It was a rumor that quickly disseminated among the different factions that cover baseball extensively, and it was due to its baseball-channels-only appearance (I'm talking MLB Network) that I didn't give much credence to what I thought was the laughable notion of Major League Baseball realigning their divisions and leagues. Now that the idea has picked up some real steam, and particularly because the Astros have been rumored to be the top candidate to switch leagues, it seems we have a hot topic to cover here.
I'll just say this immediately: I don't like the idea of realignment. I'm fine with adding more playoff teams if Bud Selig really wants to, (and it is a sensible notion, as MLB could use a bit more money to catch up with its other professional sports counterparts) but I feel it's unnecessary to move teams around. The division scheme has worked just fine for a long while now, and ridding the league of divisions would seem to me to be change for the sake of change.
What's more, once I heard that the Astros were supposed to be the team switching over to the American League, due to the oh-so-important "natural rivalry" that it would create between them and the Texas Rangers, I became a staunch opponent of the realignment scheme. I can sorta see why MLB would want to construct two 15-team leagues, but only in the vein of eliminating divisons and playing a round-robin, completely balanced schedule where every team plays every other team. Moving the Astros over to the AL West does nothing to further that cause, and even if a "rivalry" were really to gain steam when the Astros played the Rangers, I still feel like MLB would lose money in the deal. Here's why: less Astros games would be watched by fans, period. The reason would be all of those late night West Coast games that the 'Stros would be playing against teams like Seattle, Los Angeles, and Oakland. The Astros would also have to foot more money to get a DH, something that Drayton McClane would have never been happy about, and something Jim Crane probably isn't pleased with either. If I were Crane, I'd tell Selig to shove it and move the Brewers back over to the AL, as they started this whole mess in the first place.
And anyway, why should the Houston/Texas rivalry take precedence? Let's face it, everyone who reads or writes on this blog is a huge Texas baseball lover, but the state's heart will always lie with football. Why shouldn't the Mets move over to create a "rivalry" with the Yankees? Move the Dodgers over to the AL West to create a natural rivalry between them and the Angels. Move Cincinnati over so they can play the Indians and get a kick out of that. Honestly, I get the feeling that no one really cares whether we beat the Rangers or not every season. It seems to always be a blowout one way or the other, as the Astros dominated the series up until a few seasons ago, and now the Rangers look to blow Houston away in 2011. A Chicago-Chicago or New York-New York same league rivalry would be much more interesting and lucrative.
So lastly, I've decided on how to realign the sport on the off chance that Selig gives me a call and charges me with the job. Two 15-team leagues (Arizona moves over to the American League, as they apparently are itching to do), the DH is eliminated. A nearly completely balanced schedule is constructed where every team plays every other team the same number of times. Five playoff spots go to each league. Boom, bing, bang. We're done. And guess what? The AL will still complain that they don't have enough spots, since the Yankees and Red Sox are likely to take two of them every year. Well news flash, three of the past six season have seen a team other than the Yanks or Sox win the AL East. That's right, the Rays have been the darlings of the division lately, and they've been doing it with sabermetrics, smart management, and a payroll that's nearly smaller than Alex Rodriguez's yearly salary.
So stop complaining, Toronto and Baltimore, because you're not that good in the first place, and it's not impossible to scale the mountain that is the AL East. Realignment is unnecessary, and what's more, it could hurt another struggling team's chances to get out of the hole.
No comments:
Post a Comment