Big MLB Changes (1 Viewer)

[pantagrapher]

MLB's Bud Selig confirms Astros will move to American League; confirms MLB will add 2nd Wild Card team in each league for 2013

Seen on twitter. Link soon

 

[Eephus]

MLB's Bud Selig confirms Astros will move to American League; confirms MLB will add 2nd Wild Card team in each league for 2013

Seen on twitter. Link soon

That's one extra wild card for each previous thread on the subject

 

[pantagrapher]

Astros sale to Crane, move to AL approvedHouston to shift and join state-rival Rangers in AL West in 2013By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com | 11/17/11 12:27 PM ESTMILWAUKEE -- The sale of the Astros by Drayton McLane to a group headed by Houston businessman Jim Crane for $610 million was approved Thursday by Major League Baseball owners at their final quarterly joint meeting of the year.The sale of the Astros will preface the move of that team from the National League Central Division to the American League West, effective as soon as the 2013 season. The Commissioner's Office and the MLB Players Association collaborated on that development during the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations."I welcome Jim Crane and his group as they prepare to become the new stewards of the Astros," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "I thank them for their patience and determination throughout a long but necessary process, which allowed us to accomplish our due diligence. The enthusiasm of Jim and his group will serve the Astros and their fans very well in the years ahead.Drayton McLane (left) and Jim Crane agreed on the sale of the Astros in May. (F. Carter Smith/MLB.com)"I congratulate Drayton McLane on his 19 years of leadership of the Houston Astros, a franchise in which he has rightfully taken great pride. Drayton's ownership produced six postseason berths, the club's first National League pennant, a ballpark that is among the finest in the sport, and many contributions that have impacted the communities of Houston and throughout his home state of Texas. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I thank Drayton for his service to our game and I wish him and his family all the best."Crain's group consists of 45 investors, including 10 principal investors. The deal includes $385 million in equity, of which Crane is contributing about 20 percent. The remainder came from $25 million commitments from investors and through bank loans. There will be an 11-person board of directors.Because McLane accepted the pre-sale stipulation of the Astros move to the AL, he will receive $35 million from MLB.Meanwhile, negotiations between MLB and the Players Association have been halted until Friday at the latest so Rob Manfred, MLB's executive vice president of labor relations and human resources, could brief the owners about the progress of the talks.One high-ranking MLB official characterized the expected five-year deal as "very close." It could be announced sometime before next week's Thanksgiving Day holiday.Now that the owners have approved Crane and when the new labor deal comes to pass, MLB will realign for the first time since the Brewers moved from the AL to the NL in 1998, ushering in the era of Interleague Play.The shift of the Astros into the AL West, a division that includes their cross-state rival Texas Rangers, would give each league 15 teams. All six divisions would then be inhabited by five teams. How the schedule will work is still a matter for consideration. The Astros expanded into the NL as the Houston Colt .45s, along with the Mets, in 1962 and are about to celebrate their 50th anniversary.Crane had been trying to buy an MLB franchise for the past two years. He and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban teamed last year to try and purchase the Rangers through a bankruptcy court auction, but he lost to a group headed by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.McLane, 75, is one of MLB's longer-term owners, having purchased the Astros in 1992. One of the few sole owners remaining in MLB, McLane said he was divesting himself of the franchise for estate reasons.Crane's purchase of the Astros had been on hold since it was taken off the agenda at the last owners' meeting Aug. 18 in Cooperstown, N.Y. Baseball needed more time to vet Crane and his partners as the collective bargaining talks involving realignment proceeded on a parallel track.When McLane and Crane came to agreement in May, the sale price was announced at $680 million. But when Crane was told the sale was contingent on the Astros changing leagues, he was granted a $70 million credit. That discount reportedly is being split evenly by MLB and McLane, who says Crane is more than ready to take over the team.Also approved on Thursday was the transfer of control of the San Francisco Giants from Bill Neukom to Larry Baer, the club's president and chief operating officer, who becomes the voting member of the organization for all MLB functions. Neukom, a high-powered attorney, plans to retire at the end of the year.Barry M. Bloom is national reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Boomskie on Baseball. Follow @boomskie on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

 

[pantagrapher]

MLB's Bud Selig confirms Astros will move to American League; confirms MLB will add 2nd Wild Card team in each league for 2013

Seen on twitter. Link soon

That's one extra wild card for each previous thread on the subject

Official announcement was just made. Didn't see a single thread addressing all the changes.

 

[pantagrapher]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

 

[B Maverick]

Hate the Astros moving to the AL, should have put the Brewers back where they belong....

 

[the moops]

Hate the Astros moving to the AL, should have put the Brewers back where they belong....

Having them in the AL Central doesnt solve anything

 

[B Maverick]

Hate the Astros moving to the AL, should have put the Brewers back where they belong....

Having them in the AL Central doesnt solve anything

I realize that. And moving them to the West is not as logistically pleasing as the Astos playing ALW (since the Rangers are nearby already)Just saying it sucks that they moved the Brewers and now have to move another team back...

 

[Daywalker]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

Yankees/Red Sox meaningless division title race every year. If I'm understanding the format correctly winning your division will be a big deal again since you won't have to deal with sudden-death.

 

[Premier]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

Yankees/Red Sox meaningless division title race every year. If I'm understanding the format correctly winning your division will be a big deal again since you won't have to deal with sudden-death.

You forgot the Rays.

 

[Bogart]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

Yankees/Red Sox meaningless division title race every year. If I'm understanding the format correctly winning your division will be a big deal again since you won't have to deal with sudden-death.

You forgot the Rays.

 

[whoknew]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

 

[Daywalker]

Mclane bought team for $115mill in 1992 and sold it for $680mill. Not bad.

 

[shadyridr]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

Huh? The extra short series (or one game playoff) will be between two wild card teams. If you win your division you dont have to worry about this. No excuses. If you dont win your division its basically a play-in game to get to the "real" playoffs. I love it

 

[Bogart]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

Huh? The extra short series (or one game playoff) will be between two wild card teams. If you win your division you dont have to worry about this. No excuses. If you dont win your division its basically a play-in game to get to the "real" playoffs. I love it

I knew shady and I would find something to agree on sooner or later.

 

[whoknew]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

Huh? The extra short series (or one game playoff) will be between two wild card teams. If you win your division you dont have to worry about this. No excuses. If you dont win your division its basically a play-in game to get to the "real" playoffs. I love it

I knew shady and I would find something to agree on sooner or later.

Lets say that the standings look like this at the end of the season:NYY 100-62TB 97-65Bos 87-75And TB and BOS are the two wild cards. Well TB and BOS just played 162 games - with the same schedule. And TB won 10 more games. They are the better team. And now they have a 1 game playoff to see who makes the "real" playoffs? TB just played 162 and showed its clearly better than Boston. Why should game 163 wipe out games 1-162?

 

[shadyridr]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

Huh? The extra short series (or one game playoff) will be between two wild card teams. If you win your division you dont have to worry about this. No excuses. If you dont win your division its basically a play-in game to get to the "real" playoffs. I love it

I knew shady and I would find something to agree on sooner or later.

Lets say that the standings look like this at the end of the season:NYY 100-62TB 97-65Bos 87-75And TB and BOS are the two wild cards. Well TB and BOS just played 162 games - with the same schedule. And TB won 10 more games. They are the better team. And now they have a 1 game playoff to see who makes the "real" playoffs? TB just played 162 and showed its clearly better than Boston. Why should game 163 wipe out games 1-162?

There are two other divisions. I doubt there will ever be an occassion where the 1st WC team would have a 10 game lead over the 2nd WC team. And even if there was TB shouldve won 3 more games to not have to worry about that scenario.

 

[the moops]

There are two other divisions. I doubt there will ever be an occassion where the 1st WC team would have a 10 game lead over the 2nd WC team. And even if there was TB shouldve won 3 more games to not have to worry about that scenario.

In 2009, Texas finished 8 games back of Boston for the WC. Not sure it is much of a stretch to assume a 10 game lead could happen.

 

[Don Quixote]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

Huh? The extra short series (or one game playoff) will be between two wild card teams. If you win your division you dont have to worry about this. No excuses. If you dont win your division its basically a play-in game to get to the "real" playoffs. I love it

I knew shady and I would find something to agree on sooner or later.

Lets say that the standings look like this at the end of the season:

NYY 100-62

TB 97-65

Bos 87-75

And TB and BOS are the two wild cards. Well TB and BOS just played 162 games - with the same schedule. And TB won 10 more games. They are the better team.

And now they have a 1 game playoff to see who makes the "real" playoffs? TB just played 162 and showed its clearly better than Boston. Why should game 163 wipe out games 1-162?

There are two other divisions. I doubt there will ever be an occassion where the 1st WC team would have a 10 game lead over the 2nd WC team. And even if there was TB shouldve won 3 more games to not have to worry about that scenario.

Never? 2001 -- OAK 102-60. MIN 85-77. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2001-standings.shtml

 

[Bogart]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

Huh? The extra short series (or one game playoff) will be between two wild card teams. If you win your division you dont have to worry about this. No excuses. If you dont win your division its basically a play-in game to get to the "real" playoffs. I love it

I knew shady and I would find something to agree on sooner or later.

Lets say that the standings look like this at the end of the season:

NYY 100-62

TB 97-65

Bos 87-75

And TB and BOS are the two wild cards. Well TB and BOS just played 162 games - with the same schedule. And TB won 10 more games. They are the better team.

And now they have a 1 game playoff to see who makes the "real" playoffs? TB just played 162 and showed its clearly better than Boston. Why should game 163 wipe out games 1-162?

There are two other divisions. I doubt there will ever be an occassion where the 1st WC team would have a 10 game lead over the 2nd WC team. And even if there was TB shouldve won 3 more games to not have to worry about that scenario.

Never? 2001 -- OAK 102-60. MIN 85-77. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2001-standings.shtml

That would have lead to a classic Joe Mays vs. Tim Hudson showdown. I like Oakland's chances in that game, especially played in Oakland. True there are going to be examples like that where it doesn't seem "fair" to one team having to play a one game playoff, but all I can say is WIN YOUR DIVISION.It wasn't fair to a lot of teams when there was only two divisions in each league and no wild card, but no one #####ed then.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

So if there is a tie for the 2nd wild card spot, there will be a one game playoff followed by another one game playoff?

 

[Bobcat10]

So if there is a tie for the 2nd wild card spot, there will be a one game playoff followed by another one game playoff?

There better be!

 

[otello]

I'd rather have a 7 game first round.

 

[BRONG]

Not a fan of the sudden-death playoff thing. What the hell was wrong with the current playoff system?

If this really happens, it makes no sense. In baseball, they play 162 games. Its a long, grueling season designed to weed out the pretenders and find the best team. Adding another short series is basically doing the exact opposite. It just adds randomness and defeats the purpose of the long season.

Huh? The extra short series (or one game playoff) will be between two wild card teams. If you win your division you dont have to worry about this. No excuses. If you dont win your division its basically a play-in game to get to the "real" playoffs. I love it

I knew shady and I would find something to agree on sooner or later.

Lets say that the standings look like this at the end of the season:NYY 100-62TB 97-65Bos 87-75And TB and BOS are the two wild cards. Well TB and BOS just played 162 games - with the same schedule. And TB won 10 more games. They are the better team. And now they have a 1 game playoff to see who makes the "real" playoffs? TB just played 162 and showed its clearly better than Boston. Why should game 163 wipe out games 1-162?

There are two other divisions. I doubt there will ever be an occassion where the 1st WC team would have a 10 game lead over the 2nd WC team. And even if there was TB shouldve won 3 more games to not have to worry about that scenario.

 

[Ghost Rider]

I like this one-game playoff between two wild cards. Having them play a whole series would be unfair to the six division winners, who would then play their first playoff series cold after being off for a week. Plus, the wild card teams will likely have to use their best pitcher for the one-game playoff, making it difficult to use them more than once in the next round vs. the division winner they play, which is fair since the division winner should get more of an advantage than just one extra game at home. Granted, the team I root for did take advantage of the current system and win the World Series last month, but I like this change.

 

[Oh Yes!]

I like this one-game playoff between two wild cards. Having them play a whole series would be unfair to the six division winners, who would then play their first playoff series cold after being off for a week. Plus, the wild card teams will likely have to use their best pitcher for the one-game playoff, making it difficult to use them more than once in the next round vs. the division winner they play, which is fair since the division winner should get more of an advantage than just one extra game at home. Granted, the team I root for did take advantage of the current system and win the World Series last month, but I like this change.

i could of said it better myself, but ill let you have this one.

 

[Premier]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

 

[shadyridr]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

i think bill simmons had the idea that mlb make an event out of those games. he suggested a doubleheader with all four wild card teams involved in a neutral site somewhere.

 

[Eephus]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

i think bill simmons had the idea that mlb make an event out of those games. he suggested a doubleheader with all four wild card teams involved in a neutral site somewhere.

Simmons has lots of ideas; not all of them are good

 

[thetman]

This seems really, really goofy to me, but it might just work.

 

[coolnerd]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

W/O seeing everything here, i would rather 2 of 3 games. A single 2/3 series is random enough, much less a single game after 162.

 

[Daywalker]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

i think bill simmons had the idea that mlb make an event out of those games. he suggested a doubleheader with all four wild card teams involved in a neutral site somewhere.

Simmons has lots of ideas; not all of them are good

His idea of an end of season tournament within each NBA conference where the winner gets the #8 seed is a no-brainer IMO.I actually like the idea of a single-elimination tournament for draft slots among non-playoff teams. Teams with the worst record get home-court advantage and then have the final four at someplace like Madison Square Garden. Would keep all losing teams fans involved as well as make it less likely for players to just cash it in with 10 games left with minor injuries.Why have a lottery when you can have a televised tournament? Makes no sense on any level.

 

[Eephus]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

i think bill simmons had the idea that mlb make an event out of those games. he suggested a doubleheader with all four wild card teams involved in a neutral site somewhere.

Simmons has lots of ideas; not all of them are good

His idea of an end of season tournament within each NBA conference where the winner gets the #8 seed is a no-brainer IMO.I actually like the idea of a single-elimination tournament for draft slots among non-playoff teams. Teams with the worst record get home-court advantage and then have the final four at someplace like Madison Square Garden. Would keep all losing teams fans involved as well as make it less likely for players to just cash it in with 10 games left with minor injuries.Why have a lottery when you can have a televised tournament? Makes no sense on any level.

A partial season would be a good start

 

[shuke]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

Explain to me the need for it. I thought the end of the regular season this year was pretty damn exciting.

 

[Oh Yes!]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

Explain to me the need for it. I thought the end of the regular season this year was pretty damn exciting.

now itll be EVEN MORE exciting. more teams will have a chance to get into that one-game playoff... duh

 

[shuke]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

Explain to me the need for it. I thought the end of the regular season this year was pretty damn exciting.

now itll be EVEN MORE exciting. more teams will have a chance to get into that one-game playoff... duh

Boston/Tampa and St. Louis/Atlanta would have had these spots wrapped up with like a week left. Boring.

 

[Premier]

I love the one-game wild card. Great, great idea

Explain to me the need for it. I thought the end of the regular season this year was pretty damn exciting.

now itll be EVEN MORE exciting. more teams will have a chance to get into that one-game playoff... duh

Boston/Tampa and St. Louis/Atlanta would have had these spots wrapped up with like a week left. Boring.

Maybe, but I like the fact that it makes it more difficult for a wild-card team to win it all. And I also like the fact that it puts more emphasis on winning the division.

 

[shadyridr]

Changes have been approved. The draft payroll scale has dramatically been altered. There is a cap on spending for foreign country FAs. HOU to AL West in 2013. 2 WCs in each league possibly in 2012. HGH testing (trial run). Elimination of ELIAS rankings for FA purposes.

Love the changes!

 

[CrossEyed]

Changes have been approved. The draft payroll scale has dramatically been altered. There is a cap on spending for foreign country FAs. HOU to AL West in 2013. 2 WCs in each league possibly in 2012. HGH testing (trial run). Elimination of ELIAS rankings for FA purposes.

Love the changes!

They just killed any chance a team like the Pirates ever had of competing with teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.

 

[shadyridr]

Changes have been approved. The draft payroll scale has dramatically been altered. There is a cap on spending for foreign country FAs. HOU to AL West in 2013. 2 WCs in each league possibly in 2012. HGH testing (trial run). Elimination of ELIAS rankings for FA purposes.

Love the changes!

They just killed any chance a team like the Pirates ever had of competing with teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.

What are you talking about? Limiting the amount teams can spend on draft picks and foreign FA's HELPS teams like the Pirates.

 

[Wooderson]

Changes have been approved. The draft payroll scale has dramatically been altered. There is a cap on spending for foreign country FAs. HOU to AL West in 2013. 2 WCs in each league possibly in 2012. HGH testing (trial run). Elimination of ELIAS rankings for FA purposes.Love the changes!

Good work MLB

 

[CrossEyed]

Changes have been approved. The draft payroll scale has dramatically been altered. There is a cap on spending for foreign country FAs. HOU to AL West in 2013. 2 WCs in each league possibly in 2012. HGH testing (trial run). Elimination of ELIAS rankings for FA purposes.

Love the changes!

They just killed any chance a team like the Pirates ever had of competing with teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.

What are you talking about? Limiting the amount teams can spend on draft picks and foreign FA's HELPS teams like the Pirates.

No, it really doesn't. The only reason they were able to sign a guy like Bell last year was to take the chance of drafting him in round 2 and paying him way above slot. They could compete in that situation. They can't compete for major league FAs. They just don't have the resources.And no, I'm not saying this is the only reason they can't win. They also haven't been able to evaluate or develop players.

 

[Ghost Rider]

The one big drawback I see to this is the wild card team doesn't always play the team with the best record (the wild card team plays the team with the 2nd best record if the best division winner and wild card come from the same division), which should be the case. Plus, it makes it to where the worst division winner cannot travel to the city of the team they are playing in the first round until the wild card game is finished, if the two wild card teams playing are from different divisions.

 

[Premier]

Pretty sure they are dropping that divisional thing with the wild-card. Heard that numerous times this week.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Changes have been approved. The draft payroll scale has dramatically been altered. There is a cap on spending for foreign country FAs. HOU to AL West in 2013. 2 WCs in each league possibly in 2012. HGH testing (trial run). Elimination of ELIAS rankings for FA purposes.

Love the changes!

They just killed any chance a team like the Pirates ever had of competing with teams like the Yankees and Red Sox.

What are you talking about? Limiting the amount teams can spend on draft picks and foreign FA's HELPS teams like the Pirates.

You are incorrect, and Cross Eyed is correct. Over-slot spending (which nearly every team did) and foreign spending was a leveler for the small-market teams. The Royals built up a pretty nice farm system by spending quite a bit over slot, but that extra money is a mere pittance compared to what it'd take to compete in the FA market with the big clubs. The most efficient use of money for a small teams is Central America and the draft.This CBA is bad for high school players (many of which will forgo baseball), the overall quality of the game, and Central American hopefuls. But none of them have a seat at the table. It's good for the owners because it tamps down spending, and it's good for the players who are already in MLB. Of course, Selig, oblivious as ever, says that he doesn't think that this will keep two-way players from going with baseball. On the same day, Red Sox prospect Brandon Jacobs said he'd be playing football for Auburn if the Red Sox could only offer slot money ($100K) instead of what they did offer ($700K). That kind of decision isn't going to play out several times every draft?

And that's not even getting into the fact that every MLB team must publicly post a foreign player that they're targeting. Horrible. There used to be several ways to skin a cat and gain a strategic advantage. No longer.

The extra wild-card is dumb and unnecessary, but it's by far not the worst thing.