This is our old blog. It hasn't been active since 2011. Please see the link above for our current blog or click the logo above to see all of the great data and content on this site.
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 11th, 2010 at 10:09 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
I'm convinced this will happen. Bud Selig is trying his best to make me stop watching. None of it so far has really done it, but this kind of shenanigans would seriously test my patience.
"I'm convinced this will happen. Bud Selig is trying his best to make me stop watching. None of it so far has really done it, but this kind of shenanigans would seriously test my patience."
This is nowhere near as stupid as awarding WS home-field to the winner of the All-Star game. At least floating divisions would make the league more fair, not less.
While we're at it, why not get rid of the ridiculous unbalanced schedule? Do people really want to see their team play another club 19 times per season?
This idea will never happen for the same reason a salary cap will never happen: the MLBPA. They would have to approve this, too. They are the most powerful union in the history of labor unions, and I actually think there's a greater chance that a salary cap would be approved than this crazy idea. The only reason that this is even in discussion is because no one can seem to conceive of the Yankees and Red Sox ever being bad teams again because of how much they can spend on players. Yawn. Put it this way: any idea Selig and his committee devise will be a bad one because they're primarily National League and "traditionalist" thinkers. Remember that there's already been discussion of abolishing the DH, which would be an immense travesty considering pitchers can't hit.
Also, a salary cap doesn't necessarily resolve any issues. The NFL and NBA may seem to be more competitive, but not really. Teams in the NFL in particular benefit more from playing soft schedules based upon the previous year's standings in order to achieve quick turnarounds. All a salary cap really does is keep money in the owner's pockets instead of the player's pockets.
Andy, your proposal is the opposite of the one floated in last month's Sports Illustrated article. In that article, the good teams *leave* the Yankees division to get a better shot at winning one of the other divisions. Then a bad team would be swapped in for a rebuilding year where they enjoy more attendance revenue due to more Yankee games. That proposal in effect gives the Yankees a regular season bye and a free pass into the playoffs. I don't know if the Yankees even want that.
That SI article is a month old now and its been picked apart by a number of other writers. Its just not likely to happen logistically because schedules have to be made over a year ahead of time and often hard to plan when you are rebuilding and when you are not. You'd be giving up on a season over a year ahead of time.
"Remember that there's already been discussion of abolishing the DH, which would be an immense travesty considering pitchers can't hit."
Clearly, you're an AL fan. Pitchers hitting is no worse than old fat guys who have no business still putting on a uniform, but NEVER a glove being allowed to stand at the plate 4 times a game.
On the subject, I hate the idea of copying European soccer's system. I prefer consistent rivalries and divisions. You really want to break up the Giants/Dodgers cause one of them isn't playing so well one year?
Actually, the DH is a travesty and always has been, not the lack of one. The fact that pitchers don't hit as well makes the game more interesting and complex. It requires more "strategery!"
I used to be strongly opposed to the unbalanced schedule because I hated that I didn't get to see my favorite team play all the other teams very much. It also felt weird for pairs of teams to play so often in one season. But now, over time, I have grown to like it. The current schedule is more like the NFL. If you're a football fan, think of your favorite team, and now name the other teams in your division. Every single division has good rivalries, and that is in large part because each football team plays 50% of its games each year against its division rivals. That's how rivalries form--lots of mutual games over a long period of time. I realize that not all the teams are strong rivals right now, but over time that will change.
My one quibble with the unbalanced schedule is the unfairness geographically to the Seattle Mariners. They are quite far from all other baseball teams and have to travel a lot more, which I think is one of the big reasons why professional teams from Seattle so rarely have success. With the unbalanced schedule, it means a team like the Red Sox has tons and tons of short road trips each year (to New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Philadelphia during interleague, etc) while the Mariners have no short trips at all. If the schedule were more balanced, at least the Red Sox and other east coast teams would be making more west coast trips and evening out the total amount of travel a little bit.
As for the DH--I absolutely hate it. I love watching pitchers hit and I think it's an integral part of the game. More than anything, though, I wish baseball would standardize it. Personally I would love for them to outlaw the DH--announce it today effective in 2020. That way, teams can adjust to the idea that their current DHs will eventually retire and not need to be replaced.
I like the DH rule myself, probably because I've grown up with it being a fan of AL teams all my life. As for standardization, I hope they never do that. One of the things I love about baseball is the quirkiness of the sport and what's more quirky than having such a major difference in rules between the leagues? Imagine the NFL trying to get away with enacting an AFC-only rule. It would never work.
In regards to realignment, I can't say I'm on board with it yet. Sure it might give teams like my Indians a better chance to make the playoffs each year, but it wouldn't give them any better of a chance to make or win the World Series. And after a 68 year drought, "making the playoffs" is a pretty small consolation. Just ask any Cubs fan.
April 11th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Why move teams all over the place when putting in a salary cap will accomplish the same competitive balance?
April 11th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
The players' union is, at present, too strong to impose a salary cap. It's a shame because it works very well in the NFL and decently in the NBA.
April 11th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
I'm convinced this will happen. Bud Selig is trying his best to make me stop watching. None of it so far has really done it, but this kind of shenanigans would seriously test my patience.
April 11th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
"I'm convinced this will happen. Bud Selig is trying his best to make me stop watching. None of it so far has really done it, but this kind of shenanigans would seriously test my patience."
This is nowhere near as stupid as awarding WS home-field to the winner of the All-Star game. At least floating divisions would make the league more fair, not less.
While we're at it, why not get rid of the ridiculous unbalanced schedule? Do people really want to see their team play another club 19 times per season?
April 11th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
This idea will never happen for the same reason a salary cap will never happen: the MLBPA. They would have to approve this, too. They are the most powerful union in the history of labor unions, and I actually think there's a greater chance that a salary cap would be approved than this crazy idea. The only reason that this is even in discussion is because no one can seem to conceive of the Yankees and Red Sox ever being bad teams again because of how much they can spend on players. Yawn. Put it this way: any idea Selig and his committee devise will be a bad one because they're primarily National League and "traditionalist" thinkers. Remember that there's already been discussion of abolishing the DH, which would be an immense travesty considering pitchers can't hit.
Also, a salary cap doesn't necessarily resolve any issues. The NFL and NBA may seem to be more competitive, but not really. Teams in the NFL in particular benefit more from playing soft schedules based upon the previous year's standings in order to achieve quick turnarounds. All a salary cap really does is keep money in the owner's pockets instead of the player's pockets.
April 11th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Andy, your proposal is the opposite of the one floated in last month's Sports Illustrated article. In that article, the good teams *leave* the Yankees division to get a better shot at winning one of the other divisions. Then a bad team would be swapped in for a rebuilding year where they enjoy more attendance revenue due to more Yankee games. That proposal in effect gives the Yankees a regular season bye and a free pass into the playoffs. I don't know if the Yankees even want that.
That SI article is a month old now and its been picked apart by a number of other writers. Its just not likely to happen logistically because schedules have to be made over a year ahead of time and often hard to plan when you are rebuilding and when you are not. You'd be giving up on a season over a year ahead of time.
April 11th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Whew, it's a relief to know that my thinking is the exact opposite of King Bud's.
April 11th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
"Remember that there's already been discussion of abolishing the DH, which would be an immense travesty considering pitchers can't hit."
Clearly, you're an AL fan. Pitchers hitting is no worse than old fat guys who have no business still putting on a uniform, but NEVER a glove being allowed to stand at the plate 4 times a game.
On the subject, I hate the idea of copying European soccer's system. I prefer consistent rivalries and divisions. You really want to break up the Giants/Dodgers cause one of them isn't playing so well one year?
April 12th, 2010 at 8:49 am
Actually, the DH is a travesty and always has been, not the lack of one. The fact that pitchers don't hit as well makes the game more interesting and complex. It requires more "strategery!"
April 12th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Interesting debate.
Here's my two cents for what it's worth.
I used to be strongly opposed to the unbalanced schedule because I hated that I didn't get to see my favorite team play all the other teams very much. It also felt weird for pairs of teams to play so often in one season. But now, over time, I have grown to like it. The current schedule is more like the NFL. If you're a football fan, think of your favorite team, and now name the other teams in your division. Every single division has good rivalries, and that is in large part because each football team plays 50% of its games each year against its division rivals. That's how rivalries form--lots of mutual games over a long period of time. I realize that not all the teams are strong rivals right now, but over time that will change.
My one quibble with the unbalanced schedule is the unfairness geographically to the Seattle Mariners. They are quite far from all other baseball teams and have to travel a lot more, which I think is one of the big reasons why professional teams from Seattle so rarely have success. With the unbalanced schedule, it means a team like the Red Sox has tons and tons of short road trips each year (to New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Philadelphia during interleague, etc) while the Mariners have no short trips at all. If the schedule were more balanced, at least the Red Sox and other east coast teams would be making more west coast trips and evening out the total amount of travel a little bit.
As for the DH--I absolutely hate it. I love watching pitchers hit and I think it's an integral part of the game. More than anything, though, I wish baseball would standardize it. Personally I would love for them to outlaw the DH--announce it today effective in 2020. That way, teams can adjust to the idea that their current DHs will eventually retire and not need to be replaced.
April 12th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
I like the DH rule myself, probably because I've grown up with it being a fan of AL teams all my life. As for standardization, I hope they never do that. One of the things I love about baseball is the quirkiness of the sport and what's more quirky than having such a major difference in rules between the leagues? Imagine the NFL trying to get away with enacting an AFC-only rule. It would never work.
In regards to realignment, I can't say I'm on board with it yet. Sure it might give teams like my Indians a better chance to make the playoffs each year, but it wouldn't give them any better of a chance to make or win the World Series. And after a 68 year drought, "making the playoffs" is a pretty small consolation. Just ask any Cubs fan.