Change the Playoff format?

[furcalchick]

for the past few days, i've been hearing members of the media talk about changing the playoff formats because of the non-races this year, and i'm a bit hung on the issue. i'm just going to list the ones i heard and why they proposed them.

 

1. Keep playoffs as is.

 

2. Shorten the regular season to 154 games, LDS goes to best of seven.

 

3. The Smoltz plan: we have two halves of a season, 2-3 divisions in each league, and get rid of the wild card. each half winner in each division goes to the playoffs. this has teams that have a good second half a chance to get into the playoffs, like the orioles and such.

 

4. The Verducci plan: add a second wild card, and the two wild cards play a best of three series, while the division winners get to relax, and the wild card winner doesn't get a day off.

 

5. The Cowherd plan: shorten the season by a month, and turn august-october into a 16 team playoff like the nba, as he thinks the pennant races have become irrelevant by september and are losing eyeballs by football, and it would dominate those months. he says the nba benefits from two month playoffs with huge ratings, however, the nba regular season is somewhat irrelevant.

 

i'm okay with every option expect the last one, as it turns baseball into NBA-lite, and i don't want that.

[gizmo]

I Like Cowherd, but he knows jack about baseball. The Verducci/Stark plan would be my choice if any change were to happen.

 

I don't really know how i feel about the Smoltz plan.

[Rabbethan]

I think all of those are worse for than what we have now. The Verducci/Stark plan is probably the best of them (there's a whole thread about it just a bit down) but my biggest problem with that is that I feel it's brought up because it would be better for ratings instead of the good of the game.

 

 

And that Cowherd plan is horrific. Just one of the worst things I've ever heard.

[Schnellders]

I quite like the Verducci plan of another wildcard team. Maybe they could play the 3 game series at a neutral venue?

[MrMarlinPride]

The Verducci plan is like a dream coming true!

[SongInTheAir]

Basketball is hilarious to me for many reasons, the playoff system being the most laughter inducing. No team with a losing record should EVER make the playoffs in any sport/competition.

[I Love Me Some Fish]

Basketball is hilarious to me for many reasons, the playoff system being the most laughter inducing. No team with a losing record should EVER make the playoffs in any sport/competition.

 

 

I'm lost...

[Erick]

The Cowherd plan is stupid, and the Smoltz plan is stupid, as well.

[I Love Me Some Fish]

Smoltz's plan would put the Rockies in the playoffs year in and year out.

[Admin]

They are all pretty idiotic, with special emphasis on the Smoltz (the worst) and the Cowherd plan (second worse).

 

I hate the Verducci (and I don't know why this is attributed to him. It has been proposed countless times over the years) as well, but I've gone over this at length in the other thread. I don't quite get the popular appeal of this, but "to each his own" I suppose.

 

I'll simply repeat my ideal plan (which I proposed in the other thread).

 

28 Teams. 4 divisions (2 in each league). No interleague. No Wild Card. No unbalanced schedule. Yes, this is basically 1994.

 

I think this will inevitably make the pennant races more exciting because the playoff teams will be elite and the division races will be tighter (more good teams will be competing for less spots).

 

My basis argument is this: the game of baseball is inherently at odds with tournament style, short series (1, 3 or even 5 series) play. All of the proposals I see basically move baseball toward what works for football, but not baseball.

 

Extending the LDS to 7 games would be acceptable. I'm fine with keeping things the way they are and realize that my model will never be implemented, but out of all of the possible changes that could happen, I'd support changing the LDS to 7 games. Start the regular season a bit earlier and get rid of most of the off-days. Short series load the outcome heavily in favor of the team with the better front end of the rotation and not necessarily the entire rotation. 7 games is the perfect number.

[Admin]

Smoltz's plan would put the Rockies in the playoffs year in and year out.

 

What makes the regular season interesting for me is seeing teams like the Padres fall over the course of 162 games.

 

This is a team that looked merely "better than average" on paper and had a run that seemed (to me) too good to be true. People like to emphasize "pitching and defense" but with a lineup pretty poor outside of Gonzalez, a mild collapse was inevitable.

 

I honestly can't say one good thing about the Smoltz plan.

[Puma]

Cowherd is the biggest joke in radio. He should be kicked off the air for proposing such an idea. To quote the high school principal from Billy Madison, "Everyone in the room is now dumber for having listened to it."

 

The only thing I think MLB should mimic from the NBA playoff system is the 2-2-1-1-1 format in the LCS and World Series where the team with home field advantage would host games 1, 2, 5, and 7 while the other team hosts games 3, 4, and 6. The team with home field "advantage" in the current 2-3-2 format having to play 3 straight games on the road is a bit unfair IMO.

[I Love Me Some Fish]

Smoltz's plan would put the Rockies in the playoffs year in and year out.

 

What makes the regular season interesting for me is seeing teams like the Padres fall over the course of 162 games.

 

This is a team that looked merely "better than average" on paper and had a run that seemed (to me) too good to be true. People like to emphasize "pitching and defense" but with a lineup pretty poor outside of Gonzalez, a mild collapse was inevitable.

 

I honestly can't say one good thing about the Smoltz plan.

 

I agree...but instead of the Padres, the Mets would have been the perfect example.

[Dr Beinfest]

I think all of those are worse for than what we have now. The Verducci/Stark plan is probably the best of them (there's a whole thread about it just a bit down) but my biggest problem with that is that I feel it's brought up because it would be better for ratings instead of the good of the game.

 

 

And that Cowherd plan is horrific. Just one of the worst things I've ever heard.

 

 

One of the worst things you've ever heard... just look at the guy's name...

 

I disagree though. The Smoltz plan is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. Yeah, lets let half a season decide whether you go to the playoffs or not. Because you know... if you already make it in the playoffs from your first half season you're good to just play like sh*t for the second half. Or... what happens when you win it twice? Yeah.. that doesnt make any sense either. As stupid as Cowherd's plan is, it actually makes sense. The Smoltz one definitely doesnt make any sense.

 

Anyways... when are they going to get it? The playoff structure is great as it is right now. Let it be.

[Something_Fishy]

For the record, anything proposed/supported by Colin Cowherd is immediately discredited. The man is a joke and a complete and utter buffoon. I hate him on Sportsnation, I hate him when his show pops up on 790...the man is insufferable. Figures he would tote some NBA-style playoff, given he's such a douche-lined dumbass.

 

/rant.

[furcalchick]

The only thing I think MLB should mimic from the NBA playoff system is the 2-2-1-1-1 format in the LCS and World Series where the team with home field advantage would host games 1, 2, 5, and 7 while the other team hosts games 3, 4, and 6. The team with home field "advantage" in the current 2-3-2 format having to play 3 straight games on the road is a bit unfair IMO.

 

 

2-2-1-1-1 is probably more fair, but there's two reasons why mlb won't go to this. the first is the increase of travel. instead of two travel days, now you have four, artificially extending the length of the series, and costing more $$$. and related to that, baseball is an every day sport, unlike basketball and hockey, and as we have seen with these long series gaps that everyone complains about the last few seasons, it kills the momentum, and you only need to pitch your top three guys, etc. so 2-3-2 is better for baseball, and shouldn't change.

[FutureGM]

I think it makes a hell of a lot more sense to reduce the meaning of divisions and have the four teams from each league who get into the playoffs have the four best records in their leagues. So you actually need to be GOOD to make it. Granted, this puts the NL Central at a disadvantage, but who cares about those guys?

[Rabbethan]

I think all of those are worse for than what we have now. The Verducci/Stark plan is probably the best of them (there's a whole thread about it just a bit down) but my biggest problem with that is that I feel it's brought up because it would be better for ratings instead of the good of the game.

 

 

And that Cowherd plan is horrific. Just one of the worst things I've ever heard.

 

 

One of the worst things you've ever heard... just look at the guy's name...

 

I disagree though. The Smoltz plan is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. Yeah, lets let half a season decide whether you go to the playoffs or not. Because you know... if you already make it in the playoffs from your first half season you're good to just play like sh*t for the second half. Or... what happens when you win it twice? Yeah.. that doesnt make any sense either. As stupid as Cowherd's plan is, it actually makes sense. The Smoltz one definitely doesnt make any sense.

 

Anyways... when are they going to get it? The playoff structure is great as it is right now. Let it be.

The big difference is that Smoltz's system is actually used in pro baseball. The Southern League, where our Suns are in the playoffs right now, uses it for instance as do a couple other leagues. The Suns actually did what you brought up, won both halves.

 

The way it works is the league has 2 divisions. The teams that win the first half clinch a spot in the playoffs. If that same team wins the second half then the second best team in the division gets a wild card spot, locking the first team in with home field advantage.

[Dr Beinfest]

I think it's extremely stupid. You play a full season for a reason.

[Rabbethan]

I think it's extremely stupid. You play a full season for a reason.

 

I think it's stupid to have in the majors but it's not nearly as bad as Cowherd's in my opinion.

[Dr Beinfest]

Personally, as stupid as Cowherd's is, I could actually imagine it. But I could never, ever imagine playoffs based off of different halves of the season, I think that's incredibly stupid.

[Rabbethan]

Personally, as stupid as Cowherd's is, I could actually imagine it. But I could never, ever imagine playoffs based off of different halves of the season, I think that's incredibly stupid.

 

You don't have to imagine it my friend, it's real and exists in this sport.

[heat84]

Personally, as stupid as Cowherd's is, I could actually imagine it. But I could never, ever imagine playoffs based off of different halves of the season, I think that's incredibly stupid.

 

You don't have to imagine it my friend, it's real and exists in this sport.

They do it in the minors, so why wouldn't it work in MLB? What happens if the same team wins both halves?

 

 

I guess the extra wildcard team is a good idea.

[Rabbethan]

Personally, as stupid as Cowherd's is, I could actually imagine it. But I could never, ever imagine playoffs based off of different halves of the season, I think that's incredibly stupid.

 

You don't have to imagine it my friend, it's real and exists in this sport.

They do it in the minors, so why wouldn't it work in MLB? What happens if the same team wins both halves?

 

 

I guess the extra wildcard team is a good idea.

Then the runner-up in the overall season becomes a wild card team.

[Rabbethan]

BTW, another reason you don't have to imagine it is because we've already had it in Major League Baseball, in 1981. That season, though, was the perfect example of why we shouldn't have that system.