Why Can't we Just Leave Well Enough Alone?

One difference between baseball and football (and there are many, just ask George Carlin.  Oh wait, he's dead, never mind!) is that football has one game to determine the team that will be the champion for a particular season - the Super Bowl.  Baseball has the World Series, which is a best-of-seven series as opposed to just one game.  If the World Series was reduced to one game only, not only would it make the Series more exciting (actually it wouldn't be a "series" anymore so you'd have to change the name), but more people would watch, more advertisements would be sold at ridiculous prices, and more chips and beer would be sold all over the country.  But I don't generally like change (and it would bring up the dilemma of who would be your starting pitcher for that one game), so Wild Card games (best of 5) and two League Championship Series (best of 7) are OK with me.  Well, apparently Major League Baseball owners don't agree with me, because they have decided to expand the playoffs starting possibly next year (because no one sees anything wrong with baseball being played until Thanksgiving).  Wait, actually it's only one game, which seemed easier to fit into the schedule than a best-of-three first-round series, so there WON'T be baseball played until Thanksgiving.   OK, I get it.

This long-talked-about expansion of Major League Baseball's playoffs could be incorporated as soon as this coming season.  The new format will expand the Wild Card to a pair of additional teams, one each in the American and National Leagues. The two Wild Card teams will meet in a one-game playoff prior to the three-tiered postseason, which will remain the same.  Are you following me?  Good!  The only good thing about this is that the Washington Nationals have a better chance of making it to the playoffs now, but it also means that 10 of the 30 teams will be in the playoffs.  It kind of makes it not-so-special anymore if 1/3 of the teams can make it to the postseason.

 

The expanded playoffs are linked to the sale of the Houston Astros to some rich guy named Jim Crane and their move from the NL to the AL, effective for the 2013 season.  The Commissioner's Office and the MLB Players Association collaborated on those developments during some collective bargaining negotiations, and I must say, I don't really care in which league Houston plays.  If Texas fans want both their teams in the scaredy-cat league where the pitchers are too sensitive to bat for themselves, then that's their problem.  This does mean that the Astros' shift from the NL Central to the AL West will give each league 15 teams, with five clubs in all six divisions.  That actually makes sense now that I think about it, because in the past few years, the AL West only had four teams and the NL Central had 6, while the other divisions each had five.  So now every division will have 5 teams and it will look much nicer and more even in the newspaper and on the Internet when we look at the standings.
 
Adding another Wild Card addresses a common point that baseball players like to bring up, which is that teams dominating over 162 games should be rewarded more and teams clinching a berth at season's end should have a greater obstacle.  Sorry, I'm not buying that.  If your team wins 100 games in a season but is not first in its division, then too bad.  I bet you it was the owners of the Red Sox who came up with that idea, since they would have been in the playoffs this year if they had instituted this expanded Wild Card thing.  Those Red Sox fans just can't settle for 2 World Series championships in the past 7 years, can they?
 
So there you have it (if I haven't lost you already).  15 teams in each league, 5 teams in each division, one 1-game Wild Card for the loser teams, best-of-five Wild Card games for the good teams, one League Championship Series per league and one World Series.  If you're still lost and just can't wrap your head around it, just keep reading my blog and come October I will tell you for which team to root.  In the meantime, keep reading the newspapers along with me while we play "Where in the world is Albert Pujols going to end up?".

Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out, Koby!

Whoever said there wasn't much going on in baseball during the off-season certainly hasn't been reading the newspapers lately - the Gold Glove awards were handed out, some teams have already made some trades (the Atlanta Braves traded drinkin' and cheatin' Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians for a minor-leaguer), and some teams have started courting high-priced free agents.  I will address some of these things in a minute, but first let me fill you in on what had me at the edge of my seat for two days last week - the kidnapping and successful rescue of Nationals' catcher Wilson Ramos.

Wilson Ramos had a very good rookie season with the Nats, learning the ropes from veteran Iván Rodriguez (sorry, I just had to mention "Pudge"!).  Ramos ended the season with a batting average of .267, which included 22 doubles and 15 home runs.  Ramos was playing winter ball in his home country of Venezuela and was kidnapped last Wednesday in his parents' home.  Luckily Ramos was rescued only two days later, and he seems to be physically fine though he says the psychological wounds will take a long time to heal.  (Thanks to my pal John for breaking the good news about the rescue to me via Facebook!).  Now if I were Ramos, I would go play winter baseball somewhere else far from my hometown, like, say, Puerto Rico!

Speaking of winter ball in Puerto Rico, Koby Clemens (son or Roger) was playing for the Mayaguez Indians, a baseball team with a long history of star players, championship seasons, and consistent development of up-and-coming talent.  Well because Wilson Ramos was kidnapped in another country that has NOTHING to do with Puerto Rico, Koby's daddy demanded that his son leave the island right away for fear of Koby's safety.  He said nothing to his teammates or to anyone else; just got on a plane and left for fear that he too would be kidnapped.  Now, I lived in Puerto Rico for over 17 years and never heard of a famous person being kidnapped for ransom, let alone a twenty-five-year-old who has spent 6 years in the minor leagues and is no Prince Fielder at first base.  So you know what, Roger?  Take your precious little boy and continue to raise him in a bubble - and if he's even half as much of an idiot as you are, I can guarantee you that I will dislike him as much as I dislike you!

(Big sigh!)  On another note... How about those Miami Marlins?  Yes, they officially changed their name yesterday from the Florida Marlins.  They will be opening a brand-new ballpark in the spring, they have a new manager in Ozzie Guillen, and they are woo-ing Albert Pujols like he's the Queen of England.  I have also heard that Guillen wants his team to sign the now-unemployed Iván Rodriguez, so the Marlins just might be an interesting team to watch next year.  Plus Guillen is one of those passionate managers who actually gets excited and worked up, which I always enjoy.  Just what Nationals' fans need - another team in the NL East to rain on their parade!  No one has signed anything yet though, so we'll just have to see what happens with Pujols, Fielder, and the other free agents who are floating around out there in baseball limbo.