MLB 2011!!

[-Jrabbit]

Certainly not balls-out trying to win. Who cares if some idiot from KC (or wherever) gets into the game?

[Arrian]

I'm totally ambivalent about the MLB all-star game. It's... sorta ok. Meh. That sums up my feelings. Not sure I'll ever really care about it. It's an exhibition game, with the wierd HFA for the WS tacked on. But the managers don't actually play to win, nor are other rules set up such that they really can. Fan voting for the position players results in, for instance, Derek Jeter being the starting SS for the AL. If the AL wants to win, you don't want Jeter playing, you want Cabrera or Peralta (how odd is that?). Ditto the tule about having to take a guy from each team. It's not about playing to win, nor should it be... but this conflicts pretty obviously with the whole "it counts!" thing.

I'm mildly against interleague play and 100% in favor of the DH. Watching pitchers "hit" is excruciating, and double switches aren't actually interesting.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

I'm anti-interleague, anti-DH, and incresingly anti-Wild Card (win your darn division!!!)

[Arrian]

WC is fine with me, or going to 4 divisions and dropping the WC is fine with me. Going to a 2nd WC is a terrible idea, but appears to be a possibility now. Ugh.

-Arrian

[-Jrabbit]

Pro interleague.
Anti-DH.
4 playoff teams per league is fine.

My biggest gripe is that the WS extends into November. It's just gotten out of hand.

[Imran Siddiqui]

WC is fine with me, or going to 4 divisions and dropping the WC is fine with me. Going to a 2nd WC is a terrible idea, but appears to be a possibility now. Ugh.

-Arrian

If there is already 1 WC, I see nothing horrid in another one. In all the proposals, the 2 WCs play a 3 game series to face off against the #1 seed, giving the #1 seed a better advantage.

[rah]

In principle I agree. The #1 seed getting a bigger advantage is not a bad thing, but as JR pointed out, if it extends the season close to another week, I'm not interested.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The problems of the added divisions. Already they have ridiculous 5 game series in the divisional rounds.

[rah]

While I know it will never happen, I'd have no problem going back to 154 games in the regular season in order to support a SLIGHTLY expanded playoffs.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I wouldn't as well. But, as you point out, unrealistic.

I like Costas's idea of no WC, #1 seed gets bye.

With the expected 15 teams in each league, 3 divisions make sense (unfortunately). Though we have to find a new home for Tampa soon.

[EPW]

I'm anti AL/NL. There should just be one big league and everyone can play each other. The top (ideally 2 teams, but lets say 8, goes on to the playoffs) Fairness is paramount.

[EPW]

Jeter, Arod and Mariano Rivera are all skipping the All-star game. Yeap, the players really take it seriously, huh?

[-Jrabbit]

Well, the Yankees don't require home advantage, so why bother?

[ColdWizard]

Jeter's coming off injury, A-Rod is injured, and Mariano is old.

[-Jrabbit]

Jeter seemed to think he was fine to start today and become the first Yankee with 3K hits...