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 Spedito - 13/07/2022 : 06:37:23
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Expanded https://www.capanthersfans.com/carolina-panthers-pet-gear MLB playoffs are coming. Whether this year or next, whether involving 12 teams or 14, they're coming. The only questions are about size and format.
The i sue is one of the big sticking points in the ongoing contentious CBA negotiations, but it's also an area that could serve as a breakthrough point toward an agreement.
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MLB wants a 14-team postseason to maximize profits and to get as many fan bases as po sible invested in late-season games. The players prefer 12 teams, saying it accomplishes MLB's goals for an expanded postseason without diluting the competition too much. Players are reportedly open to a 14-team setup, perhaps incorporating a "ghost win," meaning division winners would go into the first round already up 1-0.
But there's a way to make a 14-team postseason work without the weird ghost wins rewarding division winners, keeping more fan bases engaged, making it hard for wild cards to advance and, most importantly, generating $100 million-plus in revenue for MLB's coffers.
Here's the basic breakdown:
The three division winners in each league get a first-round bye.Four wild-card teams in each league play a one-game playoff to determine who competes in the best-of-three wild-card series.The winner of the wild-card series advances to the LDS to face the division winner with the best record.The higher seeds host all games in the wild-card round and the tournament is played over four consecutive days.No ghost wins. Winning your division still matters. Wild-card teams have to really earn their postseason succe s. It's not perfect, but we should not let perfect be the enemy of good.
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Let's use the 2021 American League standings to illustrate how this would work.
The Rays, White Sox and Astros https://www.capanthersfans.com/c-j-henderson-jerseys , having each won their division, go directly to the ALDS, regardle s of record.The four wild-card teams, seeded based on record, are the Red Sox (No. 1), Yankees (No. 2), Blue Jays (No. 3) and Mariners (No. 4).The Red Sox and Mariners play a one-game playoff in Boston. The Yankees and Blue Jays do likewise in New York.The winner of the Red Sox-Mariners game plays the winner of the Yankees-Blue Jays game in a best-of-three series starting the next day at the home of the higher seed.The winner of the wild-card series advances to play the division winner with the best record, which in 2021 was the Rays, in the ALDS. The White Sox and Astros play in the other ALDS. Both begin the same day.Wild Card Week schedule: Sunday (regular season ends); Monday (off day for potential tie-breaker games); Tuesday (four one-game wild-card playoffs); Wednesday (best-of-three wild-card series begin); Saturday (ALDS and NLDS begin).Why this could work: If the goal is to excite more fan bases late in the season but also reward division winners and make it hard for wild cards to advance and, yes, maximize TV money for MLB something like this has appeal.
Division winners get the benefit of time off to rest, heal, set their pitching rotation and better plan for the LDS. The wild-card team, meanwhile, have to endure a grind to advance to the https://www.capanthersfans.com/phil-hoskins-jerseys LDS, potentially putting them at a disadvantage with energy and stamina. This keeps division titles relevant and advantageous and le sens the likelihood of mediocre teams getting hot and fluking their way to the World Series.
Also, given the challenges of the wild-card round, it could spur bubble teams to be active at the deadline and/or spend more in free agency to either make a run for the division title or be better suited to win the wild-card portion.
Picking it apart, Point I: Perhaps the biggest negative in this plan is the length of time off for the division winners. As proposed, they would get five days off before the start of the division series, and that's a suming no rainouts or other delays. That's a long time to wait. But it also could be a big advantage.
Picking it apart, Point II: Holding the wild-card round over four straight high-stre s days could significantly wear down teams' pitching staffs and leave them at a big disadvantage in later rounds. Potential fix: Allow an extra roster spot or two for the wild-card round (for a total of 27 or 28).
Questions without good answers: Would the five-day layoff for division winners potentially do more harm than good? Does the addition of a wild-card series give bubble teams enough motivation to make trades to get better? Is it right to deprive fans of lower-seeded wild-card teams the opportunity to see their squads play postseason games at home? Would this version of expanded playoffs nece sitate a shorter regular season? What's the optimal number of games to keep the regular season meaningful?
FAGAN:
Given the way the CBA talks have gone, a 14-team playoff field seems inevitable if the MLBPA hopes to get conce sions from the owners on the competitive balance tax or any other sticking point. But it's also the biggest bargaining chip the union has, so the question becomes whether players should use it now to help get the 2022 season underway or https://www.capanthersfans.com/austin-corbett-jerseys save it to make gains in a future CBA.
But as the calendar become more of an enemy in the way of a 2022 season that resembles anything close to normal, it's a conversation worth serious discu sion before MLB cedes more relevance in the public consciousne s and loses more ground that it'll never get back. |
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How an imperfect 14-team MLB playoff cou
