Quote:
Originally Posted by kq76
You bring up a good point. If people have so much of a problem with the layoff from a full length round bye, you could instead just have a 1 (3?) game opening series. There's much less of a layoff with that and the teams in that opening round would go full out trying to win it and use their best pitcher(s). Not having to face a team's ace would be a very nice bonus.
The only thing is those wild card teams might have not been able to set up their ace to start game 1 if they had to do all they could to just make the playoffs. Maybe their ace had to pitch one of the very last games of the regular season just to make it in. Either way, it's just an extra day or 2 rest.
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Agreed that you won't automatically get the aces pitching in the play-in games but you will use one of your top hurlers. Either way the winner will mess up their rotation going into the LDS round.
The biggest change is that in this scenario the wild card teams have to play an extra round. A one-game round but another round none the less. All things being equal that means that the division winners have a one in eight chance at the championship while each wild card team has a one in sixteen chance.
Also, think about the potential TV bonanza. Picture a "Wild Card Monday" with a 4PM and an 8PM winner-take-all game. I'd be watching.