is about to produce: a division champion with a sub-.500 record. The NL-West-leading Padres are 50-49, a game above .500, and the way they’ve been playing (losing their last seven), look to make it a 50-50 proposition on Tuesday, when they next play.
They could even lose their next three games without relinquishing first place in the horrendous NL Rest. For much of August, teams in the West play against Eastern division opponents, all of whom have a .500 record or better. That doesn’t bode well for the Pacific and Mountain Time Zone teams. Then, in September, they play each other. At the very least, one western division team will get a victory.
The possibility of a sub .500 team winning this division is quite real. If it does happen, there’s nothing baseball can do about it this year. But Washington, Philadelphia, the Mets, Houston, and the Cubs all have a gripe.
Instead of having three divisions, why not go back to two, and add a second wild card. Or even better, one division with the top four teams making the playoffs. Adding the first wild card has already made winning a division championship meaningless (do you think the Red Sox, Marlins, or Angels care that they didn’t win their divisions in the 2004, 2003, or 2002 respectively?). Let’s get rid of them entirely. Then only the best teams advance to the playoffs.
Yeah, yeah Division rivalries. Baloney. Yankees-Red Sox is fantastic, but 19 times a year has taken some of the luster off of the showdown. Sure the Dodgers and Giants get up for faceoffs between the two teams. But it’s not much of a rivalry when both teams stink.
Division rivalries are only as good as the teams involved. Yankees-Mariners was an excellent rivalry when both teams were in the playoffs every year. Dodgers-Cardinals too. Even Twins Tigers was an exciting rivalry in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rivalries create themselves when teams play well against each other. Letting new rivalries be born would increase interest in the game.
They could even lose their next three games without relinquishing first place in the horrendous NL Rest. For much of August, teams in the West play against Eastern division opponents, all of whom have a .500 record or better. That doesn’t bode well for the Pacific and Mountain Time Zone teams. Then, in September, they play each other. At the very least, one western division team will get a victory.
The possibility of a sub .500 team winning this division is quite real. If it does happen, there’s nothing baseball can do about it this year. But Washington, Philadelphia, the Mets, Houston, and the Cubs all have a gripe.
Instead of having three divisions, why not go back to two, and add a second wild card. Or even better, one division with the top four teams making the playoffs. Adding the first wild card has already made winning a division championship meaningless (do you think the Red Sox, Marlins, or Angels care that they didn’t win their divisions in the 2004, 2003, or 2002 respectively?). Let’s get rid of them entirely. Then only the best teams advance to the playoffs.
Yeah, yeah Division rivalries. Baloney. Yankees-Red Sox is fantastic, but 19 times a year has taken some of the luster off of the showdown. Sure the Dodgers and Giants get up for faceoffs between the two teams. But it’s not much of a rivalry when both teams stink.
Division rivalries are only as good as the teams involved. Yankees-Mariners was an excellent rivalry when both teams were in the playoffs every year. Dodgers-Cardinals too. Even Twins Tigers was an exciting rivalry in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rivalries create themselves when teams play well against each other. Letting new rivalries be born would increase interest in the game.
posted by John Rosenthal @ 1:43 PM
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