Quoting Da Grizzlies: "Apparently that fool Selig is '“working on” adding two teams to the playoffs and we could see changes as soon as 2012' - ten out of thirty teams is way too many, especially with the stupid spread-out playoff series that allow you to get away with only two good pitchers."Whilst Bud Selig is a man of terrible ideas, this is a solution to the 'problem' of the AL East being stupidly difficult to win because it contains the 2 richest teams in baseball - at least it would give the team finishing 3rd in the AL East a chance at winning the wild card. Alternatively, we could trust in the abilities of smart people running smaller franchises like the Rays and cheer when they beat the odds to reach the World Series, because it can happen.
Or, we could get radical.
Radical Solution 1:
My first suggestion is to contract the Yankees. This would instantly make the AL East fairer, giving the Blue Jays and Orioles a fighting chance of winning the wild-card. It would also bring about the end of obnoxious Yankee fans, Yankee exceptionalism, Jeter Hagiography, pink Yankee hats, that stupid 'got rings t-shirt, and boring Yankee games on Sunday night baseball. But I guess this solution may not be popular with everyone.
Radical Solution 2:
Alternatively, the Yankees and Red Sox could play each other 162 times a year to decide home field advantage for the 'world series' (all games broadcast exclusively on Yankee and Red Sox TV). The rest of baseball will continue to play each other for the World Series with the addition of two expansion teams in cool places (Alaska and Hawaii might be fun) taking the place of the AL big two. The winners of the 'world series' can play the winners of the World Series, and should the Yankees or Red Sox win, their fans can pretend they truly are World Champions.
Or, more sensibly, there could be a salary cap, preventing the Yankees and Red Sox outspending everyone else and/or the addition of a Connecticut or New Jersey Team (The Jersey Shore?) to suck up some of the Yankee and Red Sox revenue, along with some kind of re-alignment resulting in 2 NL and 2 AL divisions (or no divisions, just an AL and an NL), with 8 teams making the play offs, as now. Oh, and while we're improving baseball, let's get rid of the DH. And bunting.
Radical Solution 1b:
ReplyDeleteSideline the Yankeees all year doing promo events, and have a nice normal season with everyone else. Then make them play the winners in a single 9 game series in, say, December somewhere warm in the south. They get to feel special and important, we don't have to watch them all year and elderly baseball players who Know How To Win can go 'play' for the Yankees in the twilight of their careers.