Miami Herald

ALCS NOTEBOOK

Selig wants to see change

 

BY KEVIN BAXTER

kbaxter@MiamiHerald.com

 

Commissioner Bud Selig said Friday he would like to tweak the postseason schedule before next season, adding an additional hurdle for wild-card teams and moving at least one World Series game to a day start.

 

Speaking to reporters Friday before Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, Selig suggested the extra home game a division champion gets isn't enough of a reward for beating a wild-card team during the regular season. Wild-card teams have advanced to the World Series in five of the past six seasons, winning four times.

 

''It's something we're going to look at,'' said Selig, who declined to discuss any ideas that might be under consideration.

 

``We're going to review that. I've been spending a lot of time thinking about that.''

 

As for the World Series schedule, Selig has been criticized for starting games too late for children on the East Coast to watch. He hopes to address that concern during negotiations with Fox this winter.

 

''The problem is the ratings,'' Selig said. 'Even today, we have a lot of day games and the ratings for all day games are just not what night games are. So when people say to me, `Well, you are depriving a lot of people [by having all night games],' in truth, if you want to look at the number of people watching, it gets greater and greater as nights go on.''

 

NO GRUDGE HERE

 

When Oakland general manager Billy Beane learned his team had spent its first pick in the 2001 draft on a high school pitcher, he was so angry he put a hole in a Sheetrock wall.

 

Or so the story goes.

 

Beane said his anger has been exaggerated in the retelling but not, apparently, his disagreement with the choice since he traded Jeremy Bonderman to the Tigers a year to the day after signing him.

 

Bonderman gets the ultimate chance at revenge today when he takes the mound with a chance to end the season for Beane and the Athletics while sending his Tigers to the World Series. But Bonderman, who knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs in his last start, said he would not use Beane's slight as motivation.

 

''For me to have a grudge against the team . . . you've got to put that aside,'' he said. ``This is a shot of a lifetime to go to the World Series and I want to do the best I can to give my team the opportunity to go there.''

 

DANDY DEBUT

 

When second baseman Mark Kiger entered the game for Oakland as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, he became the first player to make his big-league debut in a postseason game.

 

Kiger, who split the season between Double A and Triple A, was added to the A's roster after Mark Ellis fractured a finger during the division series.

If anything, they should be expanding the number of teams eligible for postseason play in each league from four to six.

 

Just because wildcard teams have been making it to the WS lately doesn't mean there's suddenly parity in a sport that sorely lacks it.

Selig is a dumbass. Why even have the Wild Card if you want the team to have to overcome some stupid sh*t just to get there? The better team always wins. Period. What are they gonna do now, have every game played at the Division Champs Stadium? He says "It's something we're going to look at" like it's a bad thing that Wild Card teams have won the WS.

So, when is Selig supposed to be retiring again?

Why do we need another Wild Card this year?

 

Look at the patheticness of the NL this.

Wild Card teams winning it all isn't a problem. The postseason is perfect as it is, don't mess with it.

 

I do like the day game in The Show idea.

This is basically a "keep big market teams in the playoffs as long as possible" rule.

 

 

Edit: Nice job with Bonderman deal, Beane-boy. How's Carlos Pena working out?

This is BS especially since the Wild Card team has had the better record than some of the division champions in some cases.

 

The Red Sox, 97 and 2003 Marlins come to mind right off the top of my head.

 

MLB and the media pumps up the Yankees, Red Sox and other big market teams so much, that when the little guy makes the playoffs the casual fan says to him/herself "Who the f*** are these guys?"

This is BS especially since the Wild Card team has had the better record than some of the division champions in some cases.

 

The Red Sox, 97 and 2003 Marlins come to mind right off the top of my head.

 

MLB and the media pumps up the Yankees, Red Sox and other big market teams so much, that when the little guy makes the playoffs the casual fan says to him/herself "Who the f*** are these guys?"

 

He's willing to help big Market teams but he cant say anything to Loria

I would like to see each league have 2 wildcard entrants.

 

Have a Wildcard Series (best of 3) between the two Wildcards. The team that wins that goes to play the highest seeded team in the Division Series.

 

That would give the non-wildcard team the advantage of having the other team's starters out of order.

I think it's fine as it is but I wouldn't be opposed to 2 more wilcard teams.

I wouldn't add more wildcards. I would make all the rounds best of 7 with the team with the better record getting 5 home games and I would have only 1 day off in each series.

what they need to do is split off into four divisions with no wild cards

That's just flat out stupid. Often times, the wild card team has a better record than another team in their league who won a division.

Pretty lame for Selig to make these comments in the middle of the playoffs with a wild card team on its way to the World Series. I will not shed a tear when this guy is no longer the commissioner.

The playoffs need to stay as they are but i wouldn't be opposed to seeing

a few W.S. games during the day.

that'd be reaaally dumb to move a world series game to a day game..omg.