Posts tagged ‘playoffs’

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September 12, 2010

Proposing a new MLB schedule and playoff structure

by Jamie Insalaco

I wouldn’t say I’m unhappy with the current structure of the baseball playoffs, but I do think it could be improved.  SI’s Tom Verducci wrote a silly proposal about creating a Wild Card Weekend of sorts where the winner of the Wild Card would play the next best team in a game playoff for the right to play the team with the best record in the first round of the playoffs.  Verducci’s idea is to inject more drama into baseball…  This idea is worse than the best of five series, but more on that later.

I do think it’s time for MLB to make some changes.  The first thing they should do is take the 3 divisions concept and throw that in the garbage.  The next thing to do is to take inter-league play and march that off a cliff.  The unbalanced schedule?  That’s gone, too.  Then they should cut the season down to 150 games or so.  Finally, I’d like to see 12 teams make the playoffs.  Let’s take this one point at a time:

Removing the Divisions
Do we really need these?  No, we don’t.  Winning the division essentially means nothing right now – as long as you make the playoffs, you make the playoffs as there is no penalty for winning the wild card.  Does it really matter to the Rays and Yankees which one of them wins the AL East?  I doubt it.

Removing Inter-League Play
Am I the only one who is tired of inter-league play?  Sure, it’s cool to see some players or stadiums you wouldn’t ordinarily see, but this year, we saw the Houston Astros… big deal.  The Yankees play the Mets every year, that’s all well and good, but in the end, I don’t need the Yankees to beat the Mets any more than I need them to beat the Orioles – in a 6 month season, it doesn’t really matter.

Removing the Unbalanced Schedule
I don’t understand why MLB thinks that the unbalanced schedule and the wildcard are compatible.  Imagine an AL Central team wins the wild card – lets say the Tigers beat out the Rays by 1 game and win the wild card.  The Tigers played the Royals 18 games during the year, while the Rays played them 6 times…  that sounds unfair to me.  Since I want to mothball the divisions, I don’t see why everyone can’t play everyone the same amount of times.  Math is hard, but we’ll figure it out.

Shortening the Season
I don’t want to go too crazy, but I think 150 games or so sounds about right.  The season doesn’t need to start in March and the playoffs don’t need to end in November, and I think trading 10 plus games for more playoffs is a fair trade.

12 Teams make the Playoffs
Six teams per league, folks.  And since there will be no divisions, I want the six teams with the best records.  I don’t want any flukes, so no more best of 5 series.  I also want only 2 off days per series and 1 off day in between series.

There you have it – a system I think could be a lot more fun than the one we currently have in place.  Time will tell if MLB will ever make a change, but as long as Bud Selig is around, I wouldn’t count on it.

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August 23, 2010

Johnny Damon heading back to Red Sox

by Jamie Insalaco

It sounds like the Red Sox have claimed Johnny Damon off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. I guess the Red Sox don’t agree with me about their fate being sealed. The Red Sox have 6 games left with the Tampa Bay Rays and 3 left with the Yankees, and since they haven’t gained a game in… I don’t know, a month? I don’t see the Red Sox getting their act together and coming back into the race. If they sweep the Rays this weekend, they have a fighting chance. If they lose the series, I don’t see any chance for them.

You have to wonder if this makes Damon regret any recent comments about New York being the best place he ever played… Guess we’ll have to wait to see how that unfolds. In any case, the Red Sox incredible rash of injuries necessitated this move (if you believe they still have a chance, that is – again, I do not), but I don’t think it’s enough to make up for missing huge stars like Kevin Youkilis, former MVP Dustin Pedroia and even Jacoby Ellsbury and team captain Jason Varitek.

Some might argue that October in the 21st Century just isn’t the same without the Red Sox. I, for one, will manage to live through the experience.

UPDATED:  My understanding is that Johnny Damon has to agree to go back to Boston, and I don’t see any reason for him to do so – especially since I’m Tampa Bay would LOVE to have him be a Ray.  It’s the best thing for Damon; pretty sure he has a house there.

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August 11, 2010

Depleted Yankees lose to Rangers in extra innings

by Jamie Insalaco

D’oh!

The Yankees had Marcus Thames batting third last night. I’d usually say, ’nuff said,’ but where’s the fun in that? Robinson Cano sat for most of the game with the flu. I think Jorge Posada sat just because he needed a day off – and wouldn’t you know it, but Francisco Cervelli had a clutch RBI, showing shades of April. Mark Teixeira was home in New York celebrating the birth of his son. Brett Gardner sat against the lefty starter. So Thames was the DH, Ramiro Pena started at 2nd base and Austin Kearns started in left field.

In the top of the first, Derek Jeter was first called safe at first by the umpire, despite the appearance of being tagged out, and the call was reversed by the home plate umpire. I do agree that Jeter was out, but how the home plate umpire, who is so far away, can see the correct call and the guy standing right on top of it can’t, I don’t know how to explain.

AJ Burnett pitched a pretty good game; not great, but good. He tired as the night went on and gave up a 2 run bomb that made it 3-2 Yankees, but A-Rod had his back. Alex Rodriguez smashed career homer 601 into center field to tie the game back up. Burnett gave up the lead as soon as he got it, but I guess we should be pleased that he pitched decent in a home run hitting park.

David Robinson pitched well in multiple innings and worked with Cervelli to get out of jams. Mariano Rivera gave up some ground ball sinkers and nearly walked in the winning run in extra innings as he had to throw the ball right down the middle 3 times in a row after falling behind in the count 3-0. For all of Mo’s genius, he is almost always one of those closers who doesn’t usually do well in the non save situation – at least I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. Still, he’s Mo, so he’s allowed to blow it once and a while. I believe his ERA is still under 1.00 and he’s allowed less than 20 hits in nearly 50 innings. Again, I know he blew the game last night, but BOW DOWN TO HIM! Now! He didn’t exactly get smacked around, but the ball was hit hard enough to get the job done for the Rangers.

Michael Kay referred to last night’s game as a possible playoff preview, and if he’s right, it could be exciting. However, you’d hope the Yankees would play all of their regulars in a playoff game. Also, I don’t think Kay needed to mention the possible playoff game preview ten times, but it was an exciting game. The Rangers did look better than they did in April, but they committed more errors, so they’re not that much improved in terms of defense. Tonight, Cliff Lee faces off against Javier Vazquez in what could be a serious mismatch. Lee through a complete game against the Yankees last time and surrendered 3 runs, so we’ll have to see what he does. Both bullpens sent out their best guys last night, and most of them threw a ton of pitches, so both starters would be wise to go long – something Lee is good at and Javy is not.

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August 10, 2010

Yankees split series with Red Sox

by Jamie Insalaco

I hate to say I told so, but, I did. It sucks being right.

But not that hard. It’s too bad the Yankees didn’t sweep the Red Sox, but then, with Jon Lester pitching one game, I never expected them to. Once they lost the Friday game, taking 3 of 4 was all but impossible as not only would they had to of beaten Lester yesterday (which is impossible, because, again, cancer can’t beat that guy), but also win 3 games in a row against the same team, which I’m sure is nearly a statistical impossibility. Nearly.

So it’s almost like the series never happened, accept a few games ticked off the schedule. The Yankees are still 6 games ahead of the Red Sox and 1.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. I’ll take that. And with the Texas Rangers coming in, its time to turn the page. Last time the Yankees and the Walker Texas Rangers faced off, the Yankees swept them… by winning 3 games in a row… yeah. Oh, and Cliff Lee will be starting for the Rangers this series, and perhaps we’ll see him again when the two teams battle in September. Joy. I haven’t seen the Rangers since the last time they were in the Bronx and I’m curious to learn if they figured out how to field since then. They sure were sloppy in that series. But, the Rangers are not to be dismissed, despite the last series they played against the Yankees – they’re near the top in both pitching and hitting categories this year, so it’s time to battle.

Oh, and I heard it was Joe Buck who was insistently calling A-Rod when he turned his back and was struck in the leg with a ball during batting practice by Lance Berkman before FOX saturday baseball, which is one of the worst damnations every put on man, by the way. I also heard Mr. Buck has denied this while speeding away in a National Car Rental: it was his choice. He also said something about buying the Avatar on DVD and Blu Ray…

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August 9, 2010

Yankees lead four game series 2-1

by Jamie Insalaco

I wrote about this series making or breaking the Boston Red Sox’s season before it started, but maybe the situation isn’t as dire for the Red Sox as I thought.

The Red Sox arrived in the Bronx trailing the AL East leaders by 6 games and are now 7 games behind the pace and 4 games behind the wild card leaders. The Tampa Bay Rays are going through a tough streak and have two starting pitchers getting their shoulders examined with about 50 games left to play in the season for everybody, with about 6 games left with both the Yankees and the Rays, so it’s still a bit early to call it quits the Red Sox. But make no mistake: they are running out of time, yet even a 3-1 series defeat won’t put the Red Sox in the ground for good.

In the Sunday night ESPN game of death (I call it this because it starts too late here on the east coast at 8 PM and I don’t feel the Yankees ever play particularly well in these games), AJ Burnett was scratched from his start due to back spasms. Hopefully, he won’t miss any significant time, but between his 2010 performance and Dustin Mosely’s, maybe its not such a bad thing to let Burnett relax for a while. What the Yankees really need is to get Andy Pettitte back at full strength. But back to Mosely, he was awesome last night: economical, accurate, and displaying cat-like reflexes on and off the mound. He got into a little trouble and was lifted during a taxing 7th inning, but the bullpen managed to hold it together. Joe Girardi wasn’t kidding around, either: He used Mariano Rivera to get the last out of the game; the tying run was in the hole, so it wasn’t a save situation, but Mo needed some work and Girardi didn’t want to let them back in the game. On the other side, Josh Beckett was showing pretty much what he’s shown all year – sometimes, he just doesn’t know where the ball is going, and it’s frustrating him. Tim Wakefield was effective in relief; he’s a huge bullpen saver for them. Mark Teixeira hit a home run in the bleachers that people should write songs about, and Lance Berkman had 3 hits in one game – that’s 1 more hit than he’s had since he came to the Yankees. It all adds up to a 7-2 Yankees victory.

The Red Sox are beat up, and the Yankees aren’t exactly 100%, but then, few teams are. Today we’ll see Phil Hughes do battle with Jon Lester, a young man who is literally more powerful than cancer. Can you imagine what is must be like to have to face a guy with a plus fastball who also whipped cancer’s ass? As a hitter, you think you scare Jon Lester? Non-Hodgkin lymphoma doesn’t scare Jon Lester, so good luck – you’re going to need it. I’m predicting a four game split here; due respect to Phil Hughes, but Lester is better – than pretty much everybody.

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August 6, 2010

Four games that will make or break the Red Sox season

by Jamie Insalaco
jonathan papelbon

(This face.)

The Boston Red Sox are currently 6 games behind the New York Yankees and 5.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, and if the Red Sox want to make the playoffs this year, they’d better get serious in a hurry. Not that I mind the Red Sox missing the playoffs, but then, what’s the fun of riding a roller coaster without a few loops? Or goatees?

And speaking of attaching steel wool to your face, Kevin Youkilis has a thumb injury (I have a joke for how Youkilis injured that thumb involving Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and that face Pap makes when he comes set right before he delivers the pitch, but I’ll spare you) that will sideline him for the rest of the year. It’s just another injury on a team that’s been plagued by them all season long. The subtraction of Youkilis and the addition of new Yankee Lance Berkman might tip the scales in the Yankees favor for good. Not that I’m forgetting about the Rays, but one thing at at time.

The Red Sox have scored the second most runs so far this year, only led by the Yankees (576 to 561), but without Youkilis, who I regard as their best Yankee-killer, I’m not sure what they can do. When you take into account the Yankees vs Red Sox runs allowed numbers (442 to 496), it’s easy to get excited about the Yankees chances in these four games.

If the Red Sox want to win this series, they’re going to have pitch their backsides off, and I just don’t think they can do it. The Yankees have seen all of their starters already this year, and they haven’t really struggled to produce runs against any of them. On the other hand, the Yankees are starting Dustin Mosely in game 4 on Monday. While the Yankees had Thursday off, the Red Sox were finishing up a 4 game set with the Indians, so they must be tired, and I wonder how fresh their bullpen is.

Conditions seem right for the Yankees to take 3 of 4 – if they get it done, the Red Sox are probably finished for the 2010 season. If they split, the Red Sox may have some faint hope, but I’m wondering where their offense is going to come from, and I’m just not sure if their pitching is good enough.  Ultimately, I believe only a series win will keep the Red Sox playoff hopes alive – and happily for Yankees fans, I don’t like their chances.

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