Why aren't the Braves crying foul?

jaxmagicman · 10-05-2005, 01:00 PM

The Yankees were awarded the AL East title because of the head-2-head thing. That makes 8 in a row. If the Yankees are able to come back and eventually beat the whatever record the Braves have for straight titles, they can point to this decision. Why aren't they crying?

sebastian0622 · 10-05-2005, 01:01 PM

Because they're the Braves and not the Yankees.

canadiancreed · 10-05-2005, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxmagicman

The Yankees were awarded the AL East title because of the head-2-head thing. That makes 8 in a row. If the Yankees are able to come back and eventually beat the whatever record the Braves have for straight titles, they can point to this decision. Why aren't they crying?

class?
focus?
not filled with loud mouth prima donnas?
what seb said?

ctorg · 10-05-2005, 01:06 PM

I don't think there's a whole lot of controversy surrounding the Yankees' division championship. They won it according to the rules. Yes, their record was the same as the Sox record, but they beat the Sox in the season series. They're the champs.

sebastian0622 · 10-05-2005, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctorg

I don't think there's a whole lot of controversy surrounding the Yankees' division championship. They won it according to the rules. Yes, their record was the same as the Sox record, but they beat the Sox in the season series. They're the champs.

I also agree with this. I didn't want to imply that the Yankees didn't win the division fairly, because they did.

jaxmagicman · 10-05-2005, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctorg

I don't think there's a whole lot of controversy surrounding the Yankees' division championship. They won it according to the rules. Yes, their record was the same as the Sox record, but they beat the Sox in the season series. They're the champs.

If this was pre-wild card they would have had to play a game.

rem · 10-05-2005, 01:11 PM

The Yankees' current dynasty, which started in 1993, is already better than the Braves' current dynasty regardless of how many consecutive division titles each team has won.

Erik W. · 10-05-2005, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxmagicman

If this was pre-wild card they would have had to play a game.

If Cleveland would've won the wildcard, they would've this year, too.

They didn't do it pre-wildcard just to declare a clear champ. They did it because they had to in order to send someone to the LCS.

darkhorse · 10-05-2005, 01:13 PM

If MLB had been playing with 5 team divisions since 1901, the Ruth/DiMaggio/Mantle era Yankees might have won 30/40 division titles in a row.

jaxmagicman · 10-05-2005, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkhorse

If MLB had been playing with 5 team divisions since 1901, the Ruth/DiMaggio/Mantle era Yankees might have won 30/40 division titles in a row.

Good point.

sebastian0622 · 10-05-2005, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by remangiii

The Yankees' current dynasty, which started in 1993, is already better than the Braves' current dynasty regardless of how many consecutive division titles each team has won.

Sample size! Playoffs are for the fan and not picking the best team.

sebastian0622 · 10-05-2005, 01:27 PM

oops. ^^^that was supposed to be by skipaway. so say it in your skipaway voice when you read it. thx.

Joshv02 · 10-05-2005, 01:32 PM

Did I add right? After 1995, and not including this year, the Braves and Yankees have won the exact same # of games?

ctorg · 10-05-2005, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebastian0622

Sample size! Playoffs are for the fan and not picking the best team.

Unless you define "best" as the team that wins the playoffs.

But yeah, it's because there are too many teams to justify having fewer divisions at this point, I think. More divisions and a wild card means more opportunities for particular teams to get in the race, which means more fan interest for those teams. The Padres, for instance, would not have inspired much fan interest at all if they hadn't been in such a weak division.

sebastian0622 · 10-05-2005, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshv02

Did I add right? After 1995, and not including this year, the Braves and Yankees have won the exact same # of games?

Wow, I would have though the Yanks would have a pretty good post-1995 advantage.

Could you imagine how many wins either of those teams would have if they had been in the NL West or AL Central during that time?

sebastian0622 · 10-05-2005, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctorg

Unless you define "best" as the team that wins the playoffs.

But yeah, it's because there are too many teams to justify having fewer divisions at this point, I think. More divisions and a wild card means more opportunities for particular teams to get in the race, which means more fan interest for those teams. The Padres, for instance, would not have inspired much fan interest at all if they hadn't been in such a weak division.

Right, and if the Padres were to win the World Series this year, I wouldn't look back and think they were the best MLB team in 2005.

Of course, I'd just as soon have two divisions--NL and AL--with no interleague play and one best of nine or eleven (or even 13 or 15) game World Series to determine the best team. That's it. But that would be economic suicide for MLB.

Sublimity · 10-05-2005, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebastian0622

Right, and if the Padres were to win the World Series this year, I wouldn't look back and think they were the best MLB team in 2005.

Of course, I'd just as soon have two divisions--NL and AL--with no interleague play and one best of nine or eleven (or even 13 or 15) game World Series to determine the best team. That's it. But that would be economic suicide for MLB.

I say we go with the two division idea, separate out some of the weaker teams into a AAAA role, play an 81 game season, with a best of 81 game World Series. And the worst teams from each league are sent down to AAAA and the best teams from AAAA are called up, Premiere League style.

ctorg · 10-05-2005, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebastian0622

Right, and if the Padres were to win the World Series this year, I wouldn't look back and think they were the best MLB team in 2005.

Of course, I'd just as soon have two divisions--NL and AL--with no interleague play and one best of nine or eleven (or even 13 or 15) game World Series to determine the best team. That's it. But that would be economic suicide for MLB.

Exactly. That's what it comes down to. Economics.

sebastian0622 · 10-05-2005, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctorg

Exactly. That's what it comes down to. Economics.

Which is why it bothers me how much emphasis (as in, 99%) the media puts on the World Series winner. To me, the playoffs and World Series are closer to the All-Star game than to even a semi-definitive determinant of the best team in baseball. It's a sport in which the best teams in the league might win less than 60% of their games. A chain of small sample-size series just doesn't convince me.

ctorg · 10-05-2005, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebastian0622

Which is why it bothers me how much emphasis (as in, 99%) the media puts on the World Series winner. To me, the playoffs and World Series are closer to the All-Star game than to even a semi-definitive determinant of the best team in baseball. It's a sport in which the best teams in the league might win less than 60% of their games. A chain of small sample-size series just doesn't convince me.

The way I look at it, it just redefines "best". It's a very subjective term. Admittedly, I would use a different standard in determining "best" for my own purposes, but for the purposes of MLB, the best team is defined as a team that:
1) plays well enough to win its division or get a wild card, and
2) outplays three other teams in the postseason

That's what it takes to win in the MLB, so the team that does that is the best by those standards.

One could put up an argument that football has too small a sample size to determine the best team, since they play around 1/10 the games of a baseball season. Potentially, a team in the baseball postseason can play more games than a football team plays for its entire season. It's all relative.

10-05-2005, 01:00 PM	#1
jaxmagicman Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Retired defloration-maker living in Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 7,801	Why aren't the Braves crying foul? The Yankees were awarded the AL East title because of the head-2-head thing. That makes 8 in a row. If the Yankees are able to come back and eventually beat the whatever record the Braves have for straight titles, they can point to this decision. Why aren't they crying? __________________ See ID Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Minor League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with the permission of Minor League Baseball. All rights reserved.

10-05-2005, 01:06 PM	#4
ctorg Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 9,848	I don't think there's a whole lot of controversy surrounding the Yankees' division championship. They won it according to the rules. Yes, their record was the same as the Sox record, but they beat the Sox in the season series. They're the champs. __________________ My music "When the trees blow back and forth, that's what makes the wind." - Steven Wright Fjord emena pancreas thorax fornicate marmalade morpheme proteolysis smaxa cabana offal srue vitriol grope hallelujah lentils

10-05-2005, 01:11 PM	#7
rem Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: College Park, Md. Posts: 5,024	The Yankees' current dynasty, which started in 1993, is already better than the Braves' current dynasty regardless of how many consecutive division titles each team has won. __________________ OTBA: Washington Filibusters CLBR: Minnesota Twins 2005 Winner of LL's Pick the Loser Contest! - 15-0

10-05-2005, 01:13 PM	#9
darkhorse Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: fort worth, tx Posts: 10,850	If MLB had been playing with 5 team divisions since 1901, the Ruth/DiMaggio/Mantle era Yankees might have won 30/40 division titles in a row. __________________ "The Human Torch was denied a bank loan."

10-05-2005, 01:01 PM	#2
sebastian0622 Banned Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,465	Because they're the Braves and not the Yankees.

10-05-2005, 01:27 PM	#12
sebastian0622 Banned Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,465	oops. ^^^that was supposed to be by skipaway. so say it in your skipaway voice when you read it. thx.

10-05-2005, 01:32 PM	#13
Joshv02 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: , " Posts: 3,082	Did I add right? After 1995, and not including this year, the Braves and Yankees have won the exact same # of games?