MLB - 2010 Spring Training!

[Stuie]

And he's going with Pettitte tonight. Thanks for playing.

[-Jrabbit]

I'm really tired of the playoffs. There are WAY too many off/travel dates.
And baseball in November is just sad. IMHO.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Pettitte has always been a very good pitcher in the playoffs, so I don't see why you don't use him.

Jrabbit, and it'll be baseball in November in Philadelphia and (likely) New York!!!

Personally I think its time to go back to a 154 game schedule, especially with the extra Wild Card round of playoffs (and make them 7 games).

[-Jrabbit]

It's pretty ridiculous. Last Tues or Wed, we had both series ready for early closeout and the announcers were saying the Phillies wanted to finish it off "so they would get a full week of rest before the WS starts."

So if the Yanks had won Thursday, they were still going to wait a WEEK before starting the Series?

Baseball, by design, is meant to be played every day. The playoffs are nothing like the regular season. All the extra rest means that no playoff team's pitching depth is really tested, since the 4th/5th starters go to middle relief, effectively creating much more bullpen depth. And the legit set-up and closer roles get enough rest to pitch in every damn game if needed.

There was a time when getting a 3rd start for your ace was considered an act of desperation reserved only for the Series. Today, there's enough rest to go with a 3-man starting staff throughout the playoffs.

I may be overstating it, but perception is reality. And that's my perception.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Usually 3 man starting staffs in the playoffs are rare. Which is why when the Yanks announced it, there was some hubbub.

[-Jrabbit]

They're just taking advantage of the system that's in place. It's smart management.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well, the ONLY reason they are doing it is because Chamberlain has not nearly been the starter they thought they'd have. If they had anyone who could be a good 4th starter, they'd have used him. The big weakness this year for the Yankees is that their rotation was Sabathia, Burnett, Pettite, and then nothing.

[-Jrabbit]

All I'm saying is, that's not really a weakness once you get to the playoffs. Not the way they're structured now.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I think some Yankee fans would beg to differ . It's still somewhat of a weakness, because pitchers on 3 day rest, as has happened to the Yankees a few times, are not as good as those on 4. The Yankees would prefer a 4 man rotation, but Chamberlain couldn't be trusted.

It isn't AS MUCH of a weakness, but still is one.

Then again, I don't think they are structured too much differently than in the past - the difference being an extra round and delays for cold/precipitation. I believe that in the past you had the World Series starting on a certain day and if both LCS's were sweeps, there would be a wait.

[-Jrabbit]

So it appears that even if all preliminary series were sweeps, the first day of the World Series would remain unchanged. As I indicated, I've done no research for this rant. It could have been this way for several years. Probably has.

Still sucks.

Best planning is still probably the "two studs" theory of starting pitchers for the playoffs (e.g., RJohnson/Schilling), figuring you'll have your pair of aces pitching 5 out of 7 games in any given series.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Btw, great job Reismark. Girardi so should have started Sabathia . Yankees vs. Phillies... though A-Rod got jobbed out of the ALCS MVP award.

Jrabbit, I completely forgot until this morning that one of the reasons that the WS is so late this year is due to the World Baseball Classic and because the first Monday in April was the 6th (which is the latest it could be). In previous years it wouldn't have gone this far.

And of course the two studs theory only works if you have two studs . And that they are veterans enough that the increase workloads won't kill their arms (ie, I wouldn't do it with Lincecum and Cain for instance). Of course Arizona that year had two studs... and then crap, so it made it easier to go with that (especially since the two studs have LEGENDARY toughness and endurance).

[-Jrabbit]

I would do it with Lincecum and Cain in a heartbeat (especially with SF's current roster). The whole point is to win the World Series, and if you don't take advantage of your opportunities, you are just one of the other 29 teams. Players are just inventory, paid handsomely so they can be used to management's best advantage.

Uh, I mean, for the love of the game!

[ColdWizard]

I'm really tired of the playoffs. There are WAY too many off/travel dates.
And baseball in November is just sad. IMHO.

I would use the adjective "stupid" in place of "sad".

It's pretty ridiculous. Last Tues or Wed, we had both series ready for early closeout and the announcers were saying the Phillies wanted to finish it off "so they would get a full week of rest before the WS starts."

So if the Yanks had won Thursday, they were still going to wait a WEEK before starting the Series?

Baseball, by design, is meant to be played every day. The playoffs are nothing like the regular season. All the extra rest means that no playoff team's pitching depth is really tested, since the 4th/5th starters go to middle relief, effectively creating much more bullpen depth. And the legit set-up and closer roles get enough rest to pitch in every damn game if needed.

There was a time when getting a 3rd start for your ace was considered an act of desperation reserved only for the Series. Today, there's enough rest to go with a 3-man starting staff throughout the playoffs.

I may be overstating it, but perception is reality. And that's my perception.

TV and stadium scheduling vastly outweighs any of your mumbo-jumbo logic.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I would do it with Lincecum and Cain in a heartbeat (especially with SF's current roster). The whole point is to win the World Series, and if you don't take advantage of your opportunities, you are just one of the other 29 teams. Players are just inventory, paid handsomely so they can be used to management's best advantage.

Uh, I mean, for the love of the game!

The point, from a monetary point of view, is to consistently make the playoffs. Analysis has shown that making the playoffs is what causes a dramatic spike in income. Sure, you get more and more as you advance and the World Series has a nice payoff. But hitting the World Series and then being crappy because of selling off your players, or because your starting pitchers arms blow out, doesn't have the best effect... ask the Florida Marlins.

[-Jrabbit]

I'm not trying to make a business case here. Marlins fans have no perspective. Things may be different in NY or Philly, but any Cubs fan would sacrifice any number of players and/or seasons for one World Series championship.