The discussion that yesterday's item generated on the competence of Bud Selig, combined with a pair of uninspiring games from our local teams ("uninspiring" serving as a euphemism for "I had the night off and didn't watch them"), motivated me to look into the blog closet for this old idea. Tom Verducci wrote this a couple of years ago for Sports Illustrated's Web site, but the link isn't working. You can read it by clicking the first story here.
So let's do it. It's a participatory item: What would you do if you could replace Bud Selig for one day? Pretend that the Players Association doesn't exist (stop salivating, Richie G.), so that you can pass through whatever you want.
Here's my agenda:
1. Institute instant replay, now. Start with boundary calls on home runs. But make it clear that the intent is to eventually have instant replay decide controversial calls on everything besides balls and strikes. Explain to the fans that, while some of these determinations might lengthen the game, it'll be far more palatable to lengthen the game in a "productive" manner than to watch the wronged manager work his way to an ejection.
2. Announce that the designated hitter position will be terminated after the 2012 season. That allows Cleveland's Travis Hafner, the DH with the greatest job security, to play for the duration of his contract. I'm old school. I like the strategy involved when the pitcher hits. Plus, the absence of the DH should make up some of the time lost by the usage of replay.
3. Redesign the postseason to make life harder for the wild-card winner. This was Verducci's top priority . We discussed it yesterday here, and I first blogged about it last September. I'd go with the way the Pacific League used to do it - the wild-card winner must win four games to advance past the first round, while the division winner need win only three. I'm confident that the public would quickly catch onto the formula.
4. Spend more to find a reliable test for HGH. Baseball is high on its expert in this field, Gary Green, and I certainly don't have any evidence that Green isn't legitimate. But why put all your eggs in one basket? Why not throw some more resources to a different expert and see if the competition can speed up the development time? There's no harm in trying this, is there?
5. Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about George Mitchell. "Of course he's a profoundly conflicted creep. But look, those nimrods in Congress worship the guy so much, they think he doesn't even use the bathroom. Understand that, by hiring Mitchell to lead the investigation, Bud Selig got Congress off the industry's back, at least until the Democrats lose power back to the Republicans. Will it hurt Bud's legacy that he selected his pal, ensuring his own job security? Absolutely. But it also prevented, at least for the short term, more Congressional interference."
6. Reduce, and simplify, interleague play. Borrow from the NFL's model on interconference play, which promotes parity. We're going to make it just six interleague games _ one week, constituting two, three-game series. If you finished in first or second place in your division, then you're going to play the first- and second-place team in the assigned division for that year. If you finished third or fourth, then you're going to play the corresponding third- and fourth-place team.
For instance, in 2008, the Yankees, having finished second in the AL East in 2007, would have played the Cubs and Brewers, and the Mets, having finished second in the NL East last year, would've played the Angels and Mariners.
The league imbalance makes the formula tricky for the five fifth-place clubs and one sixth-place team (last place in the NL Central). Suffice it to say that those six losers will play a six-game schedule amongst themselves. Forget about rewarding bad teams (which often draw poorly) by sending the Yankees or Red Sox their way. Make those losers work their way to such revenues. You're also giving them a hand up by letting them play teams with an equally shaky recent past.
7. Make Pete Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame again. This was Fay Vincent's biggest mistake: Instead of letting the writers decide Rose's fate _ and I'm optimistic the majority would've done the right thing and kept him out of Cooperstown _ he came up with a new rule that people suspended from baseball shouldn't be eligible for the Hall. The rule targeted Rose. It should be eliminated.
Rose's 15 years of eligibility on the writers' ballot have passed, but urge the writers to make an exception and put him on their ballot for 2009 and only 2009. Give the BBWAA one chance to formally reject him, and after that put him on the Veterans Committee's ballot.
Of course, if he actually gets voted in, then we're all probably headed for, as Bill Murray put it in "Ghostbusters": "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!"
To clarify, since I see this already coming up in the responses: I'm not advocating Rose's inclusion in the Hall. I'd never vote for him, personally. I'm just saying he shouldn't be banned from the ballot. He should be considered, just as the steroid guys should.
All right, now it's your turn. Jim, sorry, you do not have the power to send Selig to Guantanamo Bay ;) But otherwise, anything goes.
What moves should Jerry Manuel make? There's not much for him to do, unless Omar Minaya can pull off a trade that packs any sort of impact beyond Trot Nixon. Certainly, the Mets should platoon Carlos Delgado at first base, but I'm not sure that's going to win them the pennant.
Drop Oliver Perez from the rotation? Maybe. But who's replacing him? The problem with dropping Perez is that, as horrible as he can be, he also can be great. And as Joel Sherman points out this morning in his blog, Perez's next turn comes against the Yankees, against whom he usually pitches well.
Unless he relents on trading top minor leaguers for a quality starting pitcher _ and I'd be shocked if he did _ Brian Cashman might be playing musical chairs all season long with the Yankees' rotation.
Comments (40)
I'm going to offer my brief opinions on your points and then add one or two of my own...
1. Sure, why not? By the way, baseball is my favorite sport and I've never complained about the length of the game. I relate it to movies - if it's a good one, I don't care how long it is.
2. Absolutely
3. I like it. It's complicated, but I like it. They'll never do it, though.
4. Why don't I care more about this? But sure, go ahead and do it.
5. Yes
6. Very interesting suggestion and I'd be okay with it. I think baseball's more likely compromise is to keep the natural rivalries intact and dump the rest of the match-ups.
7. I've always hated Pete Rose. But's it's mostly irrational so I'm not the best judge of this situation.
As far as my own suggestions go...
1. Get rid of the rule that says the winning league from the All-Star game gets home field advantage in the world series. I'm open to new suggestions, but off the top of my head? Give home field advantage to the team with the best record (added bonus - wild card teams are less likely to get home field advantage).
2. Baseball might be doing this already - let every negro league player who was "drafted" this year don a uniform of their new team and honor them at a game.
3. I don't know if this is the commissioner's call or not but figure out a way for a team's minor league teams to be closer geographically to them. The Mets AAA team is in New Orleans. If they want to build a new stadium on Mitchel Field and move them there, let them. With the higher prices of MLB, they should be doing all they can to encourage attendance at minor league games. (On a personal note, I'll be attending a Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs game on Sunday - although this shoots my premise full of holes because even though it's the first season and the stadium is brand new, I don't think they're drawing well.)
That's it for me.
1. Instant replay - I have no progblem, but 1985 Cardinal fans will be irate that it happened 23 years too late.
2. Get rid of the DH - Yes. Also, it is usually an expensive position and the replacement will be a reliever, saving clubs up to 10mm/year.
3. Restrict home games for wild cards AND make sure that there are no new playoff rounds added - 12 teams in the playoffs would diminsh the importance of the season once again, defeating the purpose of your suggestion.
4. Studies on HgH indicaye that it does almost nothing to assist athletes unless used in combination with stronger drugs. It is a waste of money. The only solution is to constantly review medical chemistry and decide with doctors which drugs to ban - and if they are banned by baseball, shouldn't we ban them everywhere, as we are telling kids exactly what harmful substances will help them?
5. Interview Mitchell and ask how he is enjoying his 500k/year with the Sox. Ask for a complete accounting of his investigation. Then do the best thing possible - ignore him for the rest of his life.
6. Fine. And I like the interleague victor getting home field idea.
7. NONONO!
From the time you start playing pro ball, there is a sign on the locker room door which you pass by repeatedly each day which contains the rule saying you don't bet on baseball. Rose saw this baseball law thousands and thousands of times and refused to beleive it covered him. Rose was caught - the evidence of gambling while a player/manager in Cincy is clear - and yet reporters who vote for the Hall claim they will use their own judgement to keep supposed (not proved) steroid users out of the Hall. Hypocrisy worthy of Mr. Mitchell.
--
By the way, Manuel now wants to shake up the pitching staff. Didn't he say last week he wanted to clearly define everyone's roles? Does he listen to what he says?
Suggestions
Instant Replay for Home Runs and controversial calls
Designated Runner for pitchers during interleague play...just kidding
Either get rid of DH or extend it to the Nat'l League
Replace Perez with Heilman
Platoon Delgado at first
Hallof Fame for Pete Rose...NO, NO and NO
Alkso...Wild Card teams only get 2 home games...first three games at Div winner's park
The DH thing must be generational. It was created before I was born and I just don't see what the big deal is. I watch NL and AL games and enjoy both. I think people definitely exaggerate the "strategy" that goes into NL games. It's also frustrating that pitchers simply don't know how to hit. There are only a handful of pitchers who can legitimately hit, and some guys -- like Ben Sheets, for example -- are pitiful hitters. An NL team can get two hits in an inning with two outs, but then see it go to waste because their pitcher comes up and swings wildly at sliders in the dirt. This is "pure" baseball? Giving the pitcher free outs? Pitchers and hitters are so removed from each other nowadays that sometimes it almost seems unfair. I mean, you don't ask the position players to pitch -- that would seem silly, no? -- so why do pitchers have to hit? Were pitchers better hitters back in the day?
It might make for lower scores, but I don't think it technically makes for "better pitching."
One rule I'd like to implement is having the umpires be more accountable for their behavior. Last night was a perfect example: the ump initiated a fight with Beltran, and then physically and deliberately bumped Manuel. He should not be allowed to get away with this. A manager wouldn't. They should fine and suspend him.
Umpires basically think they are above the law. They get into it with managers and players needlessly all the time. And sometimes their strikezones are so mysterious it affects the game. Poor performance should mean something with them.
Something else: end the slotting system in the draft, which most teams ignore, but toadying teams stick to. And stop forcing teams like the Yankees and Red Sox to delay the announcement of deals with top picks because they went over slot -- you are wasting the first-year development time of the draft pick.
Ken. I'm going to give my thoughts on your suggests.
1. Instant replay should be in now and for home runs only. I would add calls like the one in the NL Wild Card one game playoff between the Padres and Rockies last year where according to replays, Matt Holliday didn't touch home plate.
2. Leave the DH alone. Who wants to see the pitchers hit. I don't. If you are going get rid of the DH, then tell all the other baseball leagues including the minors, college, etc. to follow suit. Otherwise leave the DH alone because nobody wants to see the pitcher hit.
3. I have no problem with making it harder for the Wild Card teams in both leagues to make it to the World Series.
4. By the you find a reliable test for HGH, there is going to be a new drug you have to find a test for.
5. Bud is taken a beating as far as the Mitchell report. But what was Bud suppose to do, do nothing? The Players union should take the hit because they had to be drag kicking and screaming by Congress to get adrug policy in place, and they stonewall Mitchell in his investigation.
6. What I would do with Interleague play is keep the natural riviaries liek Yanks-Mets, Cubs-White Sox,etc. Then I would have teams play 2 teams form the other division. For example the Yanks would play the Mets 6 times. Then they play the Cubs and Cardinals in the NL Central and the Dodgers and Giants in the NL West. Something like that.
7. Pete Rose should be in the HOF for what he did as a player. He should be honor for what he on the playing field.
I would like to see Home field advantage be given to the team with the best record. Doing it for the All-star game is a waste of time. Plus the AL has won it since they put this in. How about the NL show some guts this year and make it a game. Every sport that plays their championship does it. NBA and NHL do it. And the NFL does it up until the Super Bowl. I don't care if the schedule is unbalance. Bottom line is the team with the best record should get home field advantage for the World Series.
The Mets are a team that is headed nowhere fast. While they are still in striking distance of the NL East, if they can't be more consistant, then Mets are going nowhere. As for Perez, he what he is. And he is due to have a bad outing agaisnt the Yanks.
Ken, if the Yanks are going to make a deal for a pitcher, Cashman is going to have to trade some of prospects, not all.
Ken's ideas are all good except for giving Pete Rose a chance to be in the HOF. I don't trust the voters to do the right thing. To make his interleague play idea easier to do, I'd abolish the Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays and make 2 14 team leagues and disperse the major league and minor league players in a dispersal draft done by worst record and 10 rounds.
" The Players union should take the hit because they had to be drag kicking and screaming by Congress to get a drug policy in place, and they stonewall Mitchell in his investigation."
Dennis - as someone who was around when the cocaine scandal hit, I can tell you that you comments are without merit. As I have said before, a drug policy was negotiated in the mid-80's for drugs that would contain most of what the current agreements hold. But Peter Ueberroth abrogated the agreement for PR purposes (while also advocating US bombing of coca fields in South America) and his nascent political desires.
Drugs fell off the table as an important topic, becuase the owners were concentrating on Pete Rose, collusion, salary caps and expansion. And if owners wanted to punish players they thought were users, they could have requested probable cause testing or refused to hire the players in question - and this never happened
Mitchell was a well paid cabin boy of the owners and deserved to be stonewalled. If MLB wanted to truly clear the air, they would NOT have hired one of their own and they would have co-operated in some way with the union to make a joint effort tto clean up the steroid era. They would NOT have delivered a copy of the report to the union long after the owners received their copy to rub it in their faces, also!.
1) instant replay for home runs sounds fine. Phil Mushnick in the Post ranted several weeks ago on how "clubs own TV networks and they will not give accurate pictures". The NHL has clubs owning networks and they have a good system set up for review of goals. get help from them.
2) Don Fehr decides if the DH stays or goes. I think you actually have more strategy without it because with a pitcher you almost always bunt with a runner on. With a 9th place hitter in the AL you can bunt, hit or hit and run. I don't care what they do with the DH.
3) I have thought for several years baseball should do this. I have also thought you should make the series best of three, best of five and best of seven for DS, LCS and WS. Anna Kournikova will win five straight grand slams before owners give up playoff dates.
4) Politicians won't like this but I would let the Players Association decide what the drug testing should be. If Donald Fehr and his minions don't care if Ken Caminitti dies young from drug use, why should I?
5) If you call Mitchell a "respected public servant" people will realize you mean he's only mildly corrupt. Like the great Tammany Hall boss George Washington Plunkett, he believes in honest graft.
6) I like the current method of home town rivalries but Davidoff's isn't bad.
7) Are Joe Jackson, Chick Gandil, Eddie Cicotte and Hal Chase also hall-eligible too? They shouldn't be either. Trusting writers? Please, the leading writer in this town is Mike Lupica. We can only be grateful radio personalities like Francesa and Russo don't have a vote (nod from Jim out there).
I would add make the games faster paced (there is a rule for throwing pitches within 20 seconds. Put a clock up and enforce it). Bill James had some ideas a few years ago to bring more variety of offensive ideas in..widen bat handles and gradually move hitters away from the plate. Also do something about maple bats which splinter too often.
I wonder if there is a way to give fans a vote in the Hall of Fame. Would it be the worst thing in the world to have a promotion where fans get to vote who should go in of the top three finishers from the last BBWAA vote with maybe two names of past players (Minnie Minoso, Ron Santo type) or new eligibles of high quality? Divide it into 30 districts (one for each team) or maybe 32 with mail in and internet voting as there own. Award the finishers in each district a 5-4-3-2-1 and the highest player wins. That way it won't matter if 3,000,000 fans at Fenway each punch out 25 votes each for Jim Rice. He gets only 5 votes from the Boston precinct. I don't think Cooperstown would be greatly diminished if Rice or Jack Morris is voted in. Right now the only thing fans are allowed to do is pay.
Play the Saturday world series game in the afternoon. Saturday night is dead for TV programming. College football can't be that strong if you compete with it. It will somewhat appease those who cry how games should be played in the afternoon.
Work out a system of amateur draft of foreign players. Maybe allow teams to trade their picks once every three years if there is a superduper prospect they can't sign.
Now if I haven't gotten enough people made, how about this one? Soccer and rugby teams worldwide have sponsor logos across their jerseys. Watch a NASCAR race 20 years ago and it's "Richard Petty friving the number 42 car". Watch today and it's "Tony Stewart driving the #20 Home Depot Toyota".. If a team wants to. let them prostitute themselves to Apple or Google like they do with stadiums. Just give other teams a slice of the revenue. If the Yankees can get $10 million for placing an ATT logo on their jersey, they get 10% ($1 million). The other teams divy up the rest (about $310,000 each). Why let NASCAR. IRL and BASS get this money?
By the way, that's not a picture of Judge Landis - it's Peter Gammons in ten years....
I hope to God they never put logos on the uniforms. Japanese players look moronic covered in them.
Leave the DH alone. It's cool.
If I were Bud Selig, I would investigate the Yankees organization for its questionable record of calling a rainout of a game after fans are left in limbo at the stadium for hours on end, spending their hard earned money while a public address announcer continues to promise a start time to the game, only to see it cancelled, sometimes when there is little rain falling. In fact, I'd get the FBI in on this as well.
Rock
Bob, the union doesn't trust the owners, and the owners don't trust the union. If baseball wants to clean up the sport they should have hired someone who is not a baseball fan like Mitchell, who doesn't side for either side.
Jim Clark, when Imus needed Lupica's support with the Rutgers debacle, Lupica said nothing just like TIm Russert. Mike and Chris were the only ones who supported Imus. And where was Lupica in all this? Nowhere to be found.
Bud the self-proclaimed traditionalist. should make the Opening Day at Cincinnati every year.
Bob Tufts: I'll bet Judge Landis could sing better than Gammons did on that album he put out two years ago. Yoko Ono would be ashamed to release something so wretched.
You have to at least give Gammons credit for having cojones big enough to make a song called "Bad Teeth."
Ken:
This is more directed at your column today and is more of a question. How long does it take to build a quality farm system?
Omar came in in late 2004 and realistically couldn't start scouting and drafting players until 2005. Is three years (or in fairness 4 drafts) a fair amount of time? Again, that could well be the case which is why I am asking.
1. Instant Replay for homers and plays at the plate
2. Get rid of the DH immediately. The AL is Checkers, the NL is Chess.
3. Make a choice: Interleague OR Wild Card. Interleague games throw off the competitive balance of the Wild Card. My preference is to scrap Interleague play, so for the Wild Card...
4. Go back to 2 divisions per league, East and West, play a balanced schedule and take the 2 division winners and the 2 next best records in the League (regardless if both come from one division) for the playoffs. I like the suggestion of making the WC winner have to win an extra game in the first round.
5. Bring back scheduled doubleheaders! At the very least do it for the 3 big summer holidays, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day. 2 for the price of 1, that's fan friendly.
6. Home-field advantage to the WS for the team with the best record.
7. I could care less about whether Pete Rose is in the HoF or not, either way his reputation has been ruined.
Speaking of holidays--make sure every team plays on them and make sure a representable amount of them are day games, at least half
Jim C. great ideas on World Series day games and having fans vote on the HOF. As for Rose - yes, the Black Sox were technically eligible for Cooperstown until Vincent's 1991 ruling. I don't like that Vincent's ruling was ex post facto - it was obviously designed to take the power out of the writers' hands re: Rose. If the writers had indeed voted in Rose, then the BBWAA would've been forever stained (or, you might say, more stained than we already are).
Matt T., Cashman gained full power with the Yankees in the middle of the 2005 season, a few months after Minaya took over the Mets. In that time, he has managed to dramatically rebuild the Yankees' farm system. He did that partly by paying over slot to get certain players, but also thanks to strong evaluations by Damon Oppenheimer and his staff.
Sandy, they stopped playing holiday games because teams didn't draw well. People were returning from vacations and weren't going to the ballpark.
I can't stand how everyone is comparing Rasner to Small. Wasn't Rasner at one time a top pitching prospect in the Expos organization? Small never was that highly regarded. I'm not saying Rasner is very good or anything, but he can be a productive 5th starter for a good team. Unfortunately, he's been slumping lately, maybe because there's more pressure on him with Wang out. Cashman needs to bring in another starter.
And leave the DH alone, and once again allow AL teams to use the DH in all interleague games. It's nothing short of ridiculous that Al pitchers have to hit in about 2 games per season when they're not trained to do that.
Yes, make it harder for wildcard teams.
And yes, put Rose and Rice in the Hall of Fame already!
Ken: To change subjects slightly, you have said wins are a poor measure of starting pitchers. I agree with you. What stats do you think give a better measure? How many of your peers, the guys who fill out Cy Young and MVP votes, feel the same? Or are they still believers in "they pitch according to the score" and ignore ERA and run support?
I read a great book on Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis called Judge and Jury. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in baseball history and the period of 1920-1945. It’s 560 pages (100 pages of chapter notes), but for a true baseball fan, it’s an easy read. The author is David Pietrusza and Diamond Communications, Inc. You won’t regret reading this book.
1. Instant Replay – “I say no, no, no.” The games are too long now and the human error element is part and parcel of baseball. Replay doesn’t always get it right either due to camera angles, etc. If regular calls start getting challenged it will ruin the flow of the game. Why is baseball becoming the NFL (abolishing the league offices, interleague play, three divisions, etc.)?
2. DH – Yes, Yes, Yes, get rid of it today. It is a terrible innovation. Let’s get more strategy into the game. I pray this happens during my lifetime.
3. Of course, wildcard teams should have a tougher road to travel. Put them behind the 8-ball.
4. HGH – Yes, let baseball spend more bucks developing an accurate test. Maybe then we can finally move past this issue.
5. George Mitchell – Anything that helps strip the bark off this guy is welcome. He sickened me as a senator, I hated his politics and I can’t stand his smug attitude.
6. Inter-league Play – I am not in favor of it, but if we are stuck with it then I completely support Ken’s reform. It makes perfect sense.
7. Pete Rose – Rose is a great player. Rose is a disgrace. Rose bet on his own team. Yes, Rose didn’t bet against his team. But, betting is the cardinal No-No in baseball. If Rose is brought off the ineligible list for the HOF, then some of the Black Sox should be, too. I am especially thinking of Buck Weaver, who took no money and had a great series.
Ken, while the Supreme Court made a Guantanamo Bay ruling concerning terrorists, it didn’t address baseball commissioners. Let’s send Bud there, let him experience waterboarding and finally get some truthful answers. We can get a lot done before he invokes his rights under habeas corpus
LOL on Bud and Guantanamo, Jim. As for pitchers, better measures than wins include strikeouts, ERA, innings pitched, WHIP, run support and, among the "new age" stuff, ERA+, BABIP and VORP. And I'm sure there is newer stuff that I'm not even aware of.
Some of my fellow BBWAA members are right along with me, while others are definitely of the "You get paid to win games!" mentality.
Jim makes the rest of us look moderate on Bud and George.
Ditto on the book on Judge Landis.
I also think if Jim really hated Bud Selig, he would make him listen to Mike and the Mad Dog 24/7.
One related question on Rose. Suppose an inducted member, say a manager like Frank Robinson or Bob Lemon gets caught betting on baseball. Will he get kicked out of Cooperstown.
Great question, Jim C. I don't think an inductee can get kicked out of Cooperstown.
I think Selig likes Mike and Dog, he's a regular guest and they don't ask him anything tough. Since hGH doesn't have an accurate testing vehicle, it would be unfair to just have baseball pay to find one. All the sports that are affected by these illegal drugs should pitch in together and help fund the labs to expedite a test to find it in the testing.
Steriods and Drugs are here to stay folks. Every sport has issues with Steriods. By the time we find a test for HGH, new drugs will be develop and we have to find tests for those drugs. Blood testes will not solve all the problems because they can be inaccurated and blood can be tamper. Why do you suppose the Players union in Baseball,.NFL, NBA and NHL have not agree to used a blood test?
Ken: Since 2005 (which is three drafts up until two weeks ago)
The Yankees took in the first round CJ Henry (a certifiable bust they were lucky to unload in the Abreu trade); Ian Kennedy who may or may not work, the undeniably great pickup Joba Chamberlain and Andrew Brackman who needed Tommy John surgery. From where I sit that's a pretty mixed bag. Mets drafted Pelfrey who finally appears to be working out, Jonathan Niese and Mulvey who they used in the Santana trade.
If the Yankess lost both of their corner outfielders for any length of time, is there some stud in the minors ready to take his place? No there is not. A lot of this rating farm systems. appears to be more salesmanship than anything else.
The Yankees actually got C.J. Henry back into their farm system and I believe just got back from injury and is hitting near .300 in high A ball. Yes, he's a bust to this point, but they say he had an eye problem in the past which they think is now corrected. He has talent.
Kennedy is probably at best a #4 starter in the AL, a #3 in the NL. He has done very well in the minors and looked good in the majors last year but obviously has had some bad starts in 2008. Yankees need him healthy and ready in the second half. He could also be trade bait in a potential Sabathia/Oswalt deal.
The Yanks knew at the time Brackman needed surgery but the guy is so big and has such a huge upside, you couldn't pass on him.
And if they sign Cole in this year's draft, that will turn out to be a great pick.
Brett Gardner deserves to be called up to the Yankees as he's pretty much done it all in AAA. Austin Jackson will be a star and will be the Yankees' CF or RF by late 2009. Hopefully Tabata grows up because he has a ton of potential.
Ken...I'd LOVE to be Commissioner. I'll make it reasonable and not fantasy.
1) Eliminate the DH in 2018. This way the current older players would still be able to be a DH. and it would let Miguel Cabrera know he needs to get in better shape.
2) The team with the best record gets home field advantage. Duh.
3) Do the playoffs in a 2-2-1-1-1 style. This 2-3-2 gives WAY too much of an advantage to the home team. How many teams in baseball have won Games 6 & 7 on the road? I can only think of the Red Sox from 04. I know its never happened in the NBA.
3) Eliminate the A.L. Curfew. One of my fav Mets moments came in the 19 inning game in 1985 that ended at 3:55 a.m.
4) Never gonna happen but go back to four divisions and no wild card. People forget, but they loved baseball back in 1993.
Just FYI, Richie, #3 has already been accomplished. Matt, Jeff answered your challenge for me re: the Yankees' farm system. The Yankees have far more prospects than the Mets.
Wow...on the job for ten minutes and I already got rid of the curfew!! Whos'e better than me?!?!?
Richie G., The 2-3-2 fromat has been around baseball for the World Series since the first one in 1903 and has been use in the ALCS and NLCS since it went to a Best of 7 series in 1985. The 1926 Pirates, 58 Yanks, 67 Tigers and the 79 Pirates all won Game 6 and 7 on the road in the World Series after beening down 3 games to 1.
Ken, this was one of your best blog entries ever. It really is food for thought. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas/views with us. You are very sharp and really on top of your game and "the game." While we disagree of a few things and agree on most, what is clear is that you really have a love for the sport you are covering. It's little wonder you do such a good job at your job.
By the way, I have a little bit better appreciation for your comments about Pete Rose/HOF. Up until Vincent, the permanently ineligible list and HOF eligibility were separate and distinct. He usurped the HOF and the writers. That was wrong. I do support overturning that action while at the same time opposing Rose. I misunderstood. Now I understand after reading it more closely.
I didn't realize it was there that long Dennis, but I still say it sucks. They change everything else, they should change this as well. Also, I'd call the NFL Commish, and tell him to stop playing the Lions on Thanksgiving till they fire Millen!!
Okay, more on topic, if I was commissioner I'd actually realign the Major leagues:
East Division
Yankees
Mets
Red Sox
Phillies
Toronto
Atlantic Division
Baltimore
Washington
Atlanta
Tampa
Florida
Central Division
Cubs
White Sox
Brewers
Twins
St. Louis
Kansas City
Flyover Division
Texas
Houston
Arizona
Colorado
Seattle
Rust Belt Division
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Detroit
Cleveland
West Division
Angels
Dodgers
Giants
Padres
Oakland
Preserves almost all traditional rivalries and would greatly cut down on travel, making it good for the environment. If baseball
can survive expansion, steroids and the DH, realignment is a cinch.
Dennis is basically right. about the 2-3-2 format wit some minor exceptions. First one in 1903 was best of nine (so were 1919, 1920, 1921) and was 3-4-2. most of the early ones had varying formats. 1905 and 1906 changed every game (1906 an all chicago affair). 1907 had first three in Chicago, next two were in Detroit. Don't know where 6 and 7 would have been played 1908 had alternating with same teams. 1909 was 2-2-1-1-1. 1910 went 2-3 series over. back to a bunch of 1-1-1 and 2-2-unknown. subway series in 1920s were 1-1-1-1s. My best guess is the first definitive 2-3-2 is 1924. I guess Judge Landis had something to do with standardizing it. Before that with two league Presidents and the Cincinnati owner (friend of AL President Ban Johnson as the third member of the national commission..which is why it's called the commissioner) it was left to the individual clubs/managers to decide.
Bud Selig did propose an anonymous type realignment and it didn't get passed. Getting one team to change leagues was hard enough. Good thing it was Selig's own Brewers.
If I can realign baseball this is how I would align it.
ATLANTIC DIVISON
Yankees
Mets
Red Sox
Phillies
Pirates
Orioles
Nationals
Blue Jays
Braves
Rays
Marlins
MIDWEST DIVISION
Reds
Indians
Tigers
Brewers
White Sox
Cubs
Twins
SOUTHWEST DIVISION
Cardinals
Royals
Rangers
Astros
Rockies
D-Backs
PACFIC DIVISION
Mariners
Dodgers
Angels
Giants
A's
Padres
This is how I would align it.
Kenny D,
As usual, splendid post, inspiring many great comments.
Regarding No. 3, FYI, Japan has adopted the "extra win" into the LCS this year.
In both the Central and the Pacific Leagues, the team that finishes in first place will receive a bye into the LCS and a 1-victory advantage over their eventual opponent.
The 2 wild-cards in each league will play a best of 3 series and the winners of those first round series will have to play all road games at the 1st place teams' ballparks.
The LCS is a "best of 6." The 1st place team needs to win 3 games to advance to the Nippon Series and the wild card must win 4.
Do it, MLB!!!
It adds an extra hurdle for the wild-card without diluting the playoffs, adding travel or significantly adding length to the postseason.
Do it!