MLB Realignment Talk

[FedEx227]

Or how about the NL gets the DH?

Not sure why we always have to get rid of it.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Gotz ta b honest...don't like the homogeneous leagues.

As is, I like how the divisions create more intense rivalries and a better race for the playoffs.

 

[strahanfan92]

How bout if there was 28 teams..

Four 7 team divisions.. The division champs auto birth, and then 2 wildcards that can be from the same division.

So the NL East division could have 3 teams and NL West division just have the champ in the playoffs.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Or how about the NL gets the DH?

Not sure why we always have to get rid of it.

Myself, I like having the two different rules. I wouldnt want either league to conform to the other. If you MUST get rid of one or the other though, i'd say dump the DH.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Yes the curve will change with contraction, leading to replacement players still being in MLB, but the curve will change for the better, and the new replacement level players will be more talented then the current replacement level players. Look at it this way, with thirty teams, the league demands 30 starting quality Short stops, 150 starting pitchers, etc. As well as some depth to fill out benches. With 28 teams the league will demand two less of every starter. Take away the 2 worst starting first baseman, the ten worst starting pitchers in a rotation and throw them on a bench somewhere, you don't think the quality of play would improve?

Not to noticable levels, no.

I dont think anyone thinks about baseball pre Marlins/Rockies/D'Backs/Rays and thinks "gosh, the quality of play was so much better with four less starting 1B". There are enough really good players where there are plenty that don't even start, or arent even in the majors. The game would look & feel exactly the same with less teams.

Look, i'm not arguing for expansion, but as I said before, its an economic issue, not a quality of play issue. You'd be adding players to the bottom of rosters, where most guys are barely of MLB caliber anyway and shuffle back & forth from the minors & the bigs. There are hundreds of minor leaguers who are at the same level as the 23-25 slot on just about any roster, and probably the 18-25 slot on teams like the Astros. I'm certain I can build a better bullpen out of minor leaguers than what the Astros currently have, and a better lineup than what the Twins or A's or putting out there these days.

 

[nflman2033]

if NL gets the DH, I am not sure if I will be able to watch much baseball anymore.

 

[killgod]

Myself, I like having the two different rules. I wouldnt want either league to conform to the other. If you MUST get rid of one or the other though, i'd say dump the DH.

I agree despite my preference to the DH.

 

[FedEx227]

if NL gets the DH, I am not sure if I will be able to watch much baseball anymore.

It sucks when all 9 batters can get a hit 1/4th of the time.

 

[FedEx227]

I agree despite my preference to the DH.

I don't mind the difference, I'm fine with the leagues being separate... but the whole "daaa get rid of the DH" thing is just funny. Like your baseball enjoyment is really that much more increased by three pitch strikeouts and the occasional sacrifice bunt?

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

It sucks when all 9 batters can get a hit 1/4th of the time.

So why stop there? Allow DH's for all of your shitty hitters. In fact, let's just play our 9 best defenders on defense, and our 9 best hitters on offense.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I don't mind the difference, I'm fine with the leagues being separate... but the whole "daaa get rid of the DH" thing is just funny. Like your baseball enjoyment is really that much more increased by three pitch strikeouts and the occasional sacrifice bunt?

....and then I saw this.

I think most agree that seperate is best.

 

[killgod]

So why stop there? Allow DH's for all of your shitty hitters. In fact, let's just play our 9 best defenders on defense, and our 9 best hitters on offense.

How about Bautista bats 9 times and Davis, Patterson, McCoy run the bases for him.

imp:

 

[FedEx227]

I don't mind the separation at all, I like it. But if it's all or nothing I wouldn't want no DH in both leagues. I'm perfectly fine with the DH position.

 

[nflman2033]

The DH takes away almost all strategy from the game.

 

[NAHSTE]

The DH takes away almost all strategy from the game.

But it does allow for AL teams to think their brand of baseball is superior to that of the NL. So at least there's that.

 

[Blade]

MLB is one league where expansion or contraction is not needed. They should just even out the leagues and keep the divisions, just move the Astros to the AL West. Having a two league setup would really not be fun. Like mentioned before interleague would be all over the place and you would go back to the days when teams would be 50 games behind by memorial day.

I saw somewhere in this thread about Charlotte being a large city and market share is amongst 4 teams. First there's barely 1.7 million people in this city, making it 17th in the nation. Second almost a quarter of the population isn't even from this city, they are all from NY, Pittsburgh, Philly, Ohio, VA and Florida. Third that leads to the fan base being very diverse in this town, there's Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Indians, Reds, Cardinals, Marlins and Orioles fans, but you rarely see someone sporting an Atlanta jersey. My point, don't be fooled by the big numbers and the market share map. The map is pretty flawed when it comes to Charlotte, based on decades old market contracts that make no sense anymore.

 

[FedEx227]

Not superior, just far less outs.

 

[nflman2033]

Not superior, just far less outs.

making the game take even longer

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I dont understand what is wrong with the current setup, it seems fine to me. Change for the sake of change?

Only thing I would do is add one WC, and have the two WC's play a one game PLAYOFF (not a play in, I hate when people say that, they would already be "in"), with the winner playing the highest seeded division winner in the next round.

This would put a real premium on winning the division, so you wouldnt see situations like last year when the Yankees and Rays didnt really care about winning the division. Faced with a one and done scenerio, teams would play hard to win the division.

Plus, a doubelheader day with two sudden death playoff games would be great drama.

 

[mcstl25]

I dont understand what is wrong with the current setup, it seems fine to me. Change for the sake of change?

Only thing I would do is add one WC, and have the two WC's play a one game PLAYOFF (not a play in, I hate when people say that, they would already be "in"), with the winner playing the highest seeded division winner in the next round.

This would put a real premium on winning the division, so you wouldnt see situations like last year when the Yankees and Rays didnt really care about winning the division. Faced with a one and done scenerio, teams would play hard to win the division.

Plus, a doubelheader day with two sudden death playoff games would be great drama.

I skimmed most of the replies in this thread, but agree with W2B overall. 15 teams in each league is a horrible idea. Keep it as is or add/subtract two teams to make it 14/14 or 16/16 teams in each league.

Reducing the number of inter-division games is also a horrible idea. There are a lot of great inter-division rivalries in baseball right now, which would likely dissipate if teams only played each other 6 or 9 games per year.

I'm all for adding an additional wild card team, and like the idea of a three game series. Play the wild card series in the two days following the end of the regular season (double header on day 2, if necessary). Division winners should be rewarded in some way, and this would take care of that since the wild card teams would likely be short on pitching going in to the ALDS/NLDS.