Changes in MLB

[BeanCounterGrad'03]

As a (dis)Astros fan, I've been keeping an eye on this story for a couple months.

Overall, I not happy with the move. However, I do like the idea of the Astros and Rangers being in the same division. Might lead to an actual rivalry once both teams are good and competing for a division title.

Thoughts?

[Censored by Laurie]

How will this work? Will there be inter-league games every day now? If so, I hate it.

[UNTflyer]

I always thought it was dumb the the NL and AL play by different rules.

What if the AFC made QBs kick field goals while the NFC allowed for some kind of weird, specialized player whose sole purpose was to come into the game to kick??? Wouldn't that be odd?

[UNTflyer]

How will this work? Will there be inter-league games every day now? If so, I hate it.

I heard that they will just have to make rotaing schedule to where one team from each league would not play on every day of the season.

[kalebschumann]

I am a fan of this.

I'm also glad they did it when the Astros stunk, so them rebuilding into an AL team is not really that big of a deal since they were rebuilding anyways.

[Censored by Laurie]

I always thought it was dumb the the NL and AL play by different rules.

To me, it's one of the best things about baseball...I miss the days of no inter-league games and the World Series featured 2 teams who have not played each other the entire season and have had to play a different breed of baseball all season long. It truly tested the mettle of managers and players as they attempt to acclimate to the nuances of the NL or AL game.

I heard that they will just have to make rotaing schedule to where one team from each league would not play on every day of the season.

I'm no mathematician (or a mathemagician) but I don't think that could work quantitatively...and practically it would make travel schedules insane and really screw the fans as it would create Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays without home-team baseball.

[Eagle1855]

I hate this move. Send the Brewers back to the AL. The Astros have been an NL team since '62 (and way beyond that if you count the fact that the Houston Buffs were a minor league farm team for the Cardinals).

I think it sucks and I think Bud Selig sucks.

As a fan, I'd rather they sent the Diamondbacks- a very young franchise- to the AL West and let the Astros move to the NL West so they can rekindle the rivalry with the Dodgers.

Division games with the Rangers interests me very little, from an historical perspective.

[Army of Dad]

Another realignment thread!?

[Cowtown]

Wait, A division road game that doesnt end at midnight?

Crazy Talk

[BeanCounterGrad'03]

As a fan, I'd rather they sent the Diamondbacks- a very young franchise- to the AL West and let the Astros move to the NL West so they can rekindle the rivalry with the Dodgers.

This was my exact thought when they proposed it back in the summer.

Division games with the Rangers interests me very little, from an historical perspective.

Sure there is little interest from a historical perspective because the two teams have only played each other sparingly for the last decade or so. I see it as a chance to develop into a Giants/Dodgers type rivalry (minus the near-death beatings).

[Eagle1855]

Sure there is little interest from a historical perspective because the two teams have only played each other sparingly for the last decade or so. I see it as a chance to develop into a Giants/Dodgers type rivalry (minus the near-death beatings).

for sure.

But as Cowtown pointed out, this moves benefits the Rangers more than anyone else.

[Green Mean]

I don't know if I like this yet or not...I honestly could care less if we were in the same division with Houston. I mean it is kinda weird because there's two teams in TX so I think one should be an NL team and the other should be an AL team. I know there's a lot of history building up on Texas' division mates being LAA, Oak and Sea but if I say Texas needs to be in the AL Central. It is pretty ridiculous when all of our road division games don't start til 9pm local time. Sure Houston will help some of that now but I think this 2 15-team leagues is just bizzare to me. I do like the fact that theres an extra wild card team.

I've always said that baseball needs to shorten the season and have more playoff teams. It gives more hope to smaller market teams that can compete enough to get in and after that who knows.

[BeanCounterGrad'03]

I've always said that baseball needs to shorten the season and have more playoff teams. It gives more hope to smaller market teams that can compete enough to get in and after that who knows.

+1,000 for this...162 games is ricockulous

[Stix]

I hate this move. Send the Brewers back to the AL. The Astros have been an NL team since '62 (and way beyond that if you count the fact that the Houston Buffs were a minor league farm team for the Cardinals).

I think it sucks and I think Bud Selig sucks.

+1

If MLB wants to blow apart the NL & AL and completely re-align into regional divisions for more competition and rivalries, that's fine with me. But to blackmail the new owners of the Astros, forcing them to be the only team to switch leagues, is completely wrong.

I grew up in NY as a Yankee fan, and therefore with the DH. Since living in the Houston area, and watching the Astros, I've come to the conclusion that baseball is a much better game - strategically - without the DH. Regardless of any realignment, the DH should be abolished.

[Green P1]

+1

If MLB wants to blow apart the NL & AL and completely re-align into regional divisions for more competition and rivalries, that's fine with me. But to blackmail the new owners of the Astros, forcing them to be the only team to switch leagues, is completely wrong.

I grew up in NY as a Yankee fan, and therefore with the DH. Since living in the Houston area, and watching the Astros, I've come to the conclusion that baseball is a much better game - strategically - without the DH. Regardless of any realignment, the DH should be abolished.

I agree with everything you've you said only the exact opposite.

[Mean Green Scrappy]

I'm torn on this because I believe the leagues and division should be even but I also believe that every "region" should have one NL team and one AL team. Dodgers/Angels Giants/A's Yankees/Mets Rangers/Astros

In my dream world MLB would eliminate single A ball and expand to 32 teams. Four 4 team divisions in each league. Shorten the season by just a few games and expand the playoffs to 12 teams. I think there is enough fan support out there for 32 teams like the NFL.

The current MLB postseason is too short but the NBA format where half the teams get in is too long.

[CMJ]

I'm very much against expanding the playoffs. One of the great things about baseball is how important the regular season is.

[Censored by Laurie]

I agree with everything you've you said only the exact opposite.

I'm very much against expanding the playoffs. One of the great things about baseball is how important the regular season is.

We're running out of sports purists, fellas...but no need to stop fighting the good fight.

[forevereagle]

I'm very much against expanding the playoffs. One of the great things about baseball is how important the regular season is.

I bet you love the BCS.

[oldguystudent]

I always thought it was dumb the the NL and AL play by different rules.

What if the AFC made QBs kick field goals while the NFC allowed for some kind of weird, specialized player whose sole purpose was to come into the game to kick??? Wouldn't that be odd?

It's because before Bud Selig came on the scene, they were two separate leagues with separate league presidents, separate umpiring crews, and separate rules, only playing each other in the All-Star Game and the World Series. They had to negotiate with each other how to handle the DH after the AL implemented the rule in 1973. They ignored the DH completely until, I believe, 1976. Then they went every other year. Later, they went to playing by the rules of the home team for each game.

I'm a purist who likes the pitcher hitting in the National League. Makes managing the game a lot harder, not to mention keeping a scorecard when you're a kid. The late inning substitutions and double switches rendered many a scorecard absolute gibberish for a young oldguy.

[CMJ]

I bet you love the BCS.

Kinda different. There are 30 teams that play vs 120. The sport that has 30 has an 162 game schedule where you play everyone in your league (and some in the other league) you have an idea who the best teams are. The sport where 120 teams play an 11 or 12 game schedule (where you mostly play your conference) you don't really know jack about who the best really is.

[Quoner]

I'm a purist who likes the pitcher hitting in the National League. Makes managing the game a lot harder, not to mention keeping a scorecard when you're a kid. The late inning substitutions and double switches rendered many a scorecard absolute gibberish for a young oldguy.

Yes, it makes it harder because it is an asswhip. I don't want to amputate a limb of a really good track star just because it makes the race more compelling. I want to see the best people at each position doing what they are best at. Watching a pitcher hit is not enjoyable and is a waste of at least 4 outs per game. Most managers already kill another 2-3 per game sacrificing without understanding probability and get applauded for playing NL-style ball, so why take away even more outs in a game that doesn't have that many?

Football, basketball and hockey all evolved their rules and people moved on. This is like putting the 25 foot 2 point jumper on a pedestal for on reason. Move on.

I was born in Atlanta and grew up watching my siblings cheer for some great Braves teams, but I still always thought the DH was more exciting. Just a personal thing, I guess.

[Mean Green Scrappy]

Yes, it makes it harder because it is an asswhip. I don't want to amputate a limb of a really good track star just because it makes the race more compelling. I want to see the best people at each position doing what they are best at. Watching a pitcher hit is not enjoyable and is a waste of at least 4 outs per game. Most managers already kill another 2-3 per game sacrificing without understanding probability and get applauded for playing NL-style ball, so why take away even more outs in a game that doesn't have that many?

Football, basketball and hockey all evolved their rules and people moved on. This is like putting the 25 foot 2 point jumper on a pedestal for on reason. Move on.

I was born in Atlanta and grew up watching my siblings cheer for some great Braves teams, but I still always thought the DH was more exciting. Just a personal thing, I guess.

Agreed

[oldguystudent]

Watching a pitcher hit is not enjoyable and is a waste of at least 4 outs per game. Most managers already kill another 2-3 per game sacrificing without understanding probability and get applauded for playing NL-style ball, so why take away even more outs in a game that doesn't have that many?

So making the pitcher hit makes the game harder.

This is like putting the 25 foot 2 point jumper on a pedestal for on reason. Move on.

But doing this would make scoring a 3 in basketball much easier.

I want to see the best people at each position doing what they are best at.

By this reasoning, only outfielders should bat for themselves. Catchers and infielders, as a general rule, don't hit as well. Let's have a 9-man defense and a completely different 9-man offense. That still allows for a reasonable pitching staff and a couple substitutes.

I was born in Atlanta and grew up watching my siblings cheer for some great Braves teams, but I still always thought the DH was more exciting. Just a personal thing, I guess.

And that's fine. I really enjoy watching the manager sweat in a close game when the pitcher is due up.

You would've really liked college baseball in the 80s. Skip Bergman down at LSU figured it out. He had a pitching background, but he realized that to win, he needed to move the fences at Alex Box Stadium in to about 91 feet from home plate. Then he recruited all his players from the football team and put the unrestricted aluminum bats of the day in their hands. They scored 30 runs a game, and the five-time champion Gorilla Ball was born.

I like baseball specifically because every at-bat, every out is a chess game. Managers that don't understand probabilities get exploited by managers that do. I give you one Billy Beane (albeit in the GM role) of the late 90s exploiting this to compete with the much richer Yankees and Red Sox. Both big money teams eventually learned to follow suit.

Of interest, Robin Ventura went back and got an advanced degree of some sort or another. His thesis (dissertation?) was on probabilities for just about every batting situation imaginable. They ran his probabilities live for every at-bat in the 2007 College World Series. For number nerds, it was the most exciting sports broadcast ever.

[Mean Green Scrappy]

When will UNT have a baseball team? With a DH of course.