Los Rojos Drop four straight to the Pittsburgh Pirates to End Season (Vanity)

NBA, too:

You can’t argue with the Indian curse given the results.

What the Yankees do right is to be located in New York and have the deep pockets to outspend every team in baseball. They don’t have to worry about developing talent, they simply buy up talent that other teams develop. They even had the common sense to have their owner die when he could avoid inheritance taxes. As much as I hate the Federal Government and the unfairness of the inheritance tax, I hate the Yankees almost as much.

The league should push HARD for complete revenue sharing, JUST LIKE THE NFL. That is why the NFL is so popular. Any team can compete and every team makes real money. They should also push for a hard salary cap and even more importantly a hard salary basement.

I’d prefer each league add a team for a total of 16 and have 4 divisions per league and one champion per division.

You could at least then argue about the strength of this division versus that division.

Otherwise, why play all those games??? 162 games is more than enough time for any unfortunate team to find itself and makes its way to the top....if they are the top team.

Then your tournament is a tournament of champions.

I’d far rather watch that.

(

The Yankees do many things right, and they don't just buy titles. I know Yankee haters want to think that, but it's not true. Do they even have the highest payroll anymore? This is why there is some doubt whether they'll be able to re-sign Robinson Cano.

Complete revenue sharing would be a socialistic joke. And a hard salary cap would never get accepted. The MLBPA won't accept a salary floor either (although, given that there is a minimum salary for players, there is a de facto salary floor -- the minimum salary times 25 (season roster) or times 40 (full roster), depending on how you want to calculate it. What makes baseball finances unlike other sports is the farm system. The big-league club is paying the salaries and other expenses of those players. (The minor-league club pays for things like travel, the facility, and the like.) That's an expense that isn't counted in payroll calculations. That's why you can't just take all the revenues and divide them into 30 pieces. Now, visiting clubs used to get a share of the gate receipts and they should go back to that. Maybe the league gets a percentage of TV and radio money, too. But full-out revenue sharing like the NFL (which is NOT the reason for its popularity) would be bad for baseball.

BTW, I'd take another look at the Sports Broadcasting Act.

I agree with you about the playoff system, and I’m afraid that down the road it will just get worse. Eventually, they’re adding two teams (and most likely going to four divisions in each league) — at which point, I expect them to adopt the NFL system — the two lowest-seeded division winners against the two wild cards, with the two highest-seeded division winners waiting for them.

Wild cards damage pennant races, as Whitey Herzog, Bob Costas, and others have pointed out. In 1996, the Dodgers and Padres came down to the last day tied for the NL West lead. They both played their games like exhibition games because the “loser” had locked up the wild card.

That’s what the second wild card is intended to stop. It’s designed to create a strong disincentive to settle for teh wild card and keep everyone fighting for the division title as long as possible. That’s a good idea, but it merely papers over the real problem. The real problem is that we let non-winners into the playoffs. Take the Marlins, for example — two World Championships, nary a division title to their names.

Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath. But it would be nice, wouldn’t it?

Geez, they could at least get the Spanish right: Los Toros.

Years ago there was an MLB team that was bi-lingual, or even using a non-English language primarily--yes that would be Les Expos de Montreal, and if you attended a game there (eat at PFK: Poulet Frie Kentucky) you'd see references to balls, strikes, pitcher (lanceur?) etc in francais.

Of course many teams have Spanish language broadcasts of their games (el juego de las medias rojas de Boston esta...) and I think one station in LA does 'em in Korean, right?

They're appealing to the hispanic audience in this way (much like they may have kids' events, gay-friendly events, etc.---or "it's Vermont Day at Fenway Park".

But I know what you mean.

One time ESPN Sunday Night Baseball was at Wrigley and there was a malfunction that made it impossible for the Eng language broadcasters to be heard so they put the Spanish language ones on, for the time being, en ingles.

Certainly a lot of players are hispanic. And we know for years blacks were excluded, but now many are huge successes ("get those n-----s off the field" was said by one club owner during tryouts--back then...)

I entirely agree with you. Some folks in MLB, however, think there aren’t any cities out there that could support a baseball team. Somehow, when they need money in a few years, they’ll find a couple.

See #24.

I hope they don’t go to the NFL system.

For what it’s worth, with the NFL at least you can argue that there are so few games a weak day or two through the season could justify allowing a wild card into the playoffs.

With baseball, though, there is little doubt about the long term best teams. One hundred and sixty two games later you find out who was consistently better against a large variety of opponents.

I hope they just go with champions. In reality, being champion of a 4 team division after 162 games is a fairly open opportunity for each of those teams.

I would prefer a tournament of champions.

"two World Championships, nary a division title to their names."

This is why I prefer the current setup with the wild card than the previous setup where the wild card was treated just the same as winning a division. Even in the current system, there is a huge incentive to be the top wildcard vs. the second wildcard. I mean, if you're going to have a one game playoff, it's a huge advantage (IMHO) to have that one game at home.

I got a chuckle out of the idiocy that is Dusty Baker in last night's post game press conference. Someone asked him about the one game playoff and in a roundabout answer he was against it. Did the idiot know that under any previous format his team would not have made the playoffs? Then again, this came from the man who gave us his perspective of how blacks play better during day games because they were bread as slaves to work in the heat.

It would not increase interest like an extended play off schedule.

Top 50 metro areas in the US. Given that only 30 have baseball teams, it's likely that a few more would be interested.

The 381 Metropolitan Statistical Areas of the United States of America
Rank	Metropolitan Statistical Area	2012 Estimate	2010 Census	Change	Encompassing Combined Statistical Area
!000001	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area	19,831,858	19,567,410	!D0043039760715 +1.35%	New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area
!000002	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	13,052,921	12,828,837	!D0040474298250 +1.75%	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area
!000003	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area	9,522,434	9,461,105	!D0050386916485 +0.65%	Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area
!000004	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area	6,700,991	6,426,214	!D0031521809817 +4.28%	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK Combined Statistical Area
!000005	Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area	6,177,035	5,920,416	!D0031385695010 +4.33%	Houston-The Woodlands, TX Combined Statistical Area
!000006	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area	6,018,800	5,965,343	!D0047148442425 +0.90%	Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area
!000007	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area	5,860,342	5,636,232	!D0032248340333 +3.98%	Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area
!000008	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area	5,762,717	5,564,635	!D0033355055866 +3.56%	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL Combined Statistical Area
!000009	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area	5,457,831	5,286,728	!D0034306890936 +3.24%	Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area
!000010	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area	4,640,802	4,552,402	!D0039415383150 +1.94%	Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area
!000011	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	4,455,560	4,335,391	!D0035856679958 +2.77%	San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area
!000012	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	4,350,096	4,224,851	!D0035184674538 +2.96%	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area
!000013	Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area	4,329,534	4,192,887	!D0034237438388 +3.26%
!000014	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area	4,292,060	4,296,250	!H9930672029057 −0.10%	Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI Combined Statistical Area
!000015	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area	3,552,157	3,439,809	!D0034215700286 +3.27%	Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area
!000016	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area	3,422,264	3,348,859	!D0038203829165 +2.19%	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area
!000017	San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	3,177,063	3,095,313	!D0036339785010 +2.64%
!000018	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,842,878	2,783,243	!D0038431294235 +2.14%
!000019	St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,795,794	2,787,701	!D0058419730302 +0.29%	St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area
!000020	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,753,149	2,710,489	!D0041516226273 +1.57%	Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area
!000021	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,645,209	2,543,482	!D0032189965328 +4.00%	Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area
!000022	Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,360,733	2,356,285	!D0062723869482 +0.19%	Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV Combined Statistical Area
!000023	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,296,569	2,217,012	!D0033274418764 +3.59%	Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC Combined Statistical Area
!000024	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,289,800	2,226,009	!D0035523534603 +2.87%	Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA Combined Statistical Area
!000025	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,234,003	2,142,508	!D0031534480584 +4.27%
!000026	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,223,674	2,134,411	!D0031743589410 +4.18%	Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL Combined Statistical Area
!000027	Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,196,482	2,149,127	!D0038151445814 +2.20%	Sacramento-Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area
!000028	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,128,603	2,114,580	!D0050159126514 +0.66%	Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN Combined Statistical Area
!000029	Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,063,535	2,077,240	!H9949789653612 −0.66%	Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area
!000030	Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,038,724	2,009,342	!D0042251803423 +1.46%	Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area
!000031	Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,000,759	1,951,269	!D0036744645801 +2.54%	Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ Combined Statistical Area
!000032	Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,944,002	1,901,974	!D0038123115103 +2.21%	Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH Combined Statistical Area
!000033	Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,928,982	1,887,877	!D0038270784276 +2.18%	Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN Combined Statistical Area
!000034	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,894,388	1,836,911	!D0034644557677 +3.13%	San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area
!000035	Austin-Round Rock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,834,303	1,716,289	!D0026771164192 +6.88%
!000036	Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,726,693	1,670,890	!D0033992840662 +3.34%	Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN Combined Statistical Area
!000037	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,699,925	1,676,822	!D0042846931350 +1.38%	Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC Combined Statistical Area
!000038	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,601,374	1,600,852	!D0080283789575 +0.03%	Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area
!000039	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,566,981	1,555,908	!D0049453048643 +0.71%	Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI Combined Statistical Area
!000040	Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,377,850	1,345,596	!D0037309502500 +2.40%	Jacksonville-St. Marys-Palatka, FL-GA Combined Statistical Area
!000041	Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,341,690	1,324,829	!D0043640354106 +1.27%	Memphis-Forrest City, TN-MS-AR Combined Statistical Area
!000042	Oklahoma City, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,296,565	1,252,987	!D0033587331438 +3.48%	Oklahoma City-Shawnee, OK Combined Statistical Area
!000043	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,251,351	1,235,708	!D0043693758315 +1.27%	Louisville/Jefferson County–Elizabethtown–Madison, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area
!000044	Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,231,980	1,208,101	!D0039238055726 +1.98%
!000045	New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,227,096	1,189,866	!D0034644810868 +3.13%	New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS Combined Statistical Area
!000046	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,214,400	1,212,381	!D0063977391343 +0.17%	Hartford-West Hartford, CT Combined Statistical Area
!000047	Raleigh, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,188,564	1,130,490	!D0029686883866 +5.14%	Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Combined Statistical Area
!000048	Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,136,650	1,128,047	!D0048761321182 +0.76%	Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL Combined Statistical Area
!000049	Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,134,210	1,135,509	!H9932267584501 −0.11%	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Combined Statistical Area
!000050	Salt Lake City, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area	1,123,712	1,087,873	!D0034129430067 +3.29%	Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, UT Combined Statistical Area

If they’re not interested after a 162 game season, then they aren’t gonna get interested.

The truth is that I watched far more baseball in the 60’s and 70’s even though it’s on TV nightly throughout the season.

Maybe familiarity does breed contempt...or at least being taken for granted.

Make it special to be there.

Far more people attend baseball games today than they did in the sixties and seventies. Far more people watch them today than during the sixties and seventies.

What about the teams that win more than the division champions in other divisions. A team could win their division winning 82 games while another team in another division could lose their division while winning 95 games.

Beside without the Wild Card. Many of the divisions and playoff schedules are set by early September leaving da couple dozen meaningless games to be played out on the schedule.

Of course more people do watch on any given night.

1. Population was about 175 million in 1960. It’s about 315 million today.

2. There were 3 television networks in 1960. There are hundreds today, not counting internet connections.

3. Using the world series as a standard of interest in baseball, since it is the championship, just going from 1986 to 2012, the market share went from 28 down to 7, from an average of 36 million viewers down to 12 million viewers.

4. Therefore, not only is the population larger, but the interest is smaller by percent and by actual numbers.

Those division winners having more or fewer games won could be argued on the basis of strength of their division.

But, if a second place team can’t win against their division first place team after all those games, then why should they get another shot at it?

Let’s make the season count. That will be a disincentive for lackadaisical play and a reward for trying harder.

The bottom line is, which approach puts more butts in seats?