Is getting a “bye” even a good thing anymore in pro sports?

[ChosenOne21]

Of course it's an advantage. If you think time off will hurt your team, have them treat every off day like it's a normal day and culminate it in a split-squad game that you manage and prepare for exactly like a regular game.

But as was said earlier, you can't lose if you don't play, and you have the option of resting the team/players if you think you need it.

Edited October 8, 2023 by ChosenOne21

[eddie83]

10 hours ago, Chavez Ravine said:

Yes, the rest advantage is real. But there seems to be all sorts of other things going on…like the pitching that was carrying you in June is not the same that is carrying you in October. That turnover seems much more than it was even just a few years ago.

I’ve been saying for awhile now it’s all about what pitching is available once you get to October. I wish it was like the “old days” when the horses that brought you there were also the ones you relied on in the playoffs. It seems to get worse every year in terms of pitching injuries and who is actually available to pitch. 
 

Pitching is an issue in the entire industry. I miss the days of the dominant starters but I don’t see a scenario where we get back to that. 

[Billy F-Face3]

26 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

I’ve been saying for awhile now it’s all about what pitching is available once you get to October. I wish it was like the “old days” when the horses that brought you there were also the ones you relied on in the playoffs. It seems to get worse every year in terms of pitching injuries and who is actually available to pitch. 
 

Pitching is an issue in the entire industry. I miss the days of the dominant starters but I don’t see a scenario where we get back to that. 

I think the bigger problem is hitting. When 3 of the better offenses in the entire game of baseball can't score more than 4 combined runs altogether (Braves-0, Dodgers-2, Orioles-2) in their 1st game of the Division Series, and it was a similar story in the prior postseason, there's something going on there.

It's as if batters are struggling to keep their timing and/or see the ball well. 

[Jagwar]

12 hours ago, RavensNOsGuy said:

Shorten the season to 154 games and start the playoffs a week earlier. Maybe it ends a week later in November still, but does that really matter? Know this isn’t going to ever happen, but just my thoughts.

This would make sense for keeping games from being frigid in November. Just imagine a World Series of the Cubs vs the Twins, neither of which has a retractable roof on their ballpark. Brrrr...

But shortening the season to 154 games has financial implications that would need to be addressed. 8 fewer games means lost ticket sales, advertising revenue, lost vendor concessions. Not a straightforward problem for all of the stakeholders.   

[Jagwar]

1 hour ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

I think the bigger problem is hitting. When 3 of the better offenses in the entire game of baseball can't score more than 4 combined runs altogether (Braves-0, Dodgers-2, Orioles-2) in their 1st game of the Division Series, and it was a similar story in the prior postseason, there's something going on there.

It's as if batters are struggling to keep their timing and/or see the ball well. 

It's baseball right? I felt so frustrated yesterday after the game. But when I saw that the Dodgers and Braves lost I collected myself and realized that even the best offenses get shut down every now and then. Sometimes pitching just performs better. 

[tntoriole]

 3 of 4 lower seeds won game 1.  They have too easy a path still. I would make them play afternoon games in wild card and make them travel and play the next night in ALDS without day off

No day off between end of season and wild card start either 

or let number one seeds have a 28 roster lol

 

or Semien has to hit lefty and Seager righty for ALDS lol 

Edited October 8, 2023 by tntoriole

[beantownrefugee]

MLB had it right before with the two wild cards.  Win the division, you're in.  Don't win, still a shot, but it's one game, do or die.  What they did correct this year, IMO, was balancing the schedule a bit.   Too much extra TV money with the additional 6-10 wild cards games to go back to a one game situation, I'm afraid.

[ORIOLE33]

12 hours ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

It seems like the Houston Astros are the only team who knows how to turn a bye week into a major league advantage and win their first ALDS game.

They also arguably has the weakest opponent. 

[Frobby]

12 hours ago, paullwaull said:

For years people screamed the 1 game wild card playoff was stupid and they needed an actual series. Unfortunately there will never be a perfect system.

I always liked it.  Win your division or be subject to an arbitrary one-game shot.  

[NCRaven]

Our bats were cold long before the bye.  The time off had little or booting do with it.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 hour ago, NCRaven said:

Our bats were cold long before the bye.  The time off had little or booting do with it.

If anything I was hoping the time off would allow the hitters to reset and get back to their form prior to this slump. That didn’t happen yesterday and the lineup can’t break out of this funk . 

[Billy F-Face3]

2 hours ago, ORIOLE33 said:

They also arguably has the weakest opponent. 

I said what I said because they've done it 2 seasons in a row. The week off seemed to affect all the other top 3 teams of 2022 (besides the Astros) but the Astros had no issues with it what so ever. Meanwhile the 110 win Dodgers, The Braves, and the  Yankees all lost their series against wildcard teams in 2022.

[tntoriole]

21 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

I said what I said because they've done it 2 seasons in a row. The week off seemed to affect all the other top 3 teams of 2022 (besides the Astros) but the Astros had no issues with it what so ever. Meanwhile the 110 win Dodgers, The Braves, and the  Yankees all lost their series against wildcard teams in 2022.

Definitely rooting for Twins… i hate the Astros

[ExileAngelos]

Been saying this ever since they announced the new format.  Expanded playoffs SUCK.  The three teams that won a hundred games are all in big trouble in a short series.  162 games played for this.  Nice job Manfred!