The NLCS and ALCS start Thursday and Friday, respectively. Even though the Yankees have been bounced from the MLB playoffs (and no, I'm not ready to talk about it; I'm stuck on the second stage of grief), I will still be watching. I'll be rooting for certain teams and against certain teams.
I have been a lifelong baseball fan. It was the first sport I really followed as a kid. But it's not a perfect sport. Here are six ways I think the MLB playoffs could be improved (and no, they don't include giving the Yankees a berth every year):
Televise the playoffs on a real network
ESPN. FOX. Hell, even The Game Show Network would have probably done a better job with the division series than TBS did. The whole experience seemed dirty to me, like I was watching a Braves game or something.
And maybe the "real" networks have spoiled me, but would it kill you to show pitch speed, location, and instant replays every once in awhile? It wasn't until Sunday's game that I noticed they were showing pitch replays every so often. Before that, if there was a questionable strike or ball called, you just had to take the announcer's (and I use that term loosely, Mr. Caray) word for it or use your TiVo.
TBS dropped the ball.
Expand the playoffs
People complain that the Wild Card teams have it too easy (just don't tell that to the Yankees). The Wild Card team normally plays the best team in its league during the first round of the playoffs in a best-of-five series. The Wild Card team can take one of two on the road, then win two at home, and the team with the best record is then set packing. It's too short of a series.
So rather than expand it to a best-of-seven series, here's my suggestion: add another Wild Card team to each league's playoffs. The two Wild Card teams would play each other in a grueling best-of-three, game-travel-game-travel-game five-day series. The winner of this game would then go on to play the best team in the league while the other two division winners would play each other. The team with the best record during the regular season would be rewarded with a week to rest while the Wild Card series winner would have been playing or traveling the previous week, making the Wild Card team a true underdog. Plus, it gives the networks four to six extra playoff games to televise. Money!
Shorten the regular season
To make up for the extra week of playoffs, the season will have to be shortened. There's no reason the MLB season needs to be 162 games long. That's almost two NBA or NHL seasons and over ten NFL seasons.
As much as I love to watch the Yankees play the Sox, they do not need to play each other eighteen times a season. I feel we should decrease the number of games a team plays against divisional rivals to twelve. This would shave almost a month off the regular season.
Either that, or just get rid of interleague play.
Of course, shortening the regular season would never fly for two reasons:
- less games = less revenue, and no one's going to agree to that
- there are six teams in the NL Central and four in the AL West
Need I say more?
Either make the DH obsolete or put in both leagues
It doesn't matter where you stand on the issue. You might like the strategic bunting, stealing, and pitching changes that the National League offers. Or you might enjoy the extra bat in the lineup of the American League. Nonetheless, both leagues should play baseball the same way.
If you think about it, it's kind of stupid. It would be like if the teams in the AFC put twelve guys on the field when they played each other while the NFC played with eleven guys when they faced each other. Either get rid of the DH or establish it in the National League as well.
Get a new spokesperson
I know MLB is constantly trying to appeal to new demographics, but hiring Dane Cook as its celebrity pitchman was not the way to go. If I see Dane Cook, it makes me want to change the channel. I'm not alone on this, am I?
I'd rather see Daniel Cook as the spokesperson.
Or Rachel Leigh Cook.
Or Rachel Ray. She's a cook.
And If You've Made It This Far, Here Is Your Million Dollar Reward
A Sport Clips franchise recently opened in my town. It's a place where you can get can get your hair cut and watch sporting events at the same time. It's marketed exclusively to men, so if you're a woman who's into sports, you're out of luck (sorry, Sarah).But why stop there? Let's take the haircut and sexism combo to a whole new level.
Strip Clips: The Topless Hair Salon.
There's a topless carwash in town that does a fairly decent business. I would imagine a topless barbershop would make out even better.
And it would give a whole new meaning to getting a trim.
Song of the day: Cut Your Hair by Pavement
