So, you want more games well out of the timezone rather than games that start at 6 or 7? I remember the days of staying up too late to watch the Astros play at LA, SD, & SF. No, I'd rather stay the way it is.
I think you can be an Astros and a Rangers fan because there is/was no rivalry. In a decade or two it may change with the Silver Boot/Glove whatever Series.
It would be nice to have them in the same division to build a real rivalry. I like local rivalries a lot. In basketball I love to hate the Mavericks. Anyway, this thread title fails. I opened it thinking there was legit discussion of this happening and instead it's just a random burp. Why would anyone WANT to move into the AL East?
The most "symmetrical" plan would be to expand by 2 teams to bring the total to 32. 16 teams in each league, 4 divisions of 4 teams in each league. Playoffs expand to 6 teams in each league, 4 division winners and 2 wild cards. The top 2 teams get a first round bye. Of course, MLB really diluted its talent with the most recent expansions. You don't want to dilute it any farther, so this isn't a practical plan.
I think baseball and the NFL should change things up.. We should be playing the Cowboys every year and should be competing with the Rangers for the divison title.. The NBA is southwest is awsome going down to new orleans, dallas, san antonio is pretty reasonable if you want to catch a big road game... Goin up to St Louis or Indy not so much.. I think everything should be regional dont really care about historical rivalaries...
That's easy to say because the Texans don't have any historical rivalries. I mean there's the Cowboys because we're in Texas but we have no history with them. The closest we have is the Titans for obvious reasons and guess what? We're in a division with them.
DING! DING! Just try to take Cowboys/Redskins or Cowboys/Eagles away from cowgirl fans. You'll find out really quickly that there are plenty of folks who *do* "care about historical rivalries." This Astro fan cares about them, too. The Rangers are a bug on my windshield. Having them in the division would be just like having the Pirates in the division--who cares? Some other scrub franchise dwelling in the cellar. I wish we still played the Braves and Dodgers 18 games a year. Those were great games. Those games got my blood flowing. All these games with the Brewers and Pirates just aren't doing it for me. Neither does the "silver boot".
Having 6 teams in our divisions has actually been an advantage. We've had 3 times that have in general been lousy for many years running in the Brewers, Reds, & Pirates. Aside from the Brewers and Reds winning the WC once each, it has been a three team division between the Astros, Cardinals, & Cubs.
With the NBA though a lot of the Rocket rivalries are historical. We've been in divisions with the Mavs and Spurs for a while and we get enough games with the Jazz, Lakers and Suns every year. Those are the teams we love to hate. The Texans like others have said haven't been around long enough to have a rival. But if you look back at the Oilers and when they were in their competitive years, who did their fans hate? Teams that had played every year. Teams like the Steelers, Browns and Bengals, were loathed by any true Oiler fan, because we played them twice a year, not because we were close to them geographically. In baseball there was a pretty severe shake up for some teams during the last realignment. The Astros were somewhat caught up in that because they were moved away from a lot of their long time rivals. The Reds are the only team that were with them before realignment. The others were all in the NL East except the Brewers from the AL. You have gone from seeing the Dodgers, Braves, Giants a lot, to seeing them only a couple of times a year. It is going to take a little time for the Astros to get back some of the rivalry feel with the teams in their current division. For me, in the 80's I couldn't care less about the Cubs and the Cards (in fact I actually liked the Cards okay in the early 80's). But now that they are a divisional foe and a threat to the Astros playoff chances, I hate those two teams. If the Pirates or Reds could ever be consistently good, I might learn to hate them too.
I think the rivalry is already there with the cubs and the Cardinals. I'd hate to not be in a division with them now.
i agree with this.. but not with doing away with the Wild Card.. are you mad...? we would've never experienced our first World Series without it.. not to mention.. defeating the Braves and Cardinals to get there.. hardly gift wrapped success.. i'll never understand the claim that most if not all.. anti-Wild Card purists make.. that it somehow promotes and awards mediocrity..
What was the Cardinals' regular season record the year they won the Series? I'm just sayin'. (disclaimer: just pointing out where they may be coming from; I rather enjoy the WC)
I wouldn't mind expansion if it meant more playoff teams but it would create more have nots which is not good for baseball.
I read the opening post and thought to myself, "What is the op smoking?? 4 teams in the AL East" and then I saw a post from MadMax and thought, "Good ole maxie will straighten this guy out right away" and instead I see THIS: So this is FAIL^2
I don't understand how baseball fans don't want more playoff teams in a league with 30 teams. Back when it was in the low 20's on the number of teams I could understand this system but back then only 4 teams went to the playoffs. There would be nothing wrong with 16 teams going to the playoffs, having a 3 game series round 1, 5 game series round 2 and 7 for conference and WS. It would open the game up for more fans. In baseball a #8 has a legitimate chance to take out a #1 in a 3 game series, how fun would that be? I know ppl here will say, "divisions champions won't mean anything anymore." Division crowns haven't meant a thing to me other than its a guaranteed playoff birth. Otherwise I could care less if we win the NL Central. Ask Brave fans if they would trade their one WS for another 14 years of winning the NL East, the answer is hell no! I'll take the NY Giants season over the 18-1 Patriots season any day! As for the league they need to put the Brewers back in the AL and have two teams playing inter-league at all times. That way the top 8 in each league plays on and the bottom 7 go home. More fans, more interest, more money. The way its set up right now is the reason there are so many ballparks half empty when there's still a 1/3 of the season left to play. I know someone here will say, "whats the point of the regular season then if more than half the teams go." Other than it's 162 games entertainment to fill our summer nights and weekend days?! Guess what, they still have to make the playoffs! And to the #1 and #2 teams that think its not fair cause they had the best records, well prove your the best in the playoffs. The greatest teams never complained about having to play cause they knew they were the best, if your scared to play a #8 or #7 in a 3 game series, your not a winner and don't deserve to win! This system works in basketball and it will work in baseball. Now that I've angered some ppl here, don't be so mad, max! More playoff teams will make it more exciting. Just like mandatory 2 point conversions after a touchdown would make football more exciting! Yeah I just said that
