Would you like to see some teams retracted?

[Balsa]

 

The Pirate owners are definitely only in it to make money. The Royals at least put up a front to pretend like they were trying this offseason. The Pirates didn't even do that.

 

They acquired Adam LaRoche, that's pretty good.

 

For their closer and a decent prospect. They've spent no money on the team since they re-signed Kevin Young.

What about the huge FA signing last year of Jeromy Burnitz?

 

Or the 3 year/$20 Million deal with Jack Wilson?

[Outshined_One]

I don't think the talent is any more watered down than it was in the "golden years" of baseball. Look at baseball-reference.com, the percentage of crappy players in the 50's-70's was probably greater than the percentage of crappy players today.

 

Quite frankly, I think the talent is significantly better and deeper today than it has been at any time in the past.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Jason Marquis could have been a 25 game winner with an ERA in the low 3s if he had pitched in the early 60s.

[FloridaCubbie]

I'm definitely in favor of retracting the Florida teams. They simply don't draw enough fans. Although several people acted like they were Marlins fans when the team went to the World Series...they just don't support them during the rest of the year. I think there's just too many other things for people in Florida to do.

 

That was an awful year. I saw more Marlins hats/jerseys on campus in the weeks after the NLCS than I have in my entire life. Nice of them to rub it in too (who was that guy...you know, the foul-ball guy?). I've gotten tired of explaining Agony and Prior's meltdowns and the years since.

 

I'm also pretty sure I know more about the Marlins than 90% of Marlins "fans."

 

The Marlins piss me off. They need to move.

[Backtobanks]

Personally, I'd love to see some teams like the Royals, Devil Rays, and Marlins retracted. I'm sure there are a couple of more in there too. It would be better for the game because the league wouldn't be watered down with pitchers that should still be in the minors. What do you guys think?

 

I'm all for it as long as the Cubs get first shot at Cabrera.

[UMFan83]

I don't think the talent is any more watered down than it was in the "golden years" of baseball. Look at baseball-reference.com, the percentage of crappy players in the 50's-70's was probably greater than the percentage of crappy players today.

 

Quite frankly, I think the talent is significantly better and deeper today than it has been at any time in the past.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Jason Marquis could have been a 25 game winner with an ERA in the low 3s if he had pitched in the early 60s.

 

Heck he's just about on pace for that this year!

[Soul]

Just keep retracting teams until we win the World Series.

 

 

Then re-instate them.

[jersey cubs fan]

I would not like to see teams retracted. Moved? Maybe. The NY area could easily support a baseball team, specifically the Hudson county area, along the river and across from Manhattan. There is public transport galore, the most densely populated area in the country, and the potential to easily attract 3+ million per year. Plus that would have the added advantage of tapping into the revenue that is shared by the Mets and Yanks, acting as a pseudo revenue sharing system that could help balance the power in the MLB, if only a little bit.

 

There should be a lot of threads retracted though.

[gorbs27]

As a former resident of the Tampa area, I can tell you Vince Naimoli single-handedly ruined whatever fan base the DRays could have built up before the new administration took over. He not only alienated the fans, but he also destroyed just about ever relationship with corporate sponsors as well. Tampa can surely support professional franchises, as seen with their patience with the Bucs and Lightning. The Rays have spent a ton of money on the minor league system and are also getting more involved on the international scene. If they can keep Kaz and Niemann healthy, and make a smart trade to bring in another starting pitcher to go along with the emergence of James Shields, they have a chance to be a pretty damn good team in the next couple years.

 

As for the Marlins, no one gives a rats ass about them. It's sad, but it's true.

[Vinestal]

As a former resident of the Tampa area, I can tell you Vince Naimoli single-handedly ruined whatever fan base the DRays could have built up before the new administration took over. He not only alienated the fans, but he also destroyed just about ever relationship with corporate sponsors as well. Tampa can surely support professional franchises, as seen with their patience with the Bucs and Lightning. The Rays have spent a ton of money on the minor league system and are also getting more involved on the international scene. If they can keep Kaz and Niemann healthy, and make a smart trade to bring in another starting pitcher to go along with the emergence of James Shields, they have a chance to be a pretty damn good team in the next couple years.

 

As for the Marlins, no one gives a rats ass about them. It's sad, but it's true.

 

 

I live about 1.5 hours away from Tampa. Seems to me that they need a real baseball stadium, they are playing in a tin can, in one of the most beautiful weather areas in the world. You can dress up a tin can all you want but in the end its still a tin can. Also they are spending less money than they are recieving from revenue sharing. They havent proven to thier fans that they are interested in winning by bringing in a top free agent or even close. Building from within is all well and good but at some point you have to bring some big pieces in from outside your organization. I heard alot of talk about how the new ownership was going to be different and how they would spend more money on the team, so far thats not very evident. With a nice new retractable roof stadium and some proof that they are willing to spend money on players (even if its just keeping thier own talen ie Carl Crawford) I think baseball would really thrive in Tampa. I detest AL baseball, thats the one real reason Ive never gone to a game down there, that and that the Cubs havent played there yet, when is that going to happen?

[gorbs27]

I live about 1.5 hours away from Tampa. Seems to me that they need a real baseball stadium, they are playing in a tin can, in one of the most beautiful weather areas in the world. You can dress up a tin can all you want but in the end its still a tin can. Also they are spending less money than they are recieving from revenue sharing. They havent proven to thier fans that they are interested in winning by bringing in a top free agent or even close. Building from within is all well and good but at some point you have to bring some big pieces in from outside your organization. I heard alot of talk about how the new ownership was going to be different and how they would spend more money on the team, so far thats not very evident. With a nice new retractable roof stadium and some proof that they are willing to spend money on players (even if its just keeping thier own talen ie Carl Crawford) I think baseball would really thrive in Tampa. I detest AL baseball, thats the one real reason Ive never gone to a game down there, that and that the Cubs havent played there yet, when is that going to happen?

 

You bring up a good point with the Trop. It's not the greatest of places, but it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. You would HAVE to have a retractable roof stadium in Tampa though. It rains just about every day in the summer. A retractable roof stadium would be great. I think it's a shame the politicians there care more about the Yankees than they do the Rays though.

 

The new owners have given nice contracts to Crawford and Baldelli, and had one lined up for Cantu before he forgot how to play baseball. You can do a lot of damage to a team like the Rays have by spending a lot of money on mediocre free agents (although the "Hit Show" was mildly amusing). I actually like the way they are doing things right now. They have a massive surplus of position player talent, and if they use those resources properly they will put themselves in a nice situation. Good enough to compete in that division? I still love the Rays, but I'm not sure that will ever happen. They really need to move to the NL to have a real chance in my humble opinion. They do seem to have a stable front office now with solid "baseball people". I would expect them to make serious strides in the next couple years.

[jmajew]

Extremely stupid post coming up but I can't resist...

 

I think it would be extremely interesting if they realligned the divisions each year. However, you break it up by payroll in each league. 3 Divisions in each leage. Then one play in Game for the WC in each league. Two next best records.

 

AL

Yankees

Red Sox

White Sox

Angels

Seattle

 

Detroit

Baltimore

Oakland

Toronto

 

Minnesota

Texas

KC

Cleveland

Tampa Bay

Florida(Switched Leagues)

 

NL

Mets

Dodgers

Cubs

Giants

Cardinals

 

Braves

Philly

Houston

Milwaukee

Cincinnati

 

San Diego

Colorado

Arizona

Pittsburgh

Washington

 

 

I just think this would be fun to watch. This way lower market teams will have a much better chance of making the playoffs. Instead of the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Cubs etc buying their division.

[UK1679666180]

I honestly believe that TB will likely be a better team than the Cubs in about 5 years despite a much tougher division.

[apete6]

I think contraction would be a great idea, but you would have to give the players association something back in return. Say you eliminate those teams, thats 120 players without a home (three 40 man rosters). You would have to raise the rosters of all of the other teams by 4 to make up for it. Maybe have a 27 man roster (adds 56 spots) and a 44 man roster (adds 56 more spots) so that the players have almost the same amount of guys getting a big time paycheck.

 

The teams that should be contracted are, unfortunately, the Devil Rays and the Marlins. Leave Florida with Spring Training. I am not including the Athletics (because of a strong tradition), Royals (because of a solid fanbase), or the Pirates (great stadium and tradition).

 

Although the Marlins have won 2 titles (yuck!!!), they have absolutely no fanbase, and no one seems to care about their stadium problems. They're playing in a freaking stadium named for a football team for God's sakes.

 

The Rays are harder because they COULD have a great situation with nearly 3 million people in the area and a decent young core. But, with their stadium problems and the fact that everyone there is a Yankees fan already, it's not going to happen. What the heck was MLB thinking letting a team in one of the nicest weather areas play in such a dark, crappy stadium?

[apete6]

Extremely stupid post coming up but I can't resist...

 

I just think this would be fun to watch. This way lower market teams will have a much better chance of making the playoffs. Instead of the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Cubs etc buying their division.

 

You summed it up with your first 5 words.

 

I'm still waiting for the Cubs to "buy" anything besides overrated players and square pegs for round holes.

 

Baseball's competitive balance isn't the problem right now. There was a study done saying that a higher percentage of baseball teams have made the playoffs the past 5 years than in Football, which was hard to believe, but true.

 

If they ever do anything radical to upset that balance, it would have to be the institution of a salary cap and a salary floor. Maybe like $65M-$100M or something? There would be only 3 or 4 teams over that upper limit, but several below that limit. So, put AROD on the Royals and suddenly things would be a bit interesting.

 

But to put teams in divisions by payroll would only encourage people to not spend any money and try avoiding having to play Boston and the Yankees.

[jmajew]

Extremely stupid post coming up but I can't resist...

 

I just think this would be fun to watch. This way lower market teams will have a much better chance of making the playoffs. Instead of the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Cubs etc buying their division.

 

You summed it up with your first 5 words.

 

I'm still waiting for the Cubs to "buy" anything besides overrated players and square pegs for round holes.

 

Baseball's competitive balance isn't the problem right now. There was a study done saying that a higher percentage of baseball teams have made the playoffs the past 5 years than in Football, which was hard to believe, but true.

 

If they ever do anything radical to upset that balance, it would have to be the institution of a salary cap and a salary floor. Maybe like $65M-$100M or something? There would be only 3 or 4 teams over that upper limit, but several below that limit. So, put AROD on the Royals and suddenly things would be a bit interesting.

 

But to put teams in divisions by payroll would only encourage people to not spend any money and try avoiding having to play Boston and the Yankees.

 

Like I said it was an extremely stupid post. I didn't think it out at all...

[jersey cubs fan]

There will be expansion within the next 10 years. And I'm looking forward to it. 16 teams in each league will help do away with some of the weird schedule issues. Plus, they can go back to 2 divisions in each league, 8 and 8, going with two wild cards.

 

 

At that point I'd strongly consider having the two wild card teams being forced to host a one game playoff against the next two best teams before going to the division winners, thus putting a greater emphasis on winning your division.

[Amazing_Grace]

Speaking as a Kentuckian and as a Cubs fan, I'd like to see a team in Louisville. I think it would be a great place to move a weak franchise like the Devil Rays or Marlins. It would be the only professional sports franchise in the city and in the entire state, and it would have a natural geographic rival in Cincinnati (2 hour drive). I don't think the union will ever allow contraction for a variety of reasons, but moving struggling teams might be worthwhile.

[BigbadB]

There will be expansion within the next 10 years. And I'm looking forward to it. 16 teams in each league will help do away with some of the weird schedule issues. Plus, they can go back to 2 divisions in each league, 8 and 8, going with two wild cards.

 

 

At that point I'd strongly consider having the two wild card teams being forced to host a one game playoff against the next two best teams before going to the division winners, thus putting a greater emphasis on winning your division.

 

I'd love to see it, too. Maybe Portland or Las Vegas, Charlotte or New Orleans, or even another team in NYY. Between expansion and moving a few teams to new locations, I'd love to see it happen.

[SouthSideRyan]

There will be expansion within the next 10 years. And I'm looking forward to it. 16 teams in each league will help do away with some of the weird schedule issues. Plus, they can go back to 2 divisions in each league, 8 and 8, going with two wild cards.

 

 

At that point I'd strongly consider having the two wild card teams being forced to host a one game playoff against the next two best teams before going to the division winners, thus putting a greater emphasis on winning your division.

 

Re: Wild Card situation, it's compounding the problem by giving the 6th best team that shot at the world series.

[jersey cubs fan]

There will be expansion within the next 10 years. And I'm looking forward to it. 16 teams in each league will help do away with some of the weird schedule issues. Plus, they can go back to 2 divisions in each league, 8 and 8, going with two wild cards.

 

 

At that point I'd strongly consider having the two wild card teams being forced to host a one game playoff against the next two best teams before going to the division winners, thus putting a greater emphasis on winning your division.

 

Re: Wild Card situation, it's compounding the problem by giving the 6th best team that shot at the world series.

 

I fail to see a problem. Most sports allow more than 6 teams per league.

 

People forgot that baseball has doubled in size the past half century. It makes no sense to continue to limit the number of teams that have a chance at the world series. Teams have to have a shot in order to thrive.

 

The kicker with my plan, however, is that it would actually improve the chances that the best teams end up winning.

 

There's 4 division winners, 2 in each league. Then 4 more WC teams for a total of 8 teams. That's 25% of the league qualifying for the playoffs, compared to 53% in basketball and hockey, and 37.5% in the NFL. So it's still quite an exclusive club.

 

But you emphasize, and reward, winning your division by forcing the 2 best WC teams to host the 2 lesser wild card teams, in a one game playoff. The winner of that series then has to go on the road to play a 3-1-1 series against the division winner. This forces WC teams to win an extra playoff game to advance, and forces them to win on the road. The division winners get to rest an extra day, and play at home for the first 3 games. That increases their chances of winning, with the added bonus of increasing the team's revenues. The WC winner today is only guaranteed 1 home game. In this system they are still guaranteed 1 home game. The "extra" wild card teams today have no guarantee of hosting a game, but in this situation they can if they win at least 2 road games first.

 

Bottom line is the fight for the regular season division crown will be much more important, as the "consolation" prize of winning the wild card will be no picnic. But this also opens up a shot at the playoffs for more teams. And if the the 5th or 6th seed does advance to the world series, it will have done so after being forced to win that one playoff game on the road, and then overcoming the odds of playing the division winner three straight on the road, and coming out victorious in at least 3 road games out of 6 total games.

 

Yes, anything can happen in a short series. But if you have to play that playoff game, you've got to burn a starting pitcher, which puts you at an immediate disadvantage. Plus you have to travel to the WC host, and then to the division winner while they rest.