MLB 2018 Season

[jsglow]

Just so I understand.  Guys placed on the roster from the outside after 9/1 (say Gio Gonzalez or Curtis Granderson) aren't eligible for postseason, correct?

And on another note, boy were the Cubs sloppy yesterday.  Way too many errors and walks to be competitive.  From their perspective, they need to clean that up.  Not that I'm hoping they do.

[GB Warrior]

Just so I understand.  Guys placed on the roster from the outside after 9/1 (say Gio Gonzalez or Curtis Granderson) aren't eligible for postseason, correct?

And on another note, boy were the Cubs sloppy yesterday.  Way too many errors and walks to be competitive.  From their perspective, they need to clean that up.  Not that I'm hoping they do.

Brewers acquired Gio and Granderson before the 8/31 waiver trade deadline, and they were added to the 40 man accordingly. Guys that were on the 40 man roster on that date are eligible, though only up to 25 players. The Brewers will have to make some tough calls on pitching staff if they clinch.

[Dr. Blackheart]

At least Billy had as many post-season hits as Ernie Banks.

Billy played in the post-season with the A's.

[jsglow]

Brewers acquired Gio and Granderson before the 8/31 waiver trade deadline, and they were added to the 40 man accordingly. Guys that were on the 40 man roster on that date are eligible, though only up to 25 players. The Brewers will have to make some tough calls on pitching staff if they clinch.

We were out of town so thanks for the clarification on the timing.

[SaveOD238]

Brewers acquired Gio and Granderson before the 8/31 waiver trade deadline, and they were added to the 40 man accordingly. Guys that were on the 40 man roster on that date are eligible, though only up to 25 players. The Brewers will have to make some tough calls on pitching staff if they clinch.

I'm actually not certain that the playoff roster will be that difficult to decide.  One normal starter (probably Guerra or Freddy at this point) won't make it in favor of a strong reliever.  Assuming they keep 12 hitters they will have 13 pitchers:

Starters (4): Chacin, Anderson, Miley, one of Davies/Freddy/Guerra/Gio
High Leverage Relievers (5): Hader, Jeffress, Knebel, Soria, Jennings
Long Relief (4): Lyles, one of the left out starters, Cedeno, Burnes

[Jockey]

Billy played in the post-season with the A's.

One hitless post-season with the A’s.

[buckchuckler]

Huge game for the Brewers tonight.  A sweep accomplishes so much more than a 2-1 series win.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I saw a stat today that said if you take out the Cubs games, the Brewers average attendance goes down only like 230 people per game.  Either including or excluding the Cubs games, the Brewers are 10th in attendance.

Also, it feels reaaaaalll nice to run-rule the Cubs.

Yep, JS article discussing this yesterday:
https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2018/09/04/cubs-pitcher-cole-hamels-doesnt-think-its-rivalry-brewers/1188196002/
The Brewers are 10th in average attendance in 2018, ahead of places like Atlanta, the New York Mets, Philadelphia and Washington – a list of large markets and many with playoff aspirations.

If we subtracted the Cubs games entirely from the equation, the Brewers' average attendance … would still be 10th.

Milwaukee is the only market that has to deal with the proximity of a considerably larger market. There are other teams that play in close proximity, though none as close as Chicago and Milwaukee playing in the same league. I see a lot of games at Miller Park each year, and I can say with some certainty that the Cubs games are the least fun, and it’s got nothing to do with how “nice” the opposing fans are. Who wants to go to your home stadium and hear the visiting team get cheered? It’s dispiriting and clouds the experience, unless you’re the combative type who likes the adrenaline rush of facing that sort of adversity. I am not. I’m a dad with two young kids, and I’d just as soon not expose them to a crowd where many of the patrons are locked and loaded for "us vs. them."

Then you throw in the possibility that ticket demand on the secondary market yields some pretty nice payouts, and it becomes a no-brainer. Maybe that line of thinking makes someone less of a fan, even if they’re sweating every single pitch from their couch. Few fans attend every game, and they’re not going to choose the games that offer the least amount of fun, so I find the expectation that Brewers fans should come to their team’s defense a little unreasonable.

[jsglow]

Wisconsin sports teams have always been hampered by geography (Lake Michigan as a barrier) and the fact that the nation's 3rd largest city is immediately to it south limiting reach in that direction.  It's the same problem the Bucks have generally; Packers less so because of their national appeal and the uniqueness of the franchise.

Milwaukee is a damn good baseball town with a very loyal fan base.  The interesting thing in the last 20 years is the switch to the NL which elevated the Cubs rivalry to a place that never had existed with the Sox during earlier years.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

  The interesting thing in the last 20 years is the switch to the NL which elevated the Cubs rivalry to a place that never had existed with the Sox during earlier years.

The Cubs are also in the same division as the Brewers.  The White Sox and Brewers were only in the same division from 94-97, (with a strike built-in).

[Dr. Blackheart]

The White Sox-Brewers fan fights were better.

[GGGG]

The White Sox-Brewers fan fights were better.

Manager fights too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyuoZW2pS6w

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Poor Ohtani, another Tommy John.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/angels-shohei-ohtani-likely-headed-for-tommy-john-surgery-after-mri-shows-new-damage-in-elbow/

[Dr. Blackheart]

Manager fights too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyuoZW2pS6w

That was Terry Bevington's high water mark.

[Anti-Dentite]

I’m pretty sure County Stadium’s infamous dime beer night met it’s demise after a Sox game where fights were breaking out all over the stands.

[Skitch]

So usually the division winner with the best record plays the wild card winner in the divisional series but if it's the Brewers and they have a better record than the other two division winners would it still end up Brewers/Cubs?

[SaveOD238]

So usually the division winner with the best record plays the wild card winner in the divisional series but if it's the Brewers and they have a better record than the other two division winners would it still end up Brewers/Cubs?

Yes.  When they went to two wild cards in became too weird logistically to separate teams from the same division in the ALDS and NLDS.  Best record gets the wild card game winner.

[CTWarrior]

Yes.  When they went to two wild cards in became too weird logistically to separate teams from the same division in the ALDS and NLDS.  Best record gets the wild card game winner.

I still think the best record should play the worst record, not the wild card winner.  Right now Yankees are the second best team in baseball and if they were to win the wild card game the best record in baseball would be playing the second best record in baseball in the first round in a best of 5 series.  Your first priority should be to reward the best team, not punish the wild card, which will often not be the worst of the remaining four.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Your first priority should be to reward the best team, not punish the wild card, which will often not be the worst of the remaining four.

I actually think the first priority should be the "punish" the team which didn't win their respective division.

I still prefer the two division format of MLB from 69-94.  I understand we'll never go back to that system, but wish there was an East/West division in both leagues, and only 4 teams made the playoffs.

[GGGG]

My solution...

Get rid of the divisions entirely.  Have each team play the others in the same league 7-9 times over the course of the year.  (114 games)

Have each team play every other team in the other league once, plus one additional series against a designated "rival."  (48 games)

Five teams from each league make the playoffs.  4 v. 5 play the wild card with the winner facing 1.  2 plays 3 in the division series.


Advantages:
**More balanced schedule
**Under this current scenario, every team currently in the playoffs would still be in the playoffs.  However, there would actually be some pretty good playoff races for that fourth and fifth spots.

Disadvantages:
**Can't get perfect home and home splits.
**Loss of regional rivals - if those actually exist.  (I don't think they are that important.)

[CTWarrior]

I actually think the first priority should be the "punish" the team which didn't win their respective division.

Why would you punish a team for geography?  Why should the Indians get a break by playing in a division where all the teams are either tanking or rebuilding?  If you traded the Indians and the Rays divisions, the Rays would be coasting to a playoff spot and the Indians would be thinking about next year.  Why should they be given an advantage over the A's or Yankees, who have better records against tougher schedules?  In the AL this year, the West has it a lot tougher than the East, and the East has it a lot tougher than the Central. 

I think you are punishing the non-division winners by forcing them into one game playoff.  After that, seed them by record.

[CTWarrior]

**Loss of regional rivals - if those actually exist. (I don't think they are that important.)

I agree with most of what you wrote, but not the bolded portion.  I think that rivalries are big in baseball.  As a Red Sox fan, I would hate less games against the other teams in the East.  I still miss playing the Tigers and Indians more regularly. 

Also travel costs would increase in the scenario you describe (more cross country trips, etc).

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If the MLB does add two more teams (which I think is a big if), do they expand the playoffs? Take the top half from each league like the NBA does? Or go to 6 with bye weeks like the NFL?

While I think 5 is better than 4, I personally don't like the 1 game wild card series.

[TallTitan34]

I actually think the first priority should be the "punish" the team which didn't win their respective division.

I still prefer the two division format of MLB from 69-94.  I understand we'll never go back to that system, but wish there was an East/West division in both leagues, and only 4 teams made the playoffs.

This.

The team with the best record gets to play a team who is down a top starter because of the Wild Card game.

Example:  Cubs only saw MadBum once in the 2016 NLDS because he pitched in the Wild Card game.

[LAZER]

My solution...

Get rid of the divisions entirely.  Have each team play the others in the same league 7-9 times over the course of the year.  (114 games)

Have each team play every other team in the other league once, plus one additional series against a designated "rival."  (48 games)

Five teams from each league make the playoffs.  4 v. 5 play the wild card with the winner facing 1.  2 plays 3 in the division series.


Advantages:
**More balanced schedule
**Under this current scenario, every team currently in the playoffs would still be in the playoffs.  However, there would actually be some pretty good playoff races for that fourth and fifth spots.

Disadvantages:
**Can't get perfect home and home splits.
**Loss of regional rivals - if those actually exist.  (I don't think they are that important.)

Not against this, though scheduling 48 one-game "series" would be tough and I do think regional rivalries would be lost, but inevitably new rivalries created.