Changed to post season baseball

[rudel.dietrich]

Baseball seeks end to playoff embarrassments - Posted Sports


I am glad I am not the only one who thought the way last season ended was a travesty. I was criticized on these forums for expressing my belief that the end of the season was 'tarnished' after rain shortened the last game and then it was not picked up again until 48 hours later and then lasted on three innings.
It was a terrible way to end the season and for me ruined the entire playoffs.
Hopefully the league office will also review the way in which playoff games are handled when bad weather may be an issue. Game five never should have started much less been ended after six innings only to be picked up two nights later. The fifth and sixth inning could hardly even be called baseball because of the amount of rain that was pouring down.

[spark240]

I actually like seeing baseball under adverse conditions, as it tests a broader range of a team's attributes.

I like the changes noted in the article--pretty much commonsense items that should have been that way to begin with.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by spark240

I actually like seeing baseball under adverse conditions, as it tests a broader range of a team's attributes.

I like the changes noted in the article--pretty much commonsense items that should have been that way to begin with.

I was a baseball player up to the collegiate level and I never played in conditions that exsisted in game five. However I did play in a hard rain and baseball in those conditions ceases to be baseball at all.
Baseball is meant to be a warm weather sport played in dry conditions. The handling of game five was a complete disaster.

[Le Grande Orange]

The suspending of a game regardless of the inning due to bad weather I agree with, and it certainly seems odd why that change wasn't made years ago. I don't really agree with the tiebreaking playoff game change though. Coin tosses have been used for many decades to determine the site of such games, and I see no pressing need for a change. Though I suppose since it's now possible for an MLB team to win a division title solely on the basis of head-to-head record using the same criteria for home field in a tiebreaking playoff game seems a decent fit.

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

Baseball seeks end to playoff embarrassments - Posted Sports


I am glad I am not the only one who thought the way last season ended was a travesty. I was criticized on these forums for expressing my belief that the end of the season was 'tarnished' after rain shortened the last game and then it was not picked up again until 48 hours later and then lasted on three innings.
It was a terrible way to end the season and for me ruined the entire playoffs.
Hopefully the league office will also review the way in which playoff games are handled when bad weather may be an issue. Game five never should have started much less been ended after six innings only to be picked up two nights later. The fifth and sixth inning could hardly even be called baseball because of the amount of rain that was pouring down.

I honestly think Selig took way too much heat for this at the time and still do now. Just imagine if he had looked at the forecast and called off the game and then the weather systems took a slightly more southerly track and it ended up with a light drizzle that the whole game could have easily been played through. Then the same conditions occurred for the next two days as did, and instead of either the series being over or back in St. Petersburg, everyone was hand-wringing over choosing to cancel the game too early.

[mikev]

Ooh ooh, I know!!!

DON'T LET THE SEASON LAST UNTIL THE LAST WEEK OF OCTOBER!

[Tony M]

play only 6 days a week, 2 games a day. That'll get the regular season over in 14 weeks. Means the playoffs can be in August if so desired.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by Tony M

play only 6 days a week, 2 games a day. That'll get the regular season over in 14 weeks. Means the playoffs can be in August if so desired.

Yeah. Make the overpaid babies earn their money!!

[CBL-Commish]

Originally Posted by Tony M

play only 6 days a week, 2 games a day. That'll get the regular season over in 14 weeks. Means the playoffs can be in August if so desired.

60 or 70 years ago it was commonplace for a team to play 1/3 or more of their games as part of a doubleheader. I think a few teams even approached half of their schedule in twin bills because of rainouts. I'm sure LGO has this data somewhere.

[SJM1583]

I think Tony's proposal takes it a bit too far. Scheduled doubleheaders every Sunday would shorten the regular season sufficiently.
On top of that, the post-season should be held with fewer days off to replicate the regular season more closely, a team that made the playoffs on the strength of 5 solid starters is at a disadvantage to the team that has 3 good starters and 2 really poor ones.

The changes in that article were certainly good ones, though.

[PotatoPeeler]

Originally Posted by mikev

Ooh ooh, I know!!!

DON'T LET THE SEASON LAST UNTIL THE LAST WEEK OF OCTOBER!

Agreed. Shorten the season to 154 games and play more double-headers. Of course, we all know that will never happen since fewer games translates into less money. I'm surprised Selig hasn't pushed for 200 game seasons yet.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by mikev

Ooh ooh, I know!!!

DON'T LET THE SEASON LAST UNTIL THE LAST WEEK OF OCTOBER!

It's going to be worse in that regard this year thanks to the late start of the regular season due to the World Baseball Classic. The season opens this year on Sunday, April 5th, and closes on Sunday, Oct. 4th. As a result, if the World Series goes seven games, the last game would be played on Nov. 5th (assuming the same sort of post-season schedule as has been used the last two seasons). Without the WBC, the season likely would have opened a week earlier on March 29th and thus would have closed a week earlier as well.

Originally Posted by SJM1583

Scheduled doubleheaders every Sunday would shorten the regular season sufficiently.

Won't happen though, because the financial incentive to doubleheaders has long since passed. The reason why scheduled Sunday doubleheaders were common in MLB in earlier years was because the two-for-one deal they offered resulted in more fans attending that if the games had been held as single Sunday and Monday contests. But that hasn't been the case for some time now.

Originally Posted by SJM1583

On top of that, the post-season should be held with fewer days off to replicate the regular season more closely...

Four additional off days were added to the post-season schedule in 2007 to satisfy a requirement in MLB's television contract with Fox. Given the importance of such TV contracts, it doesn't seem likely those off days are going to be removed any time soon.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

I honestly think Selig took way too much heat for this at the time and still do now. Just imagine if he had looked at the forecast and called off the game and then the weather systems took a slightly more southerly track and it ended up with a light drizzle that the whole game could have easily been played through. Then the same conditions occurred for the next two days as did, and instead of either the series being over or back in St. Petersburg, everyone was hand-wringing over choosing to cancel the game too early.

I much rather would have seen that than what took place.

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

I much rather would have seen that than what took place.

If that had happened you wouldn't have had what took place so you wouldn't have known about it. Therefore it's revisionist. Not blaming you at all, because a lot of people did it.

[PotatoPeeler]

I don't understand about what was so bad about that playoff game. Sure, the umps should have suspended it before they did, but they ended up getting it right regardless. So what is there to bitch about? ???

If you want to complain about something, you should complain about Philadelphia sending a guy out to the mound who MLB knew had violated a substance rule.

[spark240]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

However I did play in a hard rain and baseball in those conditions ceases to be baseball at all.

Baseball is meant to be a warm weather sport played in dry conditions.

I disagree.

I think baseball should be played under a range of natural outdoor conditions, centered around--but not limited to--perfect summer days.

When the wind is gusty, or the ground is soggy, the parameters of the game change a little, just as they do when the outfield fence is close on one side, or the grass is particularly long. Baseball under different parameters tests slightly different skill sets. It may not always be fun for the players, but as a fan, this is interesting to watch.

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

The handling of game five was a complete disaster.

Disagree there too. Yes, it could have been suspended a little earlier, but the reason it wasn't was a rules situation which has now been rectified. So no real harm was done this time, and everybody's clear for next time. Not a "disaster" by any stretch.

[Left-handed Badger]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

I honestly think Selig took way too much heat for this at the time and still do now. Just imagine if he had looked at the forecast and called off the game and then the weather systems took a slightly more southerly track and it ended up with a light drizzle that the whole game could have easily been played through. Then the same conditions occurred for the next two days as did, and instead of either the series being over or back in St. Petersburg, everyone was hand-wringing over choosing to cancel the game too early.

Well, I guess the handwringing is understandable. Given that flack given over the tie All-Star game a few years ago. And the joke of a solution to make it count as which league get home-field advantage.