As well as for TV coverage.... they'd have to have both series going concurrently to make it work. And as we has seen... these WC games are getting the game 7 treatment by the networks, and being played on days with very little else going on. It sucks for the losing team (especially if they happened to play in a killer division)... but I just don't see an obvious alternative that doesn't start to penalize the division winners as well. At the very least, there are no deserving teams "missing" the playoffs... that, to me, would be the biggest indictment of a "flawed" playoff system.
So, would you have the other 4 teams play 1 game or a 3/5 game series... and then the "top" team is just sitting around for a week waiting?
I think he's saying the 2 division winners + top WC get a bye. Everything would work the same as now (1 game series with bottom to WC spots, etc).
No just like he current format, except 2 division winners, and 3 wild card teams. The wild card team with the best record of the 3 avoids the play in game. Wouldn't be perfect, but I have always thought the 3 division format lends itself too well to some lousy division winners.
Ah, got you... but then you go back to the "purist" argument about how this third wild card team is basically treated like a division winner (one of the impetus' for having this WC game to begin with.) You also go back to eliminating all true division races, as the solid runner-up now has the luxury of being in the "real" playoffs as well. One thing the new format has definitely preserved is an exciting last week of the season... with a true incentive to go all-out for the division.
lol, this play was reviewed and Utley was called safe, when he never touched the bag <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GIF provided by <a href="https://twitter.com/AmazinAvenue">@AmazinAvenue</a> of the play involving <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dodgers?src=hash">#Dodgers</a> Chase Utley and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mets?src=hash">#Mets</a> Ruben Tejada: <a href="http://t.co/ct6sZtIGao">pic.twitter.com/ct6sZtIGao</a></p>— Max Wildstein (@MaxWildstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/653054709691871233">October 11, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Tejada: Fractured right fibula</p>— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottMillerBbl/status/653061734660374528" data-datetime="2015-10-11T04:17:05+00:00">October 11, 2015</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
How the hell is utley called safe when he never touched the base? What's the point of the video review, when it's still wrong.
You wanna talk about dirty ass slides that was it. Utley should be suspended or something. MLB needs to change the rules in the offseason. Altuve almost had the same fate in the Wild Card Game.
The actual call was technically right. Tejada never tagged him, or touched the base. He only ran off the field because the umpire incorrectly called him out. However the MLB really needs to do something with this nonsense at 2B. It has become easily the most dangerous play in baseball. The Astros have been involved in a bunch of these. They need to change the rule so that you have to slide directly into 2B, not merely be able to touch it. I can't even blame Utley because the MLB allows you to do, and his doing so likely won the game for his team. The rule needs to be addressed, it's not hard nosed it's dangerous.
Chicago Cubs Fans Hold World Series Hopes Based on 'Back to the Future' Prediction The Chicago Cubs may not have home field advantage tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates in their National League Wild Card game, but they do have the backing of a classic Hollywood film. In the 1989 film "Back to the Future Part II," Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, travels 30 years into the future when the fictitious "USA Today" headline is "Cubs Sweep Series in 5" against Miami on Oct. 22, 2015.
