The Major League Baseball playoffs are in full swing (whoa big unintended pun) and the new format has a lot of people talking. It’s been somewhat of a distraction from the actual on-field action. I can’t stop wondering about the need for the extra Wild Card in each league and the effect it has had on the rest of the playoffs. There are arguments for and against the extra “round” and I can certainly see both sides which leaves me twisting in the wind. I truly do not know what to think. I’m on the metaphorical fence (more baseball wordplay).
The one game wild card showdown feels like manufactured excitement. After the exciting finish to the 2011 season many people howled that there was no reason to change something that sprouted so organically from the former postseason structure. The hustle to get that final spot made magic. Yet the league added a second wild card team to seemingly ensure a win or die scenario in each league no matter what. I would also make the point that the late season collapses by the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves that caused so much madness on the final night of the regular season were not exactly commonplace. Expecting that to play out the same way year after year would be foolish and the rarity of the drama of that evening only added to its lore. So MLB decided to make sure that we’d see something like that every year and in the process, perhaps even more teams would be left playing for something meaningful come October. Continue reading
Slak's Index 