I think a few changes could be made (that would make purists choke on their ballpark franks.) I like a few things in the previous article I posted and such changes could usher in a new era for MLB.
1. Bid for WS venues. While there is nothing that compares to a WS at Fenway (in my opinion) they should follow the football model and stick to warm weather destinations. Make the world series a week long event, like the Superbowl.
2. Seven games, seven days, one start time. You kick off the series on Sunday and if it goes seven games than it ends on Sunday. Every game to be played at the same time.
3. Two leagues, two divisions. Get rid of all the inner league divisions and make it a free for all to nab the pennant. Bad for small market teams currently in weak divisions, but good for ratings and baseball.
4. Expanded wild card, sudden death bracket to play pennant winner. All games played at two neutral location over a weekend consecutively.
5. Return the mound to previous height.
6. Go back to 154 game season.
7. Limit managers to "X" timeouts (mound visits) which can also be used for instant replay (e.g. football.) Do we really need 10 pitching changes in a single game? This is why we have 4+ hour outings.
8. Get rid of interleague play. Seriously.
9. Get rid of the DH. Enjoy retirement Papi.
10. Get rid of revenue sharing. Sorry Tampa Bay...
1. I agree with this. Baseball is played in warm weather all year long but the World Series is played in pretty cold weather.
2. I disagree with this. Baseball should do Sunday-Thursday for nights and have an off day for Friday with the Saturday game being an afternoon game. TV ratings are kept in mind for baseball and this is probably the best way to maximize them.
3. I disagree that it will be good for baseball ratings. Having the teams feel like they have a shot in a bad division is great for ratings. If your team is 5 games out of the division you have more hope that they can make the playoffs than if they are 8 games out of the wildcard.
4. I like the idea and dislike it at the same idea. The sudden death playoffs would be great for ratings and excitement but at the same time they would be terrible for the actual sport itself because 1 game playoffs don't determine who the better team actually is.
5. I don't really know much about the mound height change that they did way back in the late 60s so I am not sure about this one.
6. I think it needs to be shorter than 154 games. Cut it down to 132 and have the postseason be in September when it still feels like baseball should still be played.
7. I feel like if a manager comes in they have to make a pitching change or challenge a play (if baseball ever accepts it). Limiting pitching changes though takes away from the actual game itself. If a game goes 17 innings you don't want to be stuck forcing a pitcher to throw too many pitches and injure himself.
8. I have no strong feelings about interleague play. If they scrapped it I wouldn't miss it and if they expanded it I wouldn't care.
9. I like the DH because it doesn't force teams to have their pitchers hit which results in a ton of pitching and lineup changes which makes the game take longer. I do think that the DH shouldn't be allowed to be a DH all game. Make it so that a DH can only DH for 4 innings and then he has to play the field and some one else has to DH.
10. I strongly disagree with this one. Baseball needs revenue sharing and they also need a salary cap and salary floor. No one wants to see 20 of the 30 teams be completely irrelevant because they can't afford to compete with the owners who are willing to spend a fortune. Unless a small market team is perfectly run (like Tampa Bay) they have no shot to compete without revenue sharing. What makes the NFL great is that every team feels like they are 1-2 years away from competing even if they are terrible.
[QUOTE=Bacchus;284382]
1. Bid for WS venues. While there is nothing that compares to a WS at Fenway (in my opinion) they should follow the football model and stick to warm weather destinations. Make the world series a week long event, like the Superbowl.
[/QUOTE]
I think that is ridiculous. The team with the best record should have home field adavntage, they need to do away with the winner of the all-star game getting home field. But both teams in the World Series deserve to play games at home in front of their fans because they have earned that right. The Superbowl is one game, the world series is up to seven games, so it isn't close to being the same thing.
Well, with all my ideas for good ratings shot down I guess the only hope for baseball is to to have the Red Sox/Yankees vs. Dodgers/Mets in the series every year.
[QUOTE=Bacchus;284405]Well, with all my ideas for good ratings shot down I guess the only hope for baseball is to to have the [B]Red Sox/Yankees vs. Dodgers/Mets[/B] in the series every year.[/QUOTE]
Hey, hey, hey!!!
[QUOTE=Bacchus;284405]Well, with all my ideas for good ratings shot down I guess the only hope for baseball is to to have the Red Sox/Yankees vs. Dodgers/Mets in the series every year.[/QUOTE]
Or they could always just get rid of baseball all together ;)
[QUOTE=jbo29j;284450]The nba is more popular than the Mlb? I think they are going to make two divisions when the astros move in.[/QUOTE]
Check the Finals ratings vs World Series ratings for the past 2-3 years. NBA has been increasing while MLB has been decreasing.
[QUOTE=TheFeedMachi;284451]Check the Finals ratings vs World Series ratings for the past 2-3 years. NBA has been increasing while MLB has been decreasing.[/QUOTE]
Looks like NBA ratings are down so far this season, heh.
I know the guy is Albert Pujols, but I wonder if the Rangers realize Berkman is hitting over .400 this World Series, and Pujols has 1 hit aside from his monster Game 3. Interesting decision to walk Pujols and bring up Berkman.
I guess it is a good game, if good games are settled after 16 + runs.
I consider a good game, 1-0 - with the only run a 15 pitch walk, who was bunted over to second and scored on an opposite field single against the shift.
Maybe that is what is wrong with baseball (near 20 run games) not to mention it is 12:20 ET on a work night so 95% of casual fans are probably sleeping at this point.
[QUOTE=Bacchus;284543]I guess it is a good game, if good games are settled after 16 + runs.
I consider a good game, 1-0 - with the only run a 15 pitch walk, who was bunted over to second and scored on an opposite field single against the shift.
Maybe that is what is wrong with baseball (near 20 run games) not to mention it is 12:20 ET on a work night so 95% of casual fans are probably sleeping at this point.[/QUOTE]
I agree it is not a "good" game, but it is definitely very, very entertaining!
The Cardinals literally have nobody else on their bench to hit. I have no idea what La Russa will do if this game goes any longer than the 11th inning.
[QUOTE=TheFeedMachi;284547]No one ever said it was a [B]good game[/B] just crazy and unbelievable.[/QUOTE]
Actually, RMD did say it was a "good game."
It is late and I really don't care who wins so I'll see it on Sportscenter in the AM. Hopefully it doesn't go to the 13th or 14th (and beyond.)
[QUOTE=Bacchus;284553]Actually, RMD did say it was a "good game."
It is late and I really don't care who wins so I'll see it on Sportscenter in the AM. [B]Hopefully it doesn't go to the 13th or 14th (and beyond.)[/B][/QUOTE]
Your wish is granted.
Now all of a sudden, it is Chris Carpenter vs. Matt Harrison to decide the World Series. I'd say the Cardinals are the heavy favorite with that pitching match up.
I've seen quite a few games and that was the best WS game I've ever watched. One of the best games period, post-season or otherwise. Not that the game was a beauty to behold, but the drama and tension made it one for the ages. I guess it helps that the Cards are one of my teams though.
That is the fourth WS game 6 to end in a walk off (I caught the trivia question earlier in the game). The funny thing is, I saw that and said "Well, you know what that means...we're getting a walkoff tonight."
Carlton Fisk
Kirby Puckett
Joe Carter
[QUOTE=MF41590;284556]Now all of a sudden, it is Chris Carpenter vs. Matt Harrison to decide the World Series. I'd say the Cardinals are the heavy favorite with that pitching match up.[/QUOTE]
I strongly disagree with the Cardinals being heavy favorites. Carpenter has only pitched on short rest once in his career. He gave up 4 runs in 3 innings of work. This will also be the 3rd time the Rangers see him. I would say that the Cardinals are slight favorites but only because of home field advantage and momentum and not from the pitching match up. I will take a Harrison on full rest + 1 extra day over Carp on short rest. It will be interesting to see how the bullpens play though after having to pitch so many innings and use so many arms last night.
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