Boston Red Sox

[dduncan6er]

Originally Posted by scrock25

Toronto is a fantastic city, I've been there multiple times for MLB games. It's easy to navigate and there's just tons of shit to do. It's also extremely affordable for a large/world class city. Only issue, although you'll run into this anywhere, is that for a perennial fourth place team the fans are pricks. What's worse is that they can pick out an American like whoa, and that makes their chidings 100x worse. All in all though I recommend 100%.

I've been to Montreal and that's supposed to be pretty bad as far as them giving shit to Americans. Almost got into a fight at a bar because me and my buddy didnt speak french.

[pathetic]

Originally Posted by Lcsulla

Plenty of people dislike it, I think many of us have voiced our objections.

Disagreed on it making September better, teams will still run away with divisions the same they always have. In addition, it ill not necessarily lead to two fantastic game 163's considering 163 could be a one game playoff to win a division, or it could be a one game playoff to decide who gets a WC slot - so it could be game 163, 164, or 165 - ANY of which will screw over a rotation for a short series and provide a severe handicap. Hell, this idea of division or broke will even screw division champs who burn their number 1 during game 162 to win the division. So yeah, there will also be some cases where teams simply mail it in for the final week (or day) and settle for the WC in order to have their number one lined up the next game up for them.

Here's my thought. Do away with the divisions entirely. Allow ONLY the teams with the top 4 records in the league to get a playoff slot regardless of geographic location. This will allow us to balance the schedule and ensure only the best teams make the playoffs. Then use the same format of the 1 team playing the 4 slot and the 2 team playing the 3 slot. Yes, we still may need some one game playoffs to break record ties but IMO it beats this nonsense. Then we can start getting them to nix the moronic interleague idea that skews schedules.

puts 0 importance on Divisions. Selig said part of the reason for a second wildcard is to get more cities involved in the playoffs.

If it came down to your idea or Selig's i'd take yours. playoff seeding works well in other sports.

this system was not broken at all...why not only try to fix it, but make it completely different?

say the divisions are locked up before last couple weeks of the season and a team with 10+ game lead for the first wildcard...that's basically locked up too...then 2 weeks later you lose a 1 game playoff against a team that has 10 less wins than you and it's all for nothing...it's baffling to me...baseball is a game played in series....a game where you have a 5 man rotation all season for a reason.

[thebestauntie]

Selig needs to die in a fire.

[rickyh24]

[Lcsulla]

I agree regarding a fix to fix instead of fixing something broken - and FUCK Selig, senile old bastard. Zimmer would make a better damn commish and he's what a hundred and eight? I have grown accustomed to the WC (as it was) but other than that I disagree with most of Selig's brainstorms. Man is worthless.

[thestand]

Again, my main point is you're all taking a historically short sighted view of this. You're being bitter that your team, for a little under two decades, was able to be the second best team in your division, and earn a chance at going to the world series. Do you for a second doubt that there were people saying the exact same thing about the wild card when it was first introduced? "Wait, this team didn't even win enough games to take the east, and now they're in the world series? Game is bullshit!!1!11" and now we've taken to whining about how, somehow, one wild card team "earned it" more than another wild card team. It's silly. Neither team did well enough in the regular season to earn the right to be in the playoffs, so they should be penalized by either immediately being eliminated, or, if they win, not having their pitching lined up. Lining up your pitching is a luxury that the division winners get.

[dduncan6er]

The difference is when the WC was first added there was an actual series that decided who moved on, not a stupid 1 game play in that'll be decided primarily on how each team's rotation lines up.

[Lcsulla]

Originally Posted by dduncan6er

The difference is when the WC was first added there was an actual series that decided who moved on, not a stupid 1 game play in that'll be decided primarily on how each team's rotation lines up.

This, and in response to Stand:

It's not short sighted IMO, it is a valid criticism because they are 'fixing' something that is not broken.

[drop2d]

Originally Posted by thestand

Again, my main point is you're all taking a historically short sighted view of this. You're being bitter that your team, for a little under two decades, was able to be the second best team in your division, and earn a chance at going to the world series. Do you for a second doubt that there were people saying the exact same thing about the wild card when it was first introduced? "Wait, this team didn't even win enough games to take the east, and now they're in the world series? Game is bullshit!!1!11" and now we've taken to whining about how, somehow, one wild card team "earned it" more than another wild card team. It's silly. Neither team did well enough in the regular season to earn the right to be in the playoffs, so they should be penalized by either immediately being eliminated, or, if they win, not having their pitching lined up. Lining up your pitching is a luxury that the division winners get.

It's not 'short sighted' to want MLB playoffs to be played as a series. They can add as many teams as they want for 'wild cards'... Just play it as a series.

[pathetic]

Originally Posted by thestand

Again, my main point is you're all taking a historically short sighted view of this. You're being bitter that your team, for a little under two decades, was able to be the second best team in your division, and earn a chance at going to the world series. Do you for a second doubt that there were people saying the exact same thing about the wild card when it was first introduced? "Wait, this team didn't even win enough games to take the east, and now they're in the world series? Game is bullshit!!1!11" and now we've taken to whining about how, somehow, one wild card team "earned it" more than another wild card team. It's silly. Neither team did well enough in the regular season to earn the right to be in the playoffs, so they should be penalized by either immediately being eliminated, or, if they win, not having their pitching lined up. Lining up your pitching is a luxury that the division winners get.

that's not what we're talking about. we're talking about changing the playoff format to a 1 game playoff when it's not even a play in game...that's not how baseball should be.

[Lcsulla]

Originally Posted by thebestauntie

Selig needs to die in a fire.

What's wrong with the World Baseball Classic?

[pathetic]

Originally Posted by drop2d

It's not 'short sighted' to want MLB playoffs to be played as a series. They can add as many teams as they want for 'wild cards'... Just play it as a series.

this. just make it true to the game. 1 game playoff while already in the playoffs after 162 games is dumb

[pathetic]

Originally Posted by Lcsulla

What's wrong with the World Baseball Classic?

or winner of ASG getting homefield in the WS

[Lcsulla]

Originally Posted by pathetic

or winner of ASG getting homefield in the WS

Yeah, forgot that. Frankly I would prefer a tie!

[pathetic]

Originally Posted by Lcsulla

Yeah, forgot that. Frankly I would prefer a tie!

bonds hit a bomb in that game and was robbed by hunter in the first inning too

[rickyh24]

The one game playoff is dumb. I don't care about adding a team. MLB is about playing a series. Your top 3 pitchers should be taking the mound in the playoffs.

[thebestauntie]

Originally Posted by Lcsulla

What's wrong with the World Baseball Classic?

You're funny.

[Lcsulla]

I try!

[smudge1]

at least the sox have a chance at the playoffs now.

[dduncan6er]

Rofl. 88888

[pathetic]

Originally Posted by smudge1

at least the sox have a chance at the playoffs now.

classic smudge1

[rickyh24]

Looks like Crawford rushed back to fast. Inflammation in his surgically repaired wrist held him back from swinging a bat today.

[pathetic]

Originally Posted by rickyh24

Looks like Crawford rushed back to fast. Inflammation in his surgically repaired wrist held him back from swinging a bat today.

yeah, i heard he tweeked it during bunting practice yesterday. this team is so fucked

[smudge1]

Originally Posted by pathetic

yeah, i heard he tweeked it during bunting practice yesterday. this team is so fucked

still had 90 wins with Crawford doing nothing last season. I wouldn't worry.

[rickyh24]

Probably the smartest thing Phil has ever said.

[smudge1]

Originally Posted by rickyh24

Probably the smartest thing Phil has ever said.

of course you think it's smart, because I talked about the sox in a positive manner.

[DMBstandUP1984]

Originally Posted by dduncan6er

But why should you have to play a team with less wins if neither of you won your division?

beat the Yankees (or for that matter Baltimore/Tampa bay) when it counts and win your division and you don't have to worry about it.

ESPN – Major League Baseball and the union have agreed to expand the playoff field by two teams to 10, a change that will take effect in October. Although the exact format was not revealed, sources said that the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in each league — the wild-card teams — will meet in a one-game playoff, with the three division winners awarded a first-round bye. At Red Sox camp Thursday, several players were wary of the change to the postseason. “One game? That’s kind of crazy,” designated hitter David Ortiz said. “You know how many things we’ve got to move around and pack for one game?

I really hope he was kidding, but if not really shows they learned a lot from what happen last season

[rickyh24]

Originally Posted by DMBstandUP1984

beat the Yankees (or for that matter Baltimore/Tampa bay) when it counts and win your division and you don't have to worry about it.

[DMBstandUP1984]

Originally Posted by rickyh24

whats so "lol" about that. The top tier teams ie. sox, yankees now have a reason to play 162 games so they don't have to worry about having to get stuck playing the one game playoff.

The only reason Sox fans would have an issue with this new format is because we know the Sox year in/year out are content with playing for and finishing as the wild card. So now maybe they won't let a pitcher miss a start because his "throat hurts" or put Beckett on the DL because he is "tired" or has a splinter...which I think with Bobby Valentine in the dugout you're not going to get anyways.

[rickyh24]

I have an issue with it because it is a one game playoff. You can sit here and say "Well then win the division and it doesn't matter" all you want. It's irrelevant and a very cliche thing to say. Even if the Sox are not involved at all and win the division by 20 games I still think it is a dumb thing to implement.