The Crazy MLB playoffs

[jacksonianmarch]

The top 8 in the AL are pretty much secure with just the order in question. The Indians have a 4 game lead on the Mariners for the 8th spot with 11 games to go. Needless to say, it is probably over. The alignment and the first round really make this thing bonkers. Any team with a lights out top 2 in their rotation can upset a higher seed. And it is setting up to have a massive impact in the 1-8 matchup. The Indians are scuffling, but their rotation is not the reason. Shane Bieber has been the Cy Young award winner. Plesac is back after being a dickwaffle and breaking quarantine. He has been right there with Bieber as a lights out starter. The 3 and 4 is Carrasco and Civale, all who would be a 1 on many teams. Cleveland is not the team to play in a best of 3. I kinda hope they find a way into a first round matchup with TB, to be honest. They're the Yanks cryptonite.

As it stands right now in the AL, the Yanks are a game and a half back from the Twins. That's a pretty important thing here, as the Yanks have been almost unbeatable at home and well, the Red Sox away from home (.363 win % on the road for NYY, sox win % .360 on the year). If the Yanks could sneak ahead of them into the 4 slot, that would be best. The first round is played solely in the higher seed's ballpark before the winners move onto the bubbles and render seeding and home field entirely useless.

The NL is where it is totally bonkers. The Dodgers were the first team to clinch. No surprise there and they seem to have a stranglehold on that 1 spot. StL, Milwaukee, and Colorado are all within 2 games in the L column of the 8 seed. The 6 seed is under .500. The Marlins are the 5 seed somehow. Beyond a clear top 4, it is an absolute mess.

This might actually be a fun playoff season.

[Bellhorn04]

I'm not a fan of having every team in the best of 3 round. They should have retained the 'best record earns you a first round bye' principle.

[jacksonianmarch]

I'm not a fan of having every team in the best of 3 round. They should have retained the 'best record earns you a first round bye' principle.

I agree. I'd have extended that to the 1 and 2 seeds in each division. The only problem with that is, with baseball, rhythm is incredibly important. And to essentially guarantee the best two teams take 4 days off before they throw a single pitch in the POs doesn't make much sense

My ideal would have been to have the regular season end on day 0. I would then have the first round start with a DHer on day 1 and a tiebreaker on Day 2 if they split. Day 3 is the first game of the next round. Thus, the best teams get only 2 days of rest and the lower seeds really have to work to get an advantage

[Thunder]

I think crazy is a bad word choice. What's crazy about it? The fact that's it's different? Who cares? This whole year is different

[notin]

I'm not a fan of having every team in the best of 3 round. They should have retained the 'best record earns you a first round bye' principle.

I like the "best of three" better than having two teams play a single game where their entire effort over a 162 game season can be abruptly ended after one bad inning or one fielding miscue...

[Bellhorn04]

I like the "best of three" better than having two teams play a single game where their entire effort over a 162 game season can be abruptly ended after one bad inning or one fielding miscue...

I'm not a fan of that either.

But I think if you have the best record in the league you shouldn't be in virtually the same boat as the team with the 8th best record.

[notin]

I'm not a fan of that either.

But I think if you have the best record in the league you shouldn't be in virtually the same boat as the team with the 8th best record.

Why not? Most playoff formats do that. The only league in the USA that does not is the NFL.

I don't mind the best record still having to play in the first round, but I think a 5 game series at minimum would be better. The real problem MLB is facing is that if they retain this format, the post season could drag on to nearly Thanksgiving and the legitimate threat of snow-outs increases substantially.

I do hate the Wild Card one-game format for the simple reason that the team with the second best record stands a chance at being eliminated after one game, with the possibility hat the team with the fifth best record (or even worse) actually gets a bye solely based on the geographic alignment of their division. This nearly happened in 2006, but it was before the one game format. But if it had been adopted at that time, the Dodgers had tied for the second best record in the NL and would have had to play one game to keep going, while the Cardinals and their 5th best record would have received a bye (and, naturally, they went on to win the World Series)...

[Bellhorn04]

Why not? Most playoff formats do that. The only league in the USA that does not is the NFL.

I don't mind the best record still having to play in the first round, but I think a 5 game series at minimum would be better. The real problem MLB is facing is that if they retain this format, the post season could drag on to nearly Thanksgiving and the legitimate threat of snow-outs increases substantially.

I do hate the Wild Card one-game format for the simple reason that the team with the second best record stands a chance at being eliminated after one game, with the possibility hat the team with the fifth best record (or even worse) actually gets a bye solely based on the geographic alignment of their division. This nearly happened in 2006, but it was before the one game format. But if it had been adopted at that time, the Dodgers had tied for the second best record in the NL and would have had to play one game to keep going, while the Cardinals and their 5th best record would have received a bye (and, naturally, they went on to win the World Series)...

MLB expressly revamped their playoff format to give more of a reward to the division winners.

I do agree that a 3 of 5 would be an improvement.

The NBA and NHL don't have 2 of 3's.

[jacksonianmarch]

The shorter the series, the more lopsided the result in favor of teams with aces

[notin]

MLB expressly revamped their playoff format to give more of a reward to the division winners.

I do agree that a 3 of 5 would be an improvement.

The NBA and NHL don't have 2 of 3's.

Oh I do not like the 2 of 3 format. But those leagues do not give byes to the best record(s) either.

I really do not even like the "division winner" thing. That means very good teams in tough divisions get eliminated while other teams advance solely because all the other teams in their geographic alignment just happen to suck even more...

[notin]

MLB expressly revamped their playoff format to give more of a reward to the division winners.

But is that really fair?

For example, in 2012, the Tigers won the AL Central with 88 wins. The Rays won 90 games that year (and in a clearly tougher division) and missed the postseason entirely!

This also nearly happened in 2018, also to the Rays, who won 90 games and missed the postseason, while Cleveland won 91 games and was a division winner. We actually could have had a scenario where Tampa won 96 games and Cleveland won as few as 79 and Cleveland was the team that advanced to a full best of seven, while Tampa did not even get a one-game wild card opportunity...

[mvp 78]

I'm hoping that there is multiple play in games for this lame playoff system.

[Bellhorn04]

But is that really fair?

For example, in 2012, the Tigers won the AL Central with 88 wins. The Rays won 90 games that year (and in a clearly tougher division) and missed the postseason entirely!

This also nearly happened in 2018, also to the Rays, who won 90 games and missed the postseason, while Cleveland won 91 games and was a division winner. We actually could have had a scenario where Tampa won 96 games and Cleveland won as few as 79 and Cleveland was the team that advanced to a full best of seven, while Tampa did not even get a one-game wild card opportunity...

I had no problem with the "old" 8 team system, myself.

[mvp 78]

I had no problem with the "old" 8 team system, myself.

Would you prefer:
8 divisions
4 divisions (plus 4 WC)
6 divisions (plus 2 WC)

[Bellhorn04]

Would you prefer:
8 divisions
4 divisions (plus 4 WC)
6 divisions (plus 2 WC)

#2 looks good to me.