In response to markrahobeth's comment:

To you and to Pinstripe....very true / an oversight on my part.  I guess I didn't mention the Yankees because they ended up winning the division and them dealing with the WC is a non issue.  And I do wonder if we really mean lay down or continue to play like garbage.

YES.

tonight is must see tv.  game 1's between these teams i probably would not tune in the whole time.

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Should be 2 of 3 at a minimum. The only reason for the WC to begin with was to have even number of teams for playoffs.

Bottom line is it's all about added revenue. Ideally what should happen, is to eliminate the WC altogether and do one of the following:

1) Divison winners from each league with the best record, get a bye round. Or,

2) Expand MLB to 32 teams, and create 4 divisions in each league.

have a great weekend all...enjoy the games...

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Hard to support playing 162 games for a 1 game playoff...and then watch what happened in Atlanta, TO Atlanta.

I don't know what the ump was thinking...terrible call. No reason at ALL to call an infield fly that far OUT of the infield. I rarely see it called there, and to have it rob Atlanta of a very real chance to start a rally and tie the game, in the money-grabbing 1 game playoff with their seaosn on the line, in the 8th inning...that's inexcusable. Simply atrocio`us, that guy better not work another game this post-season.

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In response to pinstripezac's comment:

You can't justify giving 3 teams a bye...which is essentially what would happen with a 3 or 5 game series. Unless only 1 team gets to wait...but in baseball, teams tend not to want a week-long layoff.

It certainly generates some money given add revenue for the one game, but more to the point, it keeps fans, and advertisers, sucked in through the end of the season acoss MANY more markets. Same reason so many games are on during primetime during the season. Just 20 years ago I can rmemeber the sox playing PLENTY of 1 or 3:00 games during the season...they simply don't exist during the week anymore. You see it in all sports: in football, they've taken plays OUT of the game with the running clock because they want 1:00 games to end neatly before 4:00 games, and they never considered simply shortening commercial breaks, or lessening the frequency of them. No, they shortened half time, and instituted the running clock. Hockey pioneered the "tv timeout". Basketball...just stinks, I don't care about the NBA.

I like it. The remaining wild card team should be at a disadavantage when playing the top seed. 

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I hope the Orioles beat the Yankees and then say 'we think the one game playoff really helped us stay sharp.' 

You're absolutely right zac...it is a business. And that very fact sometimes makes me sad. I should just accept it for what it is...but I can't. Money has ruined many things in the history of mankind, and it is now (and has been) tainting sports. Reality? Absolutely, but I don't have to like it.

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Good quote but Cobb played in a time where most needed second jobs.  Ty Cobb came from a slave holding family;  it's ironic that he had any work ethic.  How is this quote relevant to the modern game? 

More importantly, why does Baltimore get to host the Yanks in Camden, if the Yanks won the division?  They split their 18 game series. 

baseball playoffs (not the world series) build up slowly....single elimination works wonders for the NFL (wild card teams) and gives the postseason an immediate urgency...I say thumbs up!

I like the idea of the WC team entering the tournament (after the WC play-off game) putting them at a further disadvantage to the Div winners because of the travel and because of using their best pitchers in the WC game.

I always felt that the WC teams should not receive the same recognition in the play-offs as the div champs.

This makes the climb to the top a little steeper for WC teams as it should be.

 

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In response to soups's comment:

A flaw.

I hate the 5 game series.

But that being said the first game at least should be in YS they are the division champs.

The O's should be traveling to NY not the Yankees to Baltimore as a visiting team.

In response to ThatWasMe's comment:

There's unfairness inherent in the division system, and nothing has changed about that.  Why do the Tigers deserve to be in ahead of the Rangers?  The Tigers are only in because they had the good fortune of being in the weakest division.

I don't buy the idea that the new WC is here to increase fairness.  It's here to promote late-season interest by keeping more teams in it.  It's here to increase the entertainment factor and the money.  On that count it does look to be successful.

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In response to pike's comment:

I could be having a heart attack.

A good baseball post by pike which I agree with.

In response to Hfxsoxnut's comment:

I agree Bob, just don't now how you could fix it.

It's not like the 2nd place Whitesox weren't competitive.

I do agree though that the 3 top teams in the west made it a better division.

Besides the balance between teams and divisions can change considerably in 1 season.

A few good rookies and FA signings can greatly improve a team.

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