Some people may wish to be King for a day, but if I had any choice, it would be to have Selig's job for just one day, so I could undo all that he has done.
Not that I have a personal gripe with the Commish, but I do think he has been reactive, instead of proactive. He just doesn't have the stones in my book, plus I am not a fan of a anyone intimately associated with one club having control of the league.
So, if I were commish for a day, I'd make some rather sweeping changes. I am sure this will not be popular, but hey, I'm THE COMMISH!
Change #1 - League realignment
I am not a fan of the three Division leagues. First change would be to go back to two Divisions per league. Two 8 team NL Divisions and two 7 team AL Divisions. That being said, I am not in favor of moving franchises, but I don't have a problem with jumping leagues.
NL West - Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Royals, Astros and Rangers
NL East - Mets, Braves, Phillies, Pirates, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals and Reds
AL West - A's, Angels, Mariners, White Sox, Twins, Brewers and Tigers
AL East - Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles, Indians, Rays and Marlins
Explanation of league jumpers: Rangers get Astros as an in Division rival. Royals get Rockies as an in Division rival, and play St. Louis more regularly. Brewers go back to being the Twins rival. Marlins get the Rays as a rival, and get the boost from visiting Yankees and Red Sox ticket sales. Trust me, they need all the help they can get. Drawback - Tigers get screwed on geography.
Change #2 - Two wild cards
First place in each Division, plus the second place team in each Division makes it as a wild card. So, #2 NL West plays at #1 NL East, #2 NL East plays at #1 NL West. Same for AL.
Change #3 - All Star Game
Back to only an exhibition with no WS implications. WS home field advantage is based on best overall record.
Change #4 - Interleague Play
Gone. I can't stand it. If the leagues are going to have differing rules, then there should be no interleague play. If the leagues had the same rules, I could stomach it. With two Divisions, you could have more balanced playing. Plus, rival games, gone. You'd see your rival every two years.
Change #5 - DH
I'd leave it up to the AL. If they want to keep it, no interleague play. Although, if I was AL President (do they have one anymore?), I'd lose the DH in favor of an additional roster spot.
Change #6 - PEDs
First offense, you're suspended until the Feds complete their investigation/punishment of you. Let's not forget most PEDs are illegal. Suspended with pay until the investigation is over. Convicted, suspended without pay until time is served.
Second offense, suspended with pay until investigation is over. Convicted for a second time, out of baseball. Cleared, you can still play.
I don't like arbitrary 50, 100, etc. game suspensions. Let their fate lie in the judicial system.
I'm sure I'll catch hell, but I'm interested in hearing what your changes would be if commish for a day!
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Friday, October 16, 2009
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4 comments:
I agree with most of what you've got there.
I'd add one more timely item: either shorten the postseason or shorten the regular season. Games in November is a disaster waiting to happen. I picture postponement after postponement, games reaching mid-November, etc. And then the calls for a neutral site or a domed site will begin, and I just might puke.
I'd agree with most of that. I'd keep interleague play though. Instead of lumping them all together, I would have them spread out throughout the year, so there will always be an interleague series going on for the first few months.
September would be nothing but divisional matchups, to maximize the potential of the underdog slipping into the playoffs. Teams will ultimately decide their own fates within the division by how well they play in the final month.
Agreed on PEDs. Random # of games suspensions are lame and not a deterent. Until you hit them where the paycheck is, it never will be.
I'd get rid of the DH, I don't see a need for it. Enough runs are scored in all the tiny parks with bad pitching these days. No need to increase it.
I don't see the point of interleague play especially in its current incarnation due to schedules being unfair/unbalanced but I recognize that it draws money, thus could live with it if they made it rotate like football does.
I sort of agree with Night Owl, but I'd shorten the postseason by not having wild cards... Make winners mean something, by having the division winners play each other... I never liked the idea of a wild card in any sport, b/c it suggests that "If I was good enough the whole year, like I am at the end...". Call me a lumper instead of a splitter...
I agree with most everything else, no need for interleague play if you're playing by different rules, and some sort of definition that ties PED's with the current definitions according to the legal system. If androstenedione is legal on the streets, then I guess you gotta let the players use it also. Talent (natural sciences) can only be enhanced so much by drugs (chemical sciences)...
Which leads me to the question: "What does it mean to be a champ?" To me, being the champ can means being the best team mathematically (on average) over the course of the whole season. Based on this, I would just go from regular season straight to the WS, a contest between two pennant winners.
The only purpose to me for a wild card would be for situations like the Twins/Tigers this year... When you play 162 games, and it comes down to a difference of one game, who's to say who's better? Really, they are pretty much statistically both the same, so that's where a wild card, in a system that thinks playoffs are necessary to decide who is the best, would be useful...
Which, I admit, would mean that teams I don't like (like this year's Yankees...) would BE this year's best (AL) team...
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