Is it Time to Re-Align?

[loyola64]

Baseball has changed greatly to an esisting financial disparity which is most noticable in the American League East where New York and Boston have financial resources that allow them to outspend their competition. When a new season begins many teams are out of the running before the first pitch is thrown. Why not realign the Leagues based upon what teams allocate for payroll and make chanfes as needed every five to seven years. Teams could build their franchises from within and this parity would lead to game that has excitement in every Major League City. It would serve to strengthen the game and increase the interest of all fans.

[crowmst3k!]

Better idea: balance the schedule and eliminate divisions.

Have AL and NL. Eliminate the non-DH rule in the NL.

Have the top 4 teams in each league make the playoffs.

In the age of rapid transportation and instant communication, geographical divisions are obsolete.

[Since66]

Better idea: balance the schedule and eliminate divisions.

Have AL and NL. Eliminate the non-DH rule in the NL.

Have the top 4 teams in each league make the playoffs.

In the age of rapid transportation and instant communication, geographical divisions are obsolete.

So the O's could potentially finish 15th. Yeah that's the ticket.

[hendu]

So the O's could potentially finish 15th. Yeah that's the ticket.

Yeah, because it is so much more respectable to finish in the bottom two of the east each year.

I agree that divisions be eliminated, but it's not going to happen anytime soon.

[EutawStreet]

I think that the top 4 teams in the AL East should make the playoffs. It's the most logical solution. Also, the O's could potentially contend next year!:clap3:

[sangar]

Baseball has changed greatly to an esisting financial disparity which is most noticable in the American League East where New York and Boston have financial resources that allow them to outspend their competition. When a new season begins many teams are out of the running before the first pitch is thrown. Why not realign the Leagues based upon what teams allocate for payroll and make chanfes as needed every five to seven years. Teams could build their franchises from within and this parity would lead to game that has excitement in every Major League City. It would serve to strengthen the game and increase the interest of all fans.

Wouldn't this relegate many teams to what would essentially be a minor league status?

[Birds of B'more]

So the O's could potentially finish 15th. Yeah that's the ticket.

Wow. I know the O's have been horrible and all these past 12 seasons....but how could they be so bad that they finish 15th in a 14 team league?

[Birds of B'more]

Better idea: balance the schedule and eliminate divisions.

Have AL and NL. Eliminate the non-DH rule in the NL.

Have the top 4 teams in each league make the playoffs.

In the age of rapid transportation and instant communication, geographical divisions are obsolete.

Add the elimination of interleague play to that list and you've got it nailed.

[Since66]

Wow. I know the O's have been horrible and all these past 12 seasons....but how could they be so bad that they finish 15th in a 14 team league?

YES. I typo-ed and decided to leave it for dramatic effect. And gee 14th would be so much better.:laughlol:

[ChesterPeake]

A salary cap and a salary floor would help fix the problem.

[Birds of B'more]

A salary cap and a salary floor would help fix the problem.

I think we're more likely to see some sort of re-alignment and balanced schedule before we see that....not that either one will happen anytime soon, btw.

[Orioles West]

When we get this turned around, we're going to win the toughest division in baseball. I'd rather do that than realign and run away from the two current bull market baseball teams.

If they do away with divisions, that's fine, but as long as there are leagues and divisions, the Orioles belong in the AL East, and when we do climb BACK to the top, it will be over a couple of teams I've always enjoyed beating more than ANY team we could face in the World Series.

-Don

[GoldGlove21]

The solution is to implement a cap that forces lower market teams like the Marlins, Royals, Rays, and Pirates to spend more than they are spending while causing teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs to spend less. At times there is a team that is with a $25M payroll against teams with $175+M payrolls. MLB needs to put a more logical cap and floor into place and eliminate luxury taxes. The Yankees giving the Royals $2M-$5M every year does not help the Royals get better as it might let them keep their closer down the line they will never be able to keep all of their premium talent away from other teams. Does anyone really think Zach Greinke is going to remain a Royal once his current contract ends?

The Royals will be forced to deal him to a contending team for a good return in terms of prospects which the Royals hope will turn into something while a team gets a player that has proven his worth. There is no perfect system as even football teams have foudn a way to push the salary cap limits, but the luxury tax is only enforced at the $170M mark if I am not mistaken. If you implemented a $115M hard cap then only a handful of teams would have been affected in 2009 (Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, and Tigers). The Tigers were only a few thousand dollars over that mark and the Mets, Cubs, and Red Sox were within $10M of that number.

The Yankees 2009 team salary was $201.5M or about the same amount as the lowest 5 teams in salary combined plus a third of the 6th teams team salary. Every since the Yankees bought Babe Ruth the system has been flawed and as long as MLB keeps making money as a whole then changes will never come. The players union runs baseball and they would strike if a hard cap was a possibility. If you really think about it though, more teams would spend money if they thought they were able to sign some of the best free agents however there would be fewer big market teams to drive up the price.

In order to fix the problem MLB needs to admit that it has one. MLB is a business however and as long as it is making money then business is good.

[sangar]

When we get this turned around, we're going to win the toughest division in baseball. I'd rather do that than realign and run away from the two current bull market baseball teams.

If they do away with divisions, that's fine, but as long as there are leagues and divisions, the Orioles belong in the AL East, and when we do climb BACK to the top, it will be over a couple of teams I've always enjoyed beating more than ANY team we could face in the World Series.

-Don

I agree with all this except the last sentence.

Give me the Pirates...or better yet, the g#% d@^& Mets :cussing:. I still get mad when I think about '69.

Clarification: The year.

[MCO'sFan]

I have the perfect realignment that will please everyone from fans to TV to MLB.

The Yankees and Red Sox make the play-offs each year. The one with the better record is a division winner and the other is the WC. The other 12 AL teams are divided into two geographically based divisions each with a winner. That eliminates the weak central division and gives O' Jay's and Ray's a chance to win a division without having to have all the planets and stars align.

Ok, I am half joking but, I don't see any other way the Ray's Jay's or O's can make the play-offs for several years in a row due to the Sox and Yanks ability to improve drastically in a short time through FA. I think that the Ray’s winning the division in 2008 will become a complete anomaly.

I didn't want to start another whiny thread. I think that mine is a pretty original idea but, completely unrealistic.