BB: Playoffs? Adding Two Teams, Taking Away A Lot More

And finally, we have a decision from Major League Baseball.

Playoff expansion is here.

I once wrote a column in 2005 explaining how playoff expansion would be great for baseball, but this one extra team, one-game playoff format for each League wasn’t what I had in mind.

Whereas I am excited to see the new format, I’m also angered by it.

It’s been this battle between good and evil. One day, I’m driving to work listening to MLB Network Radio and I hear a point that makes the new playoff system seem like a great idea.

And then driving home, listening to the same network, I’ll hear a counterpoint that makes me think about how awful an idea this is. And before I expand on this, let me share them with you.

PRO: Winning a division just became much more important because it’s one loss and you’re gone if you don’t. So shame on you for not winning your division.

CON: It’s one loss and you’re out if you don’t win the division, no matter how much worse the No. 2 Wild Card team is.

PRO: You’re creating a bigger playoff picture because more teams will be involved in the race heading into September. More teams means more markets. More markets means more money. More money in baseball means more parity. More parity means more teams involved. See this circle we've created?

CON: In reality, in the American League, the separation between the fourth and fifth teams has been an average of 6 games dating back to 1995; and one season the gap between what would be the No. 1 Wild Card and the No. 2 Wild Card was 17 games. That’s right, that one season the Twins, 17 games back of the Wild Card team would have had the chance to play the Wild Card team in a one-game playoff to make the next round. Doesn’t’ seem fair, does it?

PRO: A one-game playoff is exhilarating. We all saw what happened last year with in game 162 where we had a magical night. Now, we’ll have that every year.

See, this has been what’s going through my mind. I've flip-flopped more than Mitt Romney.

Selfishly, I really like this idea because I’m a little scared of the Phillies 2012 season. I feel like they should win the division, but the NL East is so crazy good that I could easily see the Phils finishing third, which now, could still earn them a playoff spot.

So, yes, I like it.

But my two biggest problems with this go hand and hand — the fact that it’s one game and the fact that you’re hurting the No. 4 team.

Before Friday’s decision, the No. 4 team in each League automatically got itself a trip to the playoffs and had a chance to win a best-of-five-game series. The last two World Series Champions used that opportunity to its highest potential.

Now, you’re hurting the fourth team by making them go against a team in one game to decide the winner. Baseball is such a sport that you can’t really decide the best team in one game. Hell, in three games you can’t really decide it. Even the Astros won a few three-game series last season. Doesn’t mean they were any better than the team they were playing.

If you would have allowed the Astros last season to play the Cardinals in a one-game series to make the playoffs, we could have seen the Astros move one. Because it’s one game; a great pitching performance can change it all.

That’s why I think you at least have to make the expanded playoff be three games, and maybe let in another team to even out the numbers. But the season is too long, says MLB.

We’re so stuck on the “162 game” schedule.

Get over it baseball. Cut it down to 158. Or 152. We’re talking four to 10 games less. Who cares about the records? We all know that half the records that we’re worried about are juiced anyway. No one is going to hit 70-some home runs ever again. We haven’t come close since the steroid-era ended (or did it, Ryan Braun?).

Cut down on the games and allow the playoffs to expand properly. Make it an even number so we can have a normal bracket. Not this five-team field that is more messed up then many of the “Plus-One” ideas brought up for the BCS.

Don’t allow the season to come down to this one-game playoff where the strategy could be extremely crazy and unfair.

Check this. Let’s just say, using the scenario mentioned about, that a No. 2 Wild Card team is clear. Let just say the Royals this season get that. They’re 83-78 head into the final series and they’re in charge of the second Wild Card. Meanwhile, the Rays and Yankees each have 95 wins and they’re battling for that AL East title. No matter what, one of them will win the division and the other will be the No. 1 Wild Card.

So their division battle comes down to the last day and both teams use every pitcher to get in. Meanwhile, the Royals are resting their No. 1 starter because they know they’re going to have a one-game playoff with the tired loser of the AL East.

If you the Rays or the Yankees, you have to go into that final week thinking, “What if we lose?”

Do you hold off and make sure you have your No. 1 starter for that one deciding game against the Royals if you’re unable to win the division? It’s a real dilemma that teams will face.

And the fact that you may have to half-ass it to win a division just to ensure you’re in the best situation to win a one-game playoff is unfair.

That’s where my biggest objection comes.

Otherwise, I have to say, I really excited. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be amazing.

Unless, of course, it’s the Phillies.

Then, it sucks.