What Do You Think About This New Playoff Rule?
thegemmintman
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in Sports Talk
It's experimental, and apparently it's only going to impact the AL this year.
MLB Playoff Rule Change
NEW YORK -- The team with the American League's best record will decide whether it wants an extra day off during its first-round playoff series.
In recent years, one of the four postseason series had an off-day between Games 1 and 2, and it alternated leagues in the series that didn't involve a wild-card team.
There is an extra off-day between Games 4 and 5 under the new postseason television schedule this year. That means the teams that have the early off-day would be able to use their Game 1 and 2 starters on full rest for Games 4 and 5.
"We felt rather than have it assigned by rule, there should be an element of merit to it," players' union general counsel Michael Weiner said Tuesday.
Once a team clinches the best record in the AL, it will have one hour to notify Major League Baseball whether it wants to start its division series on Oct. 3 or 4, baseball senior vice president Katy Feeney said. Red Sox spokesman John Blake said, however, that Boston believed the team with the best record wouldn't have to make its choice until it knew its opponent.
Boston has the AL's top record.
Feeney envisions the format will give the choice to the team with the NL's best record next season.
MLB Playoff Rule Change
NEW YORK -- The team with the American League's best record will decide whether it wants an extra day off during its first-round playoff series.
In recent years, one of the four postseason series had an off-day between Games 1 and 2, and it alternated leagues in the series that didn't involve a wild-card team.
There is an extra off-day between Games 4 and 5 under the new postseason television schedule this year. That means the teams that have the early off-day would be able to use their Game 1 and 2 starters on full rest for Games 4 and 5.
"We felt rather than have it assigned by rule, there should be an element of merit to it," players' union general counsel Michael Weiner said Tuesday.
Once a team clinches the best record in the AL, it will have one hour to notify Major League Baseball whether it wants to start its division series on Oct. 3 or 4, baseball senior vice president Katy Feeney said. Red Sox spokesman John Blake said, however, that Boston believed the team with the best record wouldn't have to make its choice until it knew its opponent.
Boston has the AL's top record.
Feeney envisions the format will give the choice to the team with the NL's best record next season.
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Comments
Edited to add: And I think it sucks. Has nothing to do with the Yanks being the possible Wild Card winners but because it just prolongs the playoffs. It just seems like manipulation. I would like nothing better than for it prove that it just doesnt matter.
http://sportsfansnews.com/author/andy-fischer/
<< <i>Its a way to give the advantage to the division winners because so many wild card winners have been successful. >>
That's what I'm thinking too. We've had a few Wild Card winners go and win the World Series, and I don't think they envisioned that. This gives a little incentive to press on and be the top dog.
But did they just come up with this or was this announced at the beginning of the season, and why didn't they do it with the National League too? Very strange.
<< <i>That's what I'm thinking too. We've had a few Wild Card winners go and win the World Series, and I don't think they envisioned that. This gives a little incentive to press on and be the top dog. >>
It's hard to give really strong preferences to the best record in baseball as opposed to other sports. The worst MLB team could easily defeat the best team in a seven-game series if they get hot at the right time. That's not as much the case in a seven-game NBA series, or in an NFL game. It seems logical that of all sports, baseball would have the most "weaker" playoff teams winning it all, because the worst teams will beat the best teams 1/3 of the time.
<< <i>since TV dictates so much insofar as playoff game scheduling is concerned, when the TV brass says one series is X number of games and the other is Y number of games, it is only right that the team with the best record is given a choice. >>
They don't have a time choice, though -- the networks do. If your name is the New York Yankees, for example, you also know all of your games will be in prime time under the lights.