MLB Discussing Realignment: Marlins to AL a Possibility

[Party]

Oops should have known that.

[Madman81]

lolz @ the thought of moving the Cardinals.

[Party]

Looking at this through the lens of TV, it makes more sense for Milwaukee to play in one of the Western Divisions over Houston and Dallas in the Western Divisions.

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

lolz @ the thought of moving the Cardinals.

Like I said, I know that really isn't a possibility. It's just that St. Louis and Houston are the two NL Central teams that are the farthest west in the division.

[Party]

St. Louis and Houston are also mega markets. Cardinals TV and radio territory covers something like 6 states.

[Todd]

Not to mention St. Louis has been in the NL for 100 years. Thats the equivalent of saying the Yankees might switch to the NL. Some times are immune to reasonable logistics.

[Party]

Pretty sure mibs meant the NL West.

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

Pretty sure mibs meant the NL West.

This. I was not suggesting that the Cardinals change leagues.
--------------------
The other NL team that makes sense to move to the AL would be Colorado. They're kind of out in the middle of nowhere anyway and they're one of the closer teams to Seattle.

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

Just when baseball appears to be coming to its senses and leveling the playing field, it starts getting crazy and raising the possibility of abolishing the three-division format.

Realignment is a good idea. Balancing the schedule is a good idea. Two 15 team leagues consisting of three five team divisions is a good idea.

But grouping all 15 teams into one big mess in each the AL and NL? Bad idea.

Talk about channeling your inner 1960s.

Baseball was there, for nearly 80 years, but the most teams in either league was 12, and that was back before the turn of the century the 19th century. In 1969, baseball went to the two division format before the current setup was instituted in 1994.

Three divisions, as long as they are balanced, are good for the game and good for rivalries. That means sending one NL Central team to the AL West - Houston seems to be the team of choice, an idea that was suggested in this column a year ago - and tweaking other divisions to make them more geographically friendly.

Along with balanced divisions the league needs to balance the schedule, getting rid of one team playing another in its division 18 times.

All that is left is expanding the playoffs to five teams in each league - I still believe division winners deserve automatic playoff spots - and playing by the same rules in both leagues (the DH for all or none) because two 15-team leagues means always having one interleague series, and the game is as good as new.

Of course, this is not preferred by all.

It is no coincidence that Tampa manager Joe Maddon and Boston's Terry Francona would like to see two 15-team leagues with the top five teams making the playoffs. They play in the loaded AL East, where in recent years the top three teams in the American League reside (along with the Yankees) and one always is left out of the playoff party.

"I'm all for adding playoff teams," Francona said. "I never want to go home until we are ready. As tough as it was last year, we would have made the playoffs (in a 15-team league with five playoff teams) and once that happens you never know, as we've proven."

"Throw rivalries out, throw all this other stuff out," Maddon said. "I like it for that reason, it gives us the most optimal chance to be a playoff contender."

But three divisions create all kinds of excitement.

You have six races instead of two, which means more interest later in the season and more interest results in more bodies through the turnstyles. Do you think fans would flock to see the Tigers and White Sox on the final weekend of the season if they are battling for fifth and six in the AL as opposed to first and second in the AL Central?

Rivalries are maintained and created. Games featuring the Cardinals and Brewers have more juice for one reason: They are NL Central foes.

And if you think empty seats are eyesores now in cities like Kansas City, Oakland and Pittsburgh, how bad will it be in August and September if fans see they are in 14th place and 25 games out. The psyche of the fan is a lot different when a team is in fourth or fifth place rather than 14th or 15th.

Maddon believes rivalries are "overstated," saying you can't force two teams to become adversaries. He gives the example that baseball is "trying to make us and the Marlins a rivalry" but it just isn't there.

True. But Maddon admits there are a few natural rivals and believes the Rays have forged strong rivalries with the Red Sox and Yankees.

And how did that happen? One reason: They are in the same division. This would not have happened if they were all part of one 15-team conglomerate.

The only drawback to three divisions was occasionally a division winner qualified for the playoffs with a worse record than a second or third place team from another division.

Expanding to five playoff teams would mostly take care of that problem. Since 1993, division winners in the NL had the sixth best overall record just three times. That's three out of 17 years.

Considering the game would lose four races (two in each league), that would diminish rivalries, hurt attendance and surely affect television ratings, baseball needs to look ahead and not back 50 years.

Radical realignment would set baseball back

[Jay]

Why would you have divisions and balance the schedule so you aren't playing your division rivals 18 times a year. That defeats the point of having the divisions in the first place.

Personally I am a fan of the no division format. With:
- a recognized league champion. best regular season record. it should be recognized.
- a 4 team per league playoff

[AdamRavs]

Milwaukee would not move either due to the rivalry with the Cubs.. You guys don't get to see it much but its as big as the Cards/Cubs rivalry.. Bud being the previous owner of them Brewers wouldn't allow it either.