Inherent Wild Card Advantage

[erik316wttn]

I figure if a team with 100 wins or so is really as good as that record, they should be good enough to find a way to win the pennant.

 

The Cards didn't rise to the challenge. They certainly did not look like a 100 win team for some of those games. They got beaten by the better team.

 

Now, I don't think I'd have a problem if you threw seeding out the window. Why should a San Diego, who was 82-80 on the year, have home field advantage if they'd play a team like Houston in the NLCS when Houston would have the better record?I think San Diego ought to have been the 4th seed in the NL this year, not Houston. It's rewarding them for being the least sucky team in the weakest division in baseball.

 

And do away with the stupid "can't play a division opponent in the first round" garbage. Who cares?

[gus_dog]

I think San Diego ought to have been the 4th seed in the NL this year, not Houston. It's rewarding them for being the least sucky team in the weakest division in baseball.

 

And do away with the stupid "can't play a division opponent in the first round" garbage. Who cares?

 

I like both of those changes. Seed 'em up, and play 'em off. May the best team win.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

The only difference then would be that the Cards would have been knocked out in the NLDS as opposed to the NLCS.

[cjbucks]

Once the regular season is over, it's a level playing field. As a matter of fact, if the WC team is against a team in its own division, you might argue that they could have an advantage, having played the other team so many times an knowing them better than they would have in the old balanced schedule.

 

Um, it's not level when the other team has home field advantage.

 

And why would the wild card team have an advantage having played another team in its division so often, yet that other team wouldn't have the same advantage?

 

 

I think this entire discussion is ridiculous. There's no advantage to being the wild card. There's no justification for adding some more difficulties to their postseason run. They made the postseason.

 

If you're so pissed about wild card teams making the playoffs, why not just go back to the old way of just letting 2 teams make the postseason, thus ruining the season for 80% of fans by July.

 

The wild card is good for baseball. Having 12+ teams in it, or virtually in it at least to the final month is good for baseball. People need to quit looking for things to be upset about and just enjoy baseball. STL didn't have a birthright to the world series just for winning a lot of regular season games. Tons of teams have won a lot of regular season games and never made it to the playoffs, let alone the world series.

 

Amen

[Outshined_One]

And as for the Astros "catching fire", as it were...was anyone else watching the Wild Card race this year? Did you all notice that no one wanted the Wild Card throughout the course of the year and the the Astros nearly blew it to Philly, but didn't because Philly was slightly more inept than Houston?

 

Houston was the best team in the NL playoffs this year. Between the injuries and shoddy offensive play of the Cardinals, the pitching issues of the Braves, and San Diego just basically sucking, Houston has every right to be in the World Series. I say good for them, they deserve it.

[erik316wttn]

And as for the Astros "catching fire", as it were...was anyone else watching the Wild Card race this year? Did you all notice that no one wanted the Wild Card throughout the course of the year and the the Astros nearly blew it to Philly, but didn't because Philly was slightly more inept than Houston?

 

Houston was the best team in the NL playoffs this year. Between the injuries and shoddy offensive play of the Cardinals, the pitching issues of the Braves, and San Diego just basically sucking, Houston has every right to be in the World Series. I say good for them, they deserve it.

 

Well said.

 

That's why there is a playoff. If a team is truly #1, they should be able to prove it in the playoffs. If they don't, I guess they're not the best.

 

And, flukes happen. It's a part of life.

[BigbadB]

And as for the Astros "catching fire", as it were...was anyone else watching the Wild Card race this year? Did you all notice that no one wanted the Wild Card throughout the course of the year and the the Astros nearly blew it to Philly, but didn't because Philly was slightly more inept than Houston?

 

Houston was the best team in the NL playoffs this year. Between the injuries and shoddy offensive play of the Cardinals, the pitching issues of the Braves, and San Diego just basically sucking, Houston has every right to be in the World Series. I say good for them, they deserve it.

 

Well said.

 

That's why there is a playoff. If a team is truly #1, they should be able to prove it in the playoffs. If they don't, I guess they're not the best.

 

And, flukes happen. It's a part of life.

 

A short series does not determine the best, though. As bad as the Cubs were this year, were they worse than the Pirates if the Pirates beat them in a season series, or even in an individual series? Of course not.

 

Just because Houston is in the World Series doesn't mean they were the best team in the NL this year, either. The long season determines who the best teams are.