Expansion/Realignment

[eddie83]

Well what does everyone think about this? Some fairly drastic changes. I can't see MLB doing anything until the Oakland and Tampa stadium situations are taken care of. 

156 games 

12 playoff teams 

4 -8 team divisions 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/?amphtml=1

This should generate some good off season - for the Orioles anyway- discussion. 

[Tx Oriole]

40 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

Well what does everyone think about this? Some fairly drastic changes. I can't see MLB doing anything until the Oakland and Tampa stadium situations are taken care of. 

156 games 

12 playoff teams 

4 -8 team divisions 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/columnists/expansion-trigger-realignment-longer-postseason/?amphtml=1

This should generate some good off season - for the Orioles anyway- discussion. 

No thank you. 

[Chavez Ravine]

I assume someone in the basement of League offices has played around with even more radical adjustments. It would be fun to see them. How about a 100 game season with expanded playoffs?

[mdbdotcom]

It's a good start. I'd like to go a step further and bread down the 8-team divisions into 2 conferences of 4 teams. Adding another 2 games against each division opponent brings the schedule back to 162 games. The 2 conferences eliminates the wild card. All 8 teams in the playoffs would be a first-place team. 

[El Gordo]

I like it. Of course everybody would have to use the DH. And while they are at it Robo Ump please.

[OFFNY]

o

 

I would like to see the playoffs expanded, but NOT in terms of the number of teams participating ........ keep the number at 5 teams from each league, but expand the Divisional Playoff Series to the Best-of-7, which would match the 2 annual League Championship Series and the World Series.

 

And while doing that, simultaneously cut the regular season back to either 154 games or 156 games, which would ensure that the entire postseason would be completed no later than October 31st.

 

o

[spiritof66]

This article offers about the weakest support I can imagine for the argument that there's going to be a mass realignment: "There seems to be a building consensus that baseball will soon be headed to a 32-team configuration." Who's in that "building consensus"?  Ringolsby,  his brother-in-law and the guy sitting next to him at a bar last week? I can imagine that, after expansion, there will be some shuffling of teams someday, but it's unlikely to be anything like this, IMO. I'm sure Ringolsby had fun doing this , just like we had some fun in ninth-grade geometry when we sorted the NFL teams into four divisions -- the Animal, Air and Sea, Historical People and something I can't recall -- according to their nicknames. 

In any event, I'm pretty sure there won't be expansion until the Tampa Bay and Oakland situations get sorted out -- that is, until MLB's owners feel pretty secure about MLB being able to survive long-term in those places, or those franchise owners and MLB have decided to pack it in  and have decided where they want to relocate. That process could take a while.

And there's that DH thing, too.

 

[mdbdotcom]

DH Monday-Thursday. No DH Friday-Sunday.

Simple!

[Phantom]

I'd rather go to eight divisions 4 teams  per a la the NFL.

[FanSince88]

http://www.mcall.com/sports/baseball/phillies/mc-spt-baseball-realignment-20171018-story.html

Ringolsby writes that Major League Baseball is considering expanding to 32 teams from its current 30 and realigning divisions, not necessarily by National and American leagues.

Ringolsby lays out an East Division that would include the Phillies, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Miami, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Washington.

[wildbillhiccup]

This would be so great. I'd be curious to see how the Nationals fair with more competitive teams in their division. 

[DirtyBird]

Terrible

[Es4M11]

Not opposed to realignment, but does MLB have to add two teams to do it? Who would be the candidates for a new franchise? Montreal, and who else? Charlotte?

edit: I see the article says Portland

Edited October 19, 2017 by Es4M11

[MDtransplant757]

I'm for keeping the leagues, but if the O's don't have to play the Yankees and Red Sox, I'd be all for it. 

[Getz]

That would be great.