MLB - Expansion and realignment

[Redskins Rick]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Also Montreal getting a team would hurt Toronto, which is a good thing in my book since Cito sucks.

Yes, Cito still sucks.

[Moose Milligan]

1 minute ago, Redskins Rick said:

Hey I remember 1972, so you calling me ancient????

LMBO

Nah, just CoC. 

[Moose Milligan]

Cito sucks.

[Moose Milligan]

[bird watcher]

Baseball has problem with younger generations. It is boring. Expanding and therefore diluting the pitching pool would actually be good because it would likely lead to slightly more runs scored. Although with only 2 teams the impact would probably not be significant. 

32 teams would allow a balanced schedule. Get rid of the divisions and expand the wildcard. 

[TonySoprano]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

Also Montreal getting a team would hurt Toronto, which is a good thing in my book since Cito sucks.

Why?  Because they're both in Canada?  The two cities are 335 miles apart, which is about the distance from Baltimore to Charlotte, NC.  I really doubt that the handful of people missing baseball in Montreal are making the road trip to Toronto.   Loria bought a share of the Expos in 1999.  Attendance the year before was under 1 million.  The market was already barren, not that he did anything to change that.

[bird watcher]

2 minutes ago, bird watcher said:

Baseball has problem with younger generations. It is boring. Expanding and therefore diluting the pitching pool would actually be good because it would likely lead to slightly more runs scored. Although with only 2 teams the impact would probably not be significant. 

32 teams would allow a balanced schedule. Get rid of the divisions and expand the wildcard. 

I would also live to see the minor league teams separated from the MLB teams and start implementing relegation. This would stop fans from cheering for their team to lose like many of us are now. 

Pipe dream and will never happen; I know. 

[ChosenOne21]

9 minutes ago, bird watcher said:

I would also live to see the minor league teams separated from the MLB teams and start implementing relegation. This would stop fans from cheering for their team to lose like many of us are now. 

Pipe dream and will never happen; I know. 

I've never heard of this idea, can you tell me more about it?

[Can_of_corn]

11 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

Why?  Because they're both in Canada?  The two cities are 335 miles apart, which is about the distance from Baltimore to Charlotte, NC.  I really doubt that the handful of people missing baseball in Montreal are making the road trip to Toronto.   Loria bought a share of the Expos in 1999.  Attendance the year before was under 1 million.  The market was already barren, not that he did anything to change that.

Yes.

True it won't effect attendance much but it will TV and merchandise.  Also corporate deals.

[NedFromYork]

Get rid of shifts.  The idea is to hit it to someone who doesn't have to move.  Getting rid of shifts allows for athletic outfielders to make more exciting plays.  Pitch Clock to speed up the game.  I saw this weekend where tennis has a Serve Clock, need it.  An Electronic Strikezone would be nice.  Anything that can be done to reduce all or nothing batters would make the game more exciting.  Anything that can be done to encourage more base stealing would make the game more exciting.

[esmd]

3 hours ago, Redskins Rick said:

http://www.masnsports.com/orioles-buzz/2018/09/andrew-stetka-realignment-could-factor-into-how-quickly-os-can-compete.html

I think its just chatter, much like the desire by some to see MLB strip Angelos family of the team and sell it to somebody different.

Baseball isn't healthy enough to expand, IMO.

I agree, but just because we think that, doesn't mean Manfred and the owners do.  If they do realign, I think geography AND market/revenue should be considered.

[esmd]

Expansion draft....expansion draft you say?  Hmmm....."Now batting, for the Montreal Expos...first baseman, Chris....Davis...."

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, NedFromYork said:

Get rid of shifts.  The idea is to hit it to someone who doesn't have to move.  Getting rid of shifts allows for athletic outfielders to make more exciting plays.  Pitch Clock to speed up the game.  I saw this weekend where tennis has a Serve Clock, need it.  An Electronic Strikezone would be nice.  Anything that can be done to reduce all or nothing batters would make the game more exciting.  Anything that can be done to encourage more base stealing would make the game more exciting.

Please elaborate.

Do you mean having outfielders play out of position will increase the difficulty of playing defense?

How about we tie their shoe laces together so they can't run so fast?  That will spark offense.

[spiritof66]

11 minutes ago, bird watcher said:

I would also live to see the minor league teams separated from the MLB teams and start implementing relegation. This would stop fans from cheering for their team to lose like many of us are now. 

Pipe dream and will never happen; I know. 

Without a much broader restructuring of MLB and the minor leagues, relegation in baseball would make things worse.

One of the biggest problems MLB faces, IMO, is the increasing stratification of teams' ability to compete into (roughly) three groups: those with the highest potential revenues, which can afford to buy and retain top talent, those with middling potential revenues, whose ability to compete depends largely on their division placement, and those with the lowest potential revenues, which can only rarely compete for the post-season.

Relegation would further impair the ability of lower-revenue teams to compete for the post-season. The threat of being relegated would have little or no impact on the highest-revenue teams. But a struggling middle-income or any lower-income team would be hampered in its spending (on payroll and everything else) since it would have to factor in the possibility that its revenues will drop through the floor when it, if not this year then maybe in the future, is relegated to some (now-non-existent) league that approximates a AAA league. Free agents would be reluctant to sign with lower-revenue teams since that signing would put them at risk of topping out at that sub-MLB level. A top prospect drafted by, say, the Orioles or Rays or Royals or Padres or Reds or Marlins or A's or Brewers might elect not to sign since, by the time he would be promoted to the big club, it could be playing at some level other than MLB.

Baseball is badly in need of leveling the competitive playing field. Relegation sounds good, but it would do just the opposite.

 

 

[foxfield]

2 minutes ago, esmd said:

Expansion draft....expansion draft you say?  Hmmm....."Now batting, for the Montreal Expos...first baseman, Chris....Davis...."

Its expansion DRAFT not expansion DAFT.