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Took my first look at what the Shot-Callers are saying. Was quite surprised at how serious the groundswell is.
Not surprising at all that Bud Selig -- the man who cried for mercy for 20 years in Milwaukee -- would sympathize with the poor l'il baseball fan in Seattle. Was a little surprised, though, that he slammed down the uncompromising demands that he did.
Was even more surprised to grok that the 30 owners have a clear consensus on it.
And the most surprised that the union is going to rubber-stamp it, without trying to lever the concept into side payments to its advantage.
So, it's 2013 or even very possibly 2012.
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=== Chuck Armstrong 'As Long As We Have Edgar, I Favor the DH' Dept. ===
Perhaps no teams in baseball are as desperate to see the WC2 as are the expansion sisters Seattle and Tampa. Think about it. Texas, Boston, New York and perhaps Philadelphia are the only monster trucks grinding over the loose dirt of their own divisions. Teams from the AL Central can reasonably plan on trying to win their own divisions. Same goes for teams in the NL West and Central.
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=== One-Game Playoff ===
Fans scream bloody murder about the idea of a 1-game playoff between the #4 and #5 seeds in each league. But I have an inkling for it, and I'll tell you why:
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1) A 1-game playoff is a coin flip ... maybe a 60-40 loaded coin, but 60-40, one game, that's a coin flip.
I approve of this. This instantly devalues the Wild Card to about 50% of what a division win is worth. Right now the Wild Card is worth about 90%, 95% of a division win.
Under the 1-game playoff, with division winners earning a bye, you've got a 2:1 ratio in value going. That's a perfect ratio for me.
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2) It creates a deliciously nuanced subplot in the last week of the season. The WC candidates would have to try to position themselves to get their Felix or Verlander or Price positioned for the Wild Card game.
This sub-theme would be unique in baseball history, would add freshness and electricity to the dash to the wire. (Wild Card teams could complain that this penalizes them, having to use Felix to survive the WC, but again, winning the division should be rewarded.)
Can you afford to mix up your rotation in the last week? Well, as the #5 team, have you earned yourself a margin of 2-3 games? Do you want to risk it? All of this would make for awesome baseball intrigue.
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And note that the #4 seed would thusly gain a nice advantage over the #5 seed. It's much more likely to be in shape to rest its ace.
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Even further: note the added value that the Cy Youngs of the game receive under this baseball system. Dr. D approves of this also. Memorable sports moments revolve around the legends of the game. Last night I watched a 1993 Sonics-Rockets replay, with Akeem the Dream just losing in Game 7 ....
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=== Gimme 1995. Another Six or Eight Times ===
Most fans will say, "at least make it a 3-game series. Then skill will prevail, rather than luck." Maybe, but a 3-game series is pretty much a roll of the dice, too .... how often do the teams split 1-1 anyway? So why not just cut to the chase and pile the intensity into the one game?
Plus the division winners don't sit around and get stale.
You don't like playing Russian Roulette in one game, fine. Win your division. If you slink into the postseason through the back door, you have to face a 50-50 firing squad. Survive that, and you get total forgiveness. I like the way it separates bona fide division winners and chumps, let's say the 2012 Mariners, sliding in through the WC.
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You could argue the options 80,000 ways, as far as what's "scientifically best." I'm just sayin'. I'd love to watch a #4 team play a #5 team, one game. You could have 1995 every year.
My $0.02,
Dr D