Baseball should never have a 1 and done scenario. But off days are also not a requirement. If you don't earn a bye, then you don't get a day off. Start the WC rd the day after the season and go right in to the LDS on day 4. This is baseball. Teams play 10-20 days in a row all the time.
the solution to this is obvious. let teams choose if they want the bye or not. Orioles came in first so let them pick if they want the bye or not. if they dont then they can play the 6th seed in the opening round. Astros pick next if they want the bye.... etc . its simple. I guarantee nobody turns down the bye.
then i already foresee the pitching rotation complaints for the ones who can't line up their best. there's always going to be some angle to file a complaint about or make some lame excuses
I haven't seen the NL schedule yet but for the two CS series they alternate day games so each series has 2 day games. They start the series on different days to minimize the day games.
It worked in the Astros series as far as Lopez not starting game #1 and #4. I'd take the extra rest any day over setting up your pitching staff. But honestly, this goes beyond the 5 days of rest compared to the weeks of non competitive play to end the season when a team locks in a top seed. When you have over 100 wins that usually means you didn't have to push late to get that bye. All of these Wild Card teams (besides the Rays) didn't know how the seeding would be going down to the final week. Even the Philies had what ifs, but they also went to the WS last year so have that deep playoff experience to assist. It's definitely a detriment to being so good of a team during the season if your players can't focus on how to keep sharp. The Astros players have always done an excellent job of being mentally ready for the playoffs, no matter if they are squashing their division or not. The playoffs should never be easy, it's whoever is the most mentally tough to handle the grind of the regular season (regardless of seeding) and still be able to patch up good games when you need it.
I think I'm in the minority here but I love the upsets (especially since the Stros aren't one of them!) I love double digit seeds beating the top seeds in March Madness and I love it when the 6th team in the NFL gets in the playoffs the last day and then upsets some team already penciled in for Super Bowl. This is why sports to me is exciting, when the underdog wins. Except of course when its a Houston Team being upset.
I absolutely love it when the Dodgers disappoint in the playoffs. All that extra money they have to spend year after year, and they can't buy wins when it matters.
Over the last two seasons, they have 211 regular season wins and one playoff victory. That’s almost as crazy as the Astros seven straight ALCS. And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving fan base. Haha
Even if the Dodgers do win another WS soon, it still doesn't equate to what Houston has done. The only 2 years the Astros HAVEN'T made the WS since 2017 they were underdogs on (Lost in 5 games to a 108 win Red Sox team and Lost in 7 games to the Rays when we had a losing regular season record). Yes the Astros choked away the 2019 WS leading 3-2 but I'd rather lose in the WS than in the divisional round year in and year out.
What happened to the Dodgers this postseason is about as brutal as baseball can get. The best outing they got from a SP was 2.2 innings. It was almost hard to watch. They didn't even have a lead in one inning! It's great to be a Dodgers fan in the offseason when they're signing most of the big free agents (they'll probably get Ohtani now too), but the playoffs are a different story. When the playoffs start, players and fans alike seem to be girding their loins as they await disaster. They're more known as a playoff choker than anything else at this point, which is absolutely glorious. The Astros are the complete opposite. I'm not sure we'll see another team on this kind of roll ever again. My face is sore today from all my smiling. haha
I don't think he publicly said it but reporters say Ohtani probably cares more about winning than money. After Dodgers keep choking in the playoffs maybe he passes on them. He should just sign with Houston on a fair contract for both him and Crane lol.
