MLB 2023 Season

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

In the NL, four teams are battling for the last wild card spot, separated by just a half-game, with only 15-16 games left to play.

Wow, so the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th-best clubs in a 15-team league are in a dogfight?

"Be still my heart. Oh, wait, it is." —Xander Harris, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I am ever-so-thrilled to learn that Manly Rob Manfred has brought playoff fever to teams that aren't even in the upper half of the league. I don't know if any of those squads are literally below .500, but clearly some deserve to be.

Crap on a cracker. Coincidentally, I now will return to trying to wrangle my toilet. It seems unlikely that this Legion of Mediocrities is actually responsible for the clog…but I think it fits, thematically.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

I am ever-so-thrilled to learn that Manly Rob Manfred has brought playoff fever to teams that aren't even in the upper half of the league. I don't know if any of those squads are literally below .500, but clearly some deserve to be.

Crap on a cracker. Coincidentally, I now will return to trying to wrangle my toilet. It seems unlikely that this Legion of Mediocrities is actually responsible for the clog…but I think it fits, thematically.

Do you have similar views over the mediocrities that get to make the NFL playoffs each year? Or the NBA playoffs? Or the NHL? ALL the pro sports leagues in North America do this. MLB was simply the last to get there.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Do you have similar views over the mediocrities that get to make the NFL playoffs each year? Or the NBA playoffs? Or the NHL? ALL the pro sports leagues in North America do this. MLB was simply the last to get there.

Amazin is just upset cause those young whippersnappers have been near his lawn again.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by pilight

He's played 16 games at SS and made three errors at the position. He's not good at short. He's been in RF most of the season. Freddie Freeman's bat as been as valuable to the Dodgers as Betts.

Agree for sure on Freddie. As for Mookie at SS, while he's made a few errors, he's also made some pretty nice plays there. I'd say that 3 errors in 16 games is too small of a sample size to judge, just as I'd say that 0 errors there would be too small. Regardless, I think the point is that out of (what was then but is no longer) a necessity, he stepped in and played SS semi-adequately, and certainly better than any other All-Star RF could have. And is doing very good as the parttime 2B.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Amazin is just upset cause those young whippersnappers have been near his lawn again.

I understand that sentiment, and even agree with it to some extent!

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Do you have similar views over the mediocrities that get to make the NFL playoffs each year? Or the NBA playoffs? Or the NHL? ALL the pro sports leagues in North America do this. MLB was simply the last to get there.

I can't imagine that a race to the bottom is anything to aspire to. Especially as the entire reason the BA and HL expanded things so was because they were failing leagues that had just needed mergers to absorb rivals, weren't drawing flies to regular season and had their championship finals airing on late-night tape delay.

MLB used to have better standards and should maintain them.

Aside from that, one of the obvious benefits of a long season (recall, baseball is nearly as many games as baskets and pucks combined) is that it helps to separate the wheat from the chaff, the winners from the also-rans, the Braves from the Mets. You shouldn't need an extra round of playoffs for the Braves to prove what they just spent all summer proving.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

I can't imagine that a race to the bottom is anything to aspire to. Especially as the entire reason the BA and HL expanded things so was because they were failing leagues that had just needed mergers to absorb rivals, weren't drawing flies to regular season and had their championship finals airing on late-night tape delay.

People have forgotten, but for many years the NFL ran similarly to MLB. Only the first-place team in each of its two divisions made the post-season, and if two teams finished with identical records, a tiebreaking playoff game was held to determine the division winner. In 1965 the 15-team NFL had a 8-team division and 7-team division, and the NFL championship consisted of those two division winners.

This changed in 1966 when the league expanded to 16 teams and realigned into four 4-team divisions, doubling the number of post-season qualifiers. From there the gradual post-season expansion began.

[Gruber_Tagged_Him]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

People have forgotten, but for many years the NFL ran similarly to MLB. Only the first-place team in each of its two divisions made the post-season, and if two teams finished with identical records, a tiebreaking playoff game was held to determine the division winner. In 1965 the 15-team NFL had a 8-team division and 7-team division, and the NFL championship consisted of those two division winners.

This changed in 1966 when the league expanded to 16 teams and realigned into four 4-team divisions, doubling the number of post-season qualifiers. From there the gradual post-season expansion began.

Yeah... without relegation and with so much revenue coming from playoffs, it seems kind of inevitable that you'd wind up with approx 1/2 of the teams from each league making the playoffs. The NFL is actually the most stringent of the 4 main NA leagues.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Gruber_Tagged_Him

The NFL is actually the most stringent of the 4 main NA leagues.

I'll give the NFL one thing: it uses a better way to break wild card ties among different divisions. The first two steps:

(1) Head-to-head record
(2) Better record in conference games

In contrast, MLB uses the same steps to break a tie within a division and between divisions:

(1) Head-to-head record
(2) Better record in division games

So, for example, if Seattle and Toronto finished tied for the third wild card, after head-to-head record, the tie would be resolved by each club's record within its own division, i.e. the AL East for Toronto and AL West for Seattle. But this doesn't seem fair since each faced completely different opponents inside the respective divisions. There is no reason MLB couldn't have record inside the league as the second step, similar to the NFL's record within the conference, as that seems a more fair comparison since the teams are not inside the same division.

[Cobra Mgr]

I disagreed w/the MLB playoff expansion @ first. But I think their amoun of teams is better than the NFL or NBA. Those last teams that make the football or basketball playoffs usually have zero shot to win it all. Baseball is made in such a way that what it takes to win a long season isn't the same as what it takes in a postseason. So unless something freakish happens, like I ironically, last season, the worst record teams are nothing more than fodder for the #1 NBA/NFL seeds. Baseball's playoffs is truly a wholly different season.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

I'll give the NFL one thing: it uses a better way to break wild card ties among different divisions. The first two steps:

(1) Head-to-head record
(2) Better record in conference games

In contrast, MLB uses the same steps to break a tie within a division and between divisions:

(1) Head-to-head record
(2) Better record in division games

So, for example, if Seattle and Toronto finished tied for the third wild card, after head-to-head record, the tie would be resolved by each club's record within its own division, i.e. the AL East for Toronto and AL West for Seattle. But this doesn't seem fair since each faced completely different opponents inside the respective divisions. There is no reason MLB couldn't have record inside the league as the second step, similar to the NFL's record within the conference, as that seems a more fair comparison since the teams are not inside the same division.

That doesn't make sense. Not that I don't beleive you But let's say Toronto & Seattle tied in both overall record and head-to-head, with Toronto beating up on its weak division and Seattle playing .500 ball in its tough division, but making up for it against the other divisions (including Toronto's weak one). Toronto is of course going to win the tiebreaker because they crushed their weaker division opponents. So the weaker team moves on. Doesn't make sense... Then again: Manfred.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

I disagreed w/the MLB playoff expansion @ first. But I think their amoun of teams is better than the NFL or NBA. Those last teams that make the football or basketball playoffs usually have zero shot to win it all. Baseball is made in such a way that what it takes to win a long season isn't the same as what it takes in a postseason.

Leaving aside the number of qualifiers, the one thing I don't like is that the wild card qualifiers are not punished enough in the playoff schedules.

The most a wild card team suffers is getting one less home game in a best-of-five or best-of-seven series. It's a minor disadvantage. I'd rather see the wild card teams get only one home game in a best-of-five series (2-1-2 home field rotation in favor of the division winner) and two home games in a best-of-seven series (2-2-3 home field rotation in favor of the division winner). That would put the wild card qualifiers at more of a disadvantage and reward the division winners more.

Originally Posted by thehef

That doesn't make sense. Not that I don't beleive you But let's say Toronto & Seattle tied in both overall record and head-to-head, with Toronto beating up on its weak division and Seattle playing .500 ball in its tough division, but making up for it against the other divisions (including Toronto's weak one). Toronto is of course going to win the tiebreaker because they crushed their weaker division opponents. So the weaker team moves on. Doesn't make sense... Then again: Manfred.

It's been that way since the wild card was first adopted way back in 1994. MLB treats ties within a division and between divisions the same in regards to the tie-breaking steps. The NFL has always distinguished between these.

[Cobra Mgr]

Rays moved back into 1st place tonight.

[Cobra Mgr]

Rockies have a no hitter entering the 9th. Lead the Giants 1-0. Colorado only has 2 hits themselves.

[Cobra Mgr]

I think this is the hardest I've ever seen a comebacker hit a pitcher. Look how far the ball ricocheted.

[Le Grande Orange]

A little diversion to the Mexican League:

A team which lost in the first round of the playoffs won the Mexican League championship. How the heck did that happen?

The top six teams in each of the two divisions qualify for the post-season. All teams play in the first round. The three winning teams in each division advance — along with the team which lost in the first round but which won the most games in its series among the losing teams.

Puebla was defeated in its first round series 4 games to 3. The 3 games it won was the highest among the losing teams in its division (Quintana Roo lost 4 games to 2, and Tabasco was defeated 4 games to 1), so it got a second chance, and advanced to the second round.

Puebla won its second round series, defeating Mexico 4 games to 2, and then beat Yucatan in the third round 4 games to 1. In the league championship, Puebla defeated Laguna 4 games to 2.

From first round playoff loser to league champion.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Rockies have a no hitter entering the 9th. Lead the Giants 1-0. Colorado only has 2 hits themselves.

You're such a jinx.

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

A little diversion to the Mexican League:

A team which lost in the first round of the playoffs won the Mexican League championship. How the heck did that happen?

The top six teams in each of the two divisions qualify for the post-season. All teams play in the first round. The three winning teams in each division advance — along with the team which lost in the first round but which won the most games in its series among the losing teams.

Puebla was defeated in its first round series 4 games to 3. The 3 games it won was the highest among the losing teams in its division (Quintana Roo lost 4 games to 2, and Tabasco was defeated 4 games to 1), so it got a second chance, and advanced to the second round.

Puebla won its second round series, defeating Mexico 4 games to 2, and then beat Yucatan in the third round 4 games to 1. In the league championship, Puebla defeated Laguna 4 games to 2.

From first round playoff loser to league champion.

When will people stop giving Rob Numbfred more stupid ideas...?

[monkeyman576]

Apparently ohtanis locker was cleared out in Anaheim.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

Apparently ohtanis locker was cleared out in Anaheim.

May take that as a hint that they're not gonna resign him?

[monkeyman576]

Originally Posted by Westheim

May take that as a hint that they're not gonna resign him?

That or they need the locker space for someone they are calling up.