It’s about time Major League Baseball got something right.
The Houston Astros will be moving to the American League in 2013, ensuring both the AL and the National League will have 15 teams. That will put the end to unbalanced scheduling that has plagued MLB for years.
MLB voted to add two additional wild cards in each league and have those wildcard teams play a one game sudden-death playoff game, stressing the importance of winning the division.
Bravo, MLB.
HOWWW-EVA (in Stephen “Screamin'” A. Smith’s voice), I think MLB could have done one more thing. It could have eliminated divisions altogether.
Mike Greenburg from ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” came up with that idea months ago during the heat of the pennant races and shared that idea with his co-host Mike Golic and other baseball experts such as Tim Kurkjian and the great Bob Costas. Greenburg also proposed having the top six teams in each league qualified for the playoffs, with the top two teams receiving byes.
Now that’s a plan that I could live with, and would make the regular season in MLB that more meaningful – not to mention popular. Something tells me that is where this will eventually head.
Stay tuned.
Categories: baseball, MLB, sports story
This is total buklshit. Move one of the new teams to a new league, you don’t move one of the oldest teams out of this division. Arz should get the boot. There is no real good way to move any of the team in it but if you’re going to move 1 get Milwaukee out because nobody follows them anyway.
Chris – Arizona wants to stay in NL. When they were awarded an expansion team, they made it clear that they wanted division rivalries with Giants and Dodgers. MLB agreed.
Klownboy – I love the one game playoff between two wild cards. It makes winning the division mean something. Also gives division champs an extra day or two to rest and set optimal pitching lineups. Great move.
I disagree with no divisions. First, you want those regional rivalries like Cards – Cubs, Yanks – Sox and Dodgers – Giants. Second, You don’t want teams falling out of the pennant race too early. Also, byes in baseball is a bad idea. A day or two off is one thing. But taking off 8 or 9 days to wait for a best of 7 series to play out would ruin a teams’ rhythm.
JAG: The Astros wanted to stay in the NL as well. That’s why the league had to (effectively) pay them 70 million dollars to switch. While I wouldn’t classify the Astros as “one of the oldest teams in the league”, the Brewers are the obvious choice, being a recent switch. There are glaring holes in all the excuses and justifications for this change. This is just about Selig changing the landscape of the league to make himself happy and not caring about what anyone else wants.
WHY hasn’t Bud realized that HIS move to move HIS team (Milwaukee) caused this mess to start with? Had he left them alone in the AL, we’ld still have 15 each & regrouping would be easier.
Hell, I remember when Atlanta was in the same group as LA & SF (although I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out how that made sense)!
So, Bud, do us all a favor & UNDO to baseball what your initials spell…….BS!
Yo,
You have a valid point about the Brewers moving to the NL in the first place. I guess that’s what happens when you are commish – you get to do whatever you want with your team.
As for now, at least Mr. “BS” is doing SOMETHING for a change…