One rule that MLB needs to get rid of.

[cliftonparksufan]

I can never grasp the concept of the Yankees having the best record in the AL but can't play the team with the worst record in first round because they are from the same division. What difference should it make come playoff time. Some of it is probably cause of money and TV, but hopefully when they start adding more wildcard teams, this changes.

 

[PoppyHart]

Maybe its seen as overkill since they've already played each other 18-19 times during the season.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

I can never grasp the concept of the Yankees having the best record in the AL but can't play the team with the worst record in first round because they are from the same division. What difference should it make come playoff time. Some of it is probably cause of money and TV, but hopefully when they start adding more wildcard teams, this changes.

I think it's a good rule. Home field advantage and the right to play the 2nd "worst" team in the bracket should be enough for the team that won the league. The ability to keep the whole country involved, geographically speaking, for at least the first round of the playoffs is well worth it.

 

[pfister1]

I can never grasp the concept of the Yankees having the best record in the AL but can't play the team with the worst record in first round because they are from the same division. What difference should it make come playoff time. Some of it is probably cause of money and TV, but hopefully when they start adding more wildcard teams, this changes.

If record were truly a determinant of who the best teams were I might agree, but in reality they play an unbalanced schedule so who's to say which team is best. Boston might be the best team of the three potential opponents, but they will come in on a super skid and clearly aren't at the moment. So while I might like to face off against Boston right now, I don't know if I'd want to play Tampa Bay if they end up overtaking Boston. The AL east wildcard teams will have a few less wins than the other two Division champs, but they had to play more games against the AL East than the teams in the other two divisions did, so are Detroit's 92 wins clearly better than Boston's 89 or Tampa's 88???

 

[Noexcuse]

It will probably change in the future when they add other wild card teams to the mix.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

If record were truly a determinant of who the best teams were I might agree

But why shouldn't it be based on record. If i'm not mistaken all the other leagues are done by record. Which brings me to another point. In the NFL, if the Giants win the wildcard at 10-6 and still have a better record than one of the division winners at 8-8, they should get the home field. Not the .500 team who wins the division. Reward the record, not the division.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

But why shouldn't it be based on record. If i'm not mistaken all the other leagues are done by record. Which brings me to another point. In the NFL, if the Giants win the wildcard at 10-6 and still have a better record than one of the division winners at 8-8, they should get the home field. Not the .500 team who wins the division. Reward the record, not the division.

I don't think he is saying it SHOULDN'T be based on record. Just that the difference between an 89 win team and a 91 win team is so subjective, it's not like it's the end of the world that a particular rule that protects the game's interests says the Yankees can't play the WC round against an AL East team.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

No question that an 89 win team from the AL East might be better than a 91 win team from out west. That's not really my point. I just think if you had to compare apples to apples, why take the number of wins out of the equation. I think mathematically speaking (and maybe SWC will do the research since he is so good at it) the team with the best record will beat the #2, #3 or #4 team, but theoretically speaking, should have an easier time with the #4 team. I see it more that the wildcard team is being rewarded by not having to play the best team and not that the best team is being penalized.

 

[Marsh01]

I have a bigger problemwith the whole all-star game winner gets home field for the world series. Now that may work itself out this year if the Phillies end up making it seeing they have the best record in MLB. However if th e Braves play the Yankees say in the WS then there is no way they should have a potential game 7.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I have a bigger problemwith the whole all-star game winner gets home field for the world series. Now that may work itself out this year if the Phillies end up making it seeing they have the best record in MLB. However if th e Braves play the Yankees say in the WS then there is no way they should have a potential game 7.

So do you think that the leagues should alternate as far as who gets home field or do you have a different proposal?

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

I have a bigger problemwith the whole all-star game winner gets home field for the world series. Now that may work itself out this year if the Phillies end up making it seeing they have the best record in MLB. However if th e Braves play the Yankees say in the WS then there is no way they should have a potential game 7.

I like it. It's not like a better option was in place before, and it spruces up the All-Star game a bit.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

No question that an 89 win team from the AL East might be better than a 91 win team from out west. That's not really my point. I just think if you had to compare apples to apples, why take the number of wins out of the equation. I think mathematically speaking (and maybe SWC will do the research since he is so good at it) the team with the best record will beat the #2, #3 or #4 team, but theoretically speaking, should have an easier time with the #4 team. I see it more that the wildcard team is being rewarded by not having to play the best team and not that the best team is being penalized.

I'm not sure how the numbers actually play out, but I am always scared to death of wild card teams. Because usually, the team that wins the wild card just beat out three other teams for that spot and is on fire... otherwise they wouldn't have won. I don't think the Yankees want to see the Rays in this playoff. So like I said before, you are probably right, that in a vacuum the standings should purely decide it, but in this case there is certainly room for some artistic licensing if it makes for a better product.

 

[PoppyHart]

No question that an 89 win team from the AL East might be better than a 91 win team from out west. That's not really my point. I just think if you had to compare apples to apples, why take the number of wins out of the equation. I think mathematically speaking (and maybe SWC will do the research since he is so good at it) the team with the best record will beat the #2, #3 or #4 team, but theoretically speaking, should have an easier time with the #4 team. I see it more that the wildcard team is being rewarded by not having to play the best team and not that the best team is being penalized.

The last 7-10 games of the regular are all intra-division contests, which is a good thing for the pennant/wild card races imo. They would probably have to change that if they allowed teams from the same division to meet in the division series. Otherwise, if TB gets in, for instance, the Yanks would end up facing TB up to 12 times in the last 15 games.

Again, that's overkill imo, especially when coupled with the 18-19 regular season games the squads already play.

 

[Marsh01]

So do you think that the leagues should alternate as far as who gets home field or do you have a different proposal?

Best overall record gets it. Pretty simple solution. Not sure why it is so hard for MLB to comprehend.

 

[pfister1]

Best overall record gets it. Pretty simple solution. Not sure why it is so hard for MLB to comprehend.

Because that solution really makes no sense, it's pretty arbitrary actually. What does a team in the AL's record have to do for purposes of comparison with an NL team's record? I'm ok overlooking the unbalanced scheduled to compare records for seeking in the playoffs, but not when comparing the AL and NL where the two sets of schedules are entirely different. Why not choose the team that had the best overall home attendance instead?