Wednesday, September 24, 2008

If the Cubs are smart...

...they'll continue to rest players in earnest against the Mets. If New York and Philadelphia make the postseason, the two NL East rivals cannot play each other in the first round of the playoffs. The division winner, which would more likely be Philadelphia, gets the Dodgers in the division series. The Cubs would get the Wild Card.

Playing the Mets in the first round is a much better situation for Chicago than playing the red hot Dodgers. If Chicago gets its way, Philly and LA will beat up on each other for the right to go to the Windy City.

Then again, the Cubs have to watch what the Phillies are doing tonight. If Philadelphia loses, the Cubs might want to go ahead and win. I don't think they want New York to catch them and force the Phils to visit Chicago.

Yankees on elimination, MLB playoff fairness

The Yankees elimination from the postseason race was met with general disappointment from the players. Disappointment, according to Mike Mussina, that goes back further than this year.
"We've been disappointed for a little longer than just today," Mussina said. "Yeah, mathematically [the team was alive], but realistically ... for us to win them all and [the Red Sox] to lose them all ..."
Hank Steinbrenner, however, was not willing to blame the Yankees, but instead the system that governs postseason selection. This is an excerpt from The Sporting News
"The biggest problem is the divisional setup in Major League Baseball. I didn't like it in the 1970s, and I hate it now. Baseball went to a multidivision setup to create more races, rivalries and excitement. But it isn't fair."
I actually understand what he's saying. In the past, the winner of the National League played the winner of the American League. The best teams made the world series, regardless of geography. Now there's a team selected from the East, the Midwest and the West, plus one Wild Card. It makes no sense for an average team from a weak division to make the postseason. It makes sense for a good team from a strong division, whether than finish second or third, to make the postseason. The NFL has similar problems with its structure. There's no way that a team like the Dodgers had as difficult a time making the playoffs as the Yankees did.

If baseball were smart, they'd end the divisional format and make a single division in the AL and the NL. A balance schedule would make this very possible. The top four teams make the postseason. First place would play fourth place in the first divisional series. Second place would play third place. It makes more sense to open the race up to everybody, especially when you have a division as tough as the AL East.

Cabrera helps the BoSox?

Asdrubal Cabrera began serving his suspension Tuesday. He'll miss the entire Indians-Red Sox series, which can't hurt Boston's chase for Tampa.