Comments on: Realignment? So Goofy It HAS To Be Bud’s Idea

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:57:52 +0000

jamar, I’m half convinced Bud actually may have died years ago and was just too stubborn to give up the Commissioners job.

shannon, I’m not sure I can think of two cities for MLB to expand to, although I’d like to see another team move in to the NY area and cut in to the Yankee revenue base a bit. As much as it brings chills to Twins’ fans spines, I wouldn’t be opposed to contraction. Almost every team has new stadium deals that take them out of consideration for something like that, but there are two teams that have struggled financially AND have been having trouble getting new stadiums approved… Oakland and Tampa Bay.

I totally agree about limiting the length of the MLB playoffs and that’s why I’m in favor of just having a “one and done” playoff game if MLB wants to add another wild card team for each league.

By: shannon

shannon — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 03:35:29 +0000

I say expand MLB by adding 2 teams to the American League, so each league has 16 teams, then split them into four divisions: North, South, East, and West. Take the division champs and have them in the playoffs rather than expanding the playoffs to include more teams. I’m very opposed to MLB having a postseason as ridiculously long as that of the NBA and NHL, where 50% of the teams end up making the playoffs.

By: jamar1700

jamar1700 — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:40:00 +0000

A “system that just makes it even more likely than today that the Yankees [& Red Sox] will be in the playoffs every season.”

I’m pretty sure that is all they really want.

Isn’t it time for Bud to retire already? :/

By: Jeff Miller

Jeff Miller — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:19:40 +0000

I have mixed feelings, so I have to think it through some more. For years I have always said move the Brewers back so at least all the divisions had 5 teams.

By: Jim Crikket

Jim Crikket — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:27:07 +0000

I tend to agree, Paul. Just how compelling would the annual “race for 5th place” be? Last season, there was criticism of the Yankees for not going all out to win the AL East. Under this proposal, teams with a lock on 3rd or 4th place heading in to the final week will coast, too.

And yes, you’d end up with a contending team playing interleague games in August and September using rules (DH/no DH) they aren’t accustomed do (and for which their roster is not built).

It’s SUCH a bad idea that I can only conclude that Bud Selig will whine about it until it gets adopted.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:07:23 +0000

I have always hated that the AL West has four teams and the NL Central has six. Of course, I always figured that MLB would solve this problem the MLB way, by moving Pittsburgh to the AL West.

I love interleague play (even though it always seems to wreck my Phillies), but I do not want to see it extended throughout the season. One of the reasons I like it is that it feels like an event, a change of pace, during the long season, and extending it throughout the season would take that away.

So I don’t know what the solution is to realignment, but I will say that I hate the idea of diminishing the importance of the divisions and just taking the top five in each league. The divisional race is one of the joys of baseball, and if the top teams in each league are only playing for playoffs seeds rather than a divisional title, it changes the whole feeling of the regular season.

So I don’t know what to do.