An Idea So Crazy It Might Work

[Jay]

The season length is to get rid of the need for half the league making the playoffs. It allows enough time to judge what are the 4 best teams in the league (currently what teams are best of the division and whos the best of the rest). The season length doesn't need to be changed.
Teams changing leagues and divisions year in and out would be absurd. Restructuring MLB with teams changing leagues would not be supported by a lot of clubs. Organizations build teams around specific styles of play that may benefit in one league rather than the other.

[emkayseven]

I don't see the problem in having two wild cards in each league. Best of 3 wild card playoff between the two wild card teams, then best record vs wild card winner and the other two teams play each other in best of 5 DS, then a best of 7 CS.

that's 10/30 teams making the playoffs. a 3 game playoff isn't going to break anyone's balls but it adds to the excitement and adds a few (5) more off days before the DS starts.

[Swifty]

I think the answer isn't so much in expanding the playoffs, the answer is putting the wild-card winner at a disadvantage.

Maybe you follow the NFL "flex" plan and have the final weekend of the season "flex" to the WC teams. Maybe you have the final 5 games of the season "flex" to a WC tourney. I don't think that additional playoff series need to be added. How you make the WC play-in work without expanding the playoffs or shortening the season, I'm not sure, but I think it can be done.

Shave 2 Spring games and 1 off day and there it is (hell, the first week day off needs to go anyway).

[Party]

First week day off is necessary for the colder/wetter spring climates. Rescheduling Opening Day to an off day in the middle of July is going to piss off a lot of people who bought tickets because OD is an event.

[Swifty]

Good call.

So then shorten the ASB by a day. Or kill an odd off day. Like take us for example. We have 3 consecutive Mondays off in June. That's overkill.

[Party]

Assuming baseball expands in the next decade:

AL East

New York
Boston
Toronto
New Jersey/Brooklyn/Connecticut

AL Central

Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Chicago

AL South

Tampa Bay
Texas
Baltimore
Kansas City

AL West

Seattle
Los Angeles
San Jose
Portland

NL East

New York
Philadelphia
Washington
Pittsburgh (LOLZ!)

NL Central

Milwaukee
Chicago
St. Louis
Colorado

NL South

Miami
Houston
Cincinnati
Atlanta

NL West

San Francisco
Los Angeles
Arizona
San Diego

No Wild Card.

[wanks1212]

I'd be in favor of Festa's idea (minor adjustments can be made, but the 4 divisions per league/no wild card is cool). But I can't see MLB ever putting the Yanks and Sox in the same division and saying "only one of you makes the playoffs every year, if you don't like it, tough shit."

[Party]

Perhaps in the league offices. But I think there would be enough support from the weaker divisions to get this passed. Look at the AL South, all of the sudden the Rays and Orioles under proper management don't have to be perfect to make the play-offs.

[wanks1212]

That's what I mean. The Yanks and Sox ownership groups so much pull that I have to believe they'd be able to ensure that, in any realignment, there's a possibility that they can both make the playoffs in any given year or are, at the least, not competing for one spot.

[Omar]

I don't see the problem in having two wild cards in each league. Best of 3 wild card playoff between the two wild card teams, then best record vs wild card winner and the other two teams play each other in best of 5 DS, then a best of 7 CS.

that's 10/30 teams making the playoffs. a 3 game playoff isn't going to break anyone's balls but it adds to the excitement and adds a few (5) more off days before the DS starts.

But why would you add another Wild Card team? You had 162 games to make it!

[CrimsonCane]

154 game season.
No divisions.
No interleague play.
Intraleague schedule parity
Top 4 teams in each league make the playoffs.

[Party]

That would be my ideal MLB.

[emkayseven]

mine too

[Party]

I'd also introduce a regular season champions award.