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LET’S GET WILD!!

02 Sunday Oct 2016

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Well, it’s been a long time since my initial post and the DH issue remains unsolved! I guess the  MLB braintrust has not yet read my solution. It still makes perfect sense. In any event, the answer to the wild card is today’s topic. As we wind down and discover who will be playing this week, it still remains for me a glaringly missed opportunity towards the growth and excitement of baseball. When baseball moved to the two team one game showdown for the wild card, it dawned on me that baseball was taking a page out of the NFL playoff structure. For me, football should remain the only sport out of the traditional big four with a one game elimination system. Baseball, like the NBA and the NHL, is built for the victor having survived a series of playoff games. The measure of a great baseball team usually bares out with the strength of its pitching staff. One game, ace vs ace, is extremely exciting and should be the culmination of that series, not the only game.

Of course, there never will be a perfect solution. The one we have now however is not a spectacle – and it can be. Imagine the fervor of the NCAA March Madness tournament spilling into baseball. Before you say, “hey Phil, that is a one and done tournament”, let me explain. The tournament IS the attraction. Involving so many schools and creating “play in ” games keeps many people interested. The point is, a four team double eliminaton Wild Card Tournament for both the National and American leagues, at separate ballparks, will create a frenzy of interest for most of the country. (Aside from the six division winner cities.)

Since the league games will be played at one pre-determined ballpark in each league, travel will not be an issue. In this format, it is also possible for the top two seeds playing three times to decide it. If however the three or four seed gets hot, that team can capture the wild card and advance. Truth be told, it will be an exciting week of baseball before the divisional round. I certainly think the potential AL and NL hosts will be making their case loud and clear each year!

Hello Bud

22 Friday Nov 2013

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My name is Phil Falcone and I created this space with a singular purpose and concern in mind: for the continued rehabilitation of Major League baseball.

I have two proposals that I believe you will like and will help baseball take important strides in once again making the game fresh and exciting for all. With that in mind, the two main areas of concern that still need to be fixed are the Designated hitter and the Wild Card. Today, let’s fix the DH.

The problem with the DH is multi-dimensional. With Inter-league play properly expanded, it is amplified how unbalanced it is for one league to build it’s roster with one set of rules while the other does the same with a separate set. Stats are misleading enough, but they are even more cloudy when the pitcher does not hit in both leagues. Also, we all know that game management is completely different when the pitcher does not hit. It also affects the decision to go or not go up and in if the pitcher never comes to the plate.

The economic impact is great to a club when an aged hitter extends his career as a DH and fans come to the ballpark specifically to see this man hit – in place of a pitcher.

Now, I don’t subscribe to the argument that those old out of shape guys should be gone and that the pitcher must hit to sustain the true art of the game. I do so only to a certain degree.

So, my fix is in! What we need to do is to integrate a compromise and employ it for both leagues. Here it is: in the colder beginning and colder ending of the season, we institute a DH in both leagues. The first five and last five weeks of the season is DH time. The middle sixteen weeks, All pitcher’s hit in both leagues.

What do you say, Bud? (Or who ever the new Commissioner may be!!)

Phil Falcone