2022 MLB Playoffs Format - Page 4

Ragnar · 10-10-2022, 07:46 PM

Baseball is a 162 game marathon. You'd think they'd limit the playoff teams to just the very best since any team can win a short series.

Amazin69 · 10-11-2022, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Baseball is a 162 game marathon. You'd think they'd limit the playoff teams to just the very best since any team can win a short series.

Sacrilege! You…purist!!

(No, I have no idea why that's supposed to be an insult, either. But it's certainly been used as one.)

thehef · 10-11-2022, 04:12 AM

Two of the 4 Division Series’ are being spread out over 7 days. IOW, if they go the distance, there will be two days off during the two ALDS series’. Don’t think this has ever happened before. Best-of-fivers have always been played on consecutive days or with one day off. Makes no sense and is completely antithetical to the regular season & what makes each playoff team what they are.

I’m sure it’s purely a result of national tv schedules, but still, that’s completely wrong as it can give teams advantages & disadvantages that they didn’t experience during the regular season.

WestCoastGuy · 10-11-2022, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thehef

Two of the 4 Division Series’ are being spread out over 7 days. IOW, if they go the distance, there will be two days off during the two ALDS series’. Don’t think this has ever happened before. Best-of-fivers have always been played on consecutive days or with one day off. Makes no sense and is completely antithetical to the regular season & what makes each playoff team what they are.

I’m sure it’s purely a result of national tv schedules, but still, that’s completely wrong as it can give teams advantages & disadvantages that they didn’t experience during the regular season.

Sometimes, in the past, some Division Series have been scheduled over eight days with off days after games one, two and four. What makes this year's odd is that for the two AL series, there's an off day between games one and two - no travel necessary - but no off day between games four and five - travel is necessary.

Regardless, all of the off days during the playoffs is in fact completely antithetical to the regular season and requires completely different strategies than were used during the regular season.

Westheim · 10-11-2022, 11:48 AM

There were off days after Games 2 and 4 in the LDS for as long as I can remember (a decade, not including 'rona seasons).

The way this is staggered makes my OCD spike again...

cephasjames · 10-12-2022, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cephasjames

2) I'm still in doubt that getting a bye (and thus five days off) in baseball, a sport built on rhythm and routine, is going to be a good thing. In baseball, teams get cold when they sit too long. Time will tell if my doubts are warranted or not.

A quote from Dusty Baker after the game:

"What was up with Verlander? Maybe he was a little rusty,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He was barely missing on a number of pitches. I think those days off ... hurt our whole team. You see, we didn't wake up until the fifth, sixth inning, and this is a game of repetition and a game of action. You can practice all you want to. There's nothing, no substitute for game action. So that's not an excuse, but I can sort of feel it and see it.”

monkeyman576 · 10-12-2022, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cephasjames

A quote from Dusty Baker after the game:

"What was up with Verlander? Maybe he was a little rusty,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He was barely missing on a number of pitches. I think those days off ... hurt our whole team. You see, we didn't wake up until the fifth, sixth inning, and this is a game of repetition and a game of action. You can practice all you want to. There's nothing, no substitute for game action. So that's not an excuse, but I can sort of feel it and see it.”

With any luck the mariners win 2 3 and 4 and we don’t have to worry about him again.

Déjà Bru · 10-12-2022, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Sacrilege! You…purist!!

(No, I have no idea why that's supposed to be an insult, either. But it's certainly been used as one.)

I don't see how it can be, since those are the folks who started one of our major holidays, sitting down for dinner with the Indians (now Guardians) and giving thanks for blessings received.

Déjà Bru · 10-12-2022, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thehef

Two of the 4 Division Series’ are being spread out over 7 days. IOW, if they go the distance, there will be two days off during the two ALDS series’. Don’t think this has ever happened before. Best-of-fivers have always been played on consecutive days or with one day off. Makes no sense and is completely antithetical to the regular season & what makes each playoff team what they are.

I’m sure it’s purely a result of national tv schedules, but still, that’s completely wrong as it can give teams advantages & disadvantages that they didn’t experience during the regular season.

Not only that; it's about to immediately backfire in that, in New York, today would have been a perfect day for Game 2 but on Thursday there is an 80% chance of rain.

Leo_The_Lip · 10-12-2022, 12:17 PM

What most startled me about this round of playoffs is how cheap the 'spot price' of seats has become. I watched "Boomer and Gio" yesterday and they went to 'Stub Hub' to find out what the cost would be to see the Phillies at Braves games and found that the cheap seats were going for $11. Then they looked at the next tier of seating and they were going for $14.

The box score shows more than capacity were there, but what was the revenue? Do the extra round of playoffs only exist for the TV money?

Ragnar · 10-12-2022, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

I don't see how it can be, since those are the folks who started one of our major holidays, sitting down for dinner with the Indians (now Guardians) and giving thanks for blessings received.

Speaking of Cleveland, are they a small market team? I never realized they were. I was looking at attendance stats and saw that they were near the bottom at around 17k per game. They're a first place team. Is that normal?

kq76 · 10-12-2022, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Speaking of Cleveland, are they a small market team? I never realized they were. I was looking at attendance stats and saw that they were near the bottom at around 17k per game. They're a first place team. Is that normal?

Obviously, they need a new stadium.

JK. No, my guess is they weren't expected to be this good and they probably lost some fan interest from letting a number of players go the last few years.

It is kind of odd remembering how they sold out so many (455!) games in a row when Progressive Field was new and they were good.

thehef · 10-13-2022, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westheim

There were off days after Games 2 and 4 in the LDS for as long as I can remember...

Yes, that's true. When series' are in the 2-2-1 format, that can make sense.

At any rate, days off for travel haven't been "necessary" for decades unless there's a night game in the west and - because of TV considerations - the teams would need to travel east for a day game. And even then, it's not necessarily necessary, but makes sense.

Even so, logically, if there are going to be days off in a series, they ought be on days when the teams are changing cities. So what we're seeing this year in the two ALDS - days off in between games 1 and 2 - is weird... (although yes, WestCoastGuy and Westheim are correct in that this has happened before).

FWIW, postseason baseball was meant to be played without days off. It wasn't until the 1960 World Series that the schedule included days off that weren't needed for either travel or - going back many years - because Sunday baseball was prohibited. In fact, from 1947 thru 1956 there were no travel days in any World Series - all were scheduled for games on consecutive days (although travel days were included for potential matchups that would've required them). 1964 was the last year where certain potential World Series matchups would've been scheduled for consecutive days; by 1965, days off after games 2 and 5 - regardless of distance between cities - became the norm.

The early days of the LCS' allowed for off days on Monday to allow for travel and/or to not conflict with Monday Night Football. For 1977 a television-friendly pattern was locked in that had one league starting on a Tuesday and having a day off after game two, while the other league started on Wednesday and had no days off. This lasted thru 1983 and would've been in place for 1984, too. However, with Cubs having no lights an odd schedule was used that had both leagues starting on Tuesday, with the two NL teams (Cubs & Padres) playing the first two in Chicago, the third game in SD, followed by an off day. This was the only way to have night games each evening and not force the AL teams (Detroit & KC) into a difficult situation of playing a night game in KC and then traveling east for a day game the next day... For 1985 the seven-game LCS was introduced and it followed the schedule of the WS, with off days after games 2 and 5...

Galeg · 10-13-2022, 07:44 AM

Cleveland attendances have been going downhill since the Browns moved back into town. And then they lost a lot of the corporate tickets when the Cavs were good. It's a great stadium and a good product, but it is too expensive for me to go more than a handful of times a season. I see above someone mentioned $11 tickets for Atlanta playoff games. Cheapest pre-order tickets for Cleveland were $69.

Ragnar · 10-13-2022, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galeg

Cleveland attendances have been going downhill since the Browns moved back into town. And then they lost a lot of the corporate tickets when the Cavs were good. It's a great stadium and a good product, but it is too expensive for me to go more than a handful of times a season. I see above someone mentioned $11 tickets for Atlanta playoff games. Cheapest pre-order tickets for Cleveland were $69.

Them changing their name probably has an effect as well. I'm not suggesting that it a primary reason, but it has to be a negative in the overall picture. Just to add to the rest of the stuff.

Galeg · 10-13-2022, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Them changing their name probably has an effect as well. I'm not suggesting that it a primary reason, but it has to be a negative in the overall picture. Just to add to the rest of the stuff.

Not much, I don't think. Most of the people I know that complain about the name lost interest after the 90s and barely caught games on TV, let alone attended. For the numbers this season, keep in mind we had like 11 rainouts/doubleheaders.

Déjà Bru · 10-13-2022, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Not only that; it's about to immediately backfire in that, in New York, today would have been a perfect day for Game 2 but on Thursday there is an 80% chance of rain.

Sure enough, the game has been postponed to Friday, six hours ahead of time due to the near certainty of rain. Moreover, it has moved from the desirable 7:30PM prime time slot to 1PM. TBS executives must be cursing Mother Nature.

Westheim · 10-13-2022, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Moreover, it has moved from the desirable 7:30PM prime time slot to 1PM. TBS executives must be cursing Mother Nature.

European raccoons rejoice though.

Déjà Bru · 10-13-2022, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westheim

European raccoons rejoice though.

Nice. Enjoy. Don't root for Cleveland.

Westheim · 10-13-2022, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Nice. Enjoy. Don't root for Cleveland.

(bites lip)

10-11-2022, 11:48 AM	#65
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,297	There were off days after Games 2 and 4 in the LDS for as long as I can remember (a decade, not including 'rona seasons). The way this is staggered makes my OCD spike again... __________________ Portland Raccoons, 90 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.

10-12-2022, 12:17 PM	#70
Leo_The_Lip All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1,796	What most startled me about this round of playoffs is how cheap the 'spot price' of seats has become. I watched "Boomer and Gio" yesterday and they went to 'Stub Hub' to find out what the cost would be to see the Phillies at Braves games and found that the cheap seats were going for $11. Then they looked at the next tier of seating and they were going for $14. The box score shows more than capacity were there, but what was the revenue? Do the extra round of playoffs only exist for the TV money? __________________ "My name will live forever" - Anonymous

10-10-2022, 07:46 PM	#61
Ragnar Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,336	Baseball is a 162 game marathon. You'd think they'd limit the playoff teams to just the very best since any team can win a short series.

10-11-2022, 04:12 AM	#63
thehef Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,345	Two of the 4 Division Series’ are being spread out over 7 days. IOW, if they go the distance, there will be two days off during the two ALDS series’. Don’t think this has ever happened before. Best-of-fivers have always been played on consecutive days or with one day off. Makes no sense and is completely antithetical to the regular season & what makes each playoff team what they are. I’m sure it’s purely a result of national tv schedules, but still, that’s completely wrong as it can give teams advantages & disadvantages that they didn’t experience during the regular season.

10-13-2022, 07:44 AM	#74
Galeg Major Leagues Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 405	Cleveland attendances have been going downhill since the Browns moved back into town. And then they lost a lot of the corporate tickets when the Cavs were good. It's a great stadium and a good product, but it is too expensive for me to go more than a handful of times a season. I see above someone mentioned $11 tickets for Atlanta playoff games. Cheapest pre-order tickets for Cleveland were $69.