I believe the series format for the division round is a one year thing because they changed the playoff format right before spring training and took away the travel day between games 4 and 5 (though from 1998-2006 said day didn't exist and they still traveled).
The format is also the same MLB used for 5 games series from 1969-1985 in the LCS and 1995-1997 in the LDS, but that was also when home field rotated among divisions and was not based on record. It was a way to counteract the advantage.
The guys on the radio said the guy didn't put his hand up til it hit the ground
Either way that's just ****ed
You have a 6 game lead on a team and yet b/c the MLB wants to out do it's own stupidity of the ASG determining WS homefield, you decide that 6 game lead doesn't exist and play a tiebreaker game and then THAT happens.
Hopefully this is a quick end to that experiment.
I'm a huge fan of the second wild card. Before this year, the wild card and the division winner had no real difference. Sometimes, the Wild Card got the better matchup ignoring the seed numbers.
That being said, a 1 game playoff is the stupidest idea I've ever seen. How can you take two untied teams who have played every day, 162 games over 6 months, and summarize that into one game. ONE GAME.
One game playoffs are incredibly exciting to break ties. They should not be used to determine who advances when one team is better than the other. This needs to be 3 or 5 games, even if that involves shortening the season by a week or two, or it needs to be eliminated. It's just not fair to the Braves who just lost 6 months of baseball to a terrible umpiring mishap.
Exactly! The AL it don't matter, because they were tied and were doing this anyways. But now there's no difference in a tie or a whatever game lead
What happens if there's a wild card team clearly ahead, then 2 teams behind them tied? Back to back one game "playoffs'? To essentially reduce what was once a spot in a best of 5 to a 1 game coin flip is just moronic. At the very least make it a best of 3. Don't give me that **** about rust, all those other teams have been secure for a while, another 4 days won't kill them.
About a week prior to the season ending, there was a possibility of the Yankees, Rangers, Orioles, and A's all ending the season with the same record. There would have been like 2 or 4 one-game playoffs just to determine who played in the real one-game playoff.
As I said on the other place, the wild card series should be a 2 games series. Game 1 at the high wild card. If the higher wild card team wins that game then they move on to the next round. If the lower wild card wins then they take home field advantage for a decisive game 2 the next day. Winner of game 2 moves on.
Essentially it is a 3 game series with game 1 automatically going to the team with the better record. That makes where all the wild card round games are elimination games (for tv) and it it keeps the break for division winners from getting two long.
My goodness, the Braves got jobbed. Might be the worst blown call this year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by apice3
The point of the infield fly is to prevent the runners from being tricked into staying to close to the base on a hit, causing a double play.
When you call the infield fly 1/2 second before it lands, it totally defeats the purpose of the rule.
Essentially, ya. And if you look at the runners, each of them was waiting in between bases, and easily reached the next base once the ball dropped. There was no risk of the dropped fly double play trick happening.
Wow Braves just got hosed big time on a horrible "infield fly" call when the ball landed well into LF
Turner Field is covered in beer cans right now
THAT was a horrendous call. Beer cans and water bottles all over the field was pathetic. As much as I agree with the fans displeasure with the call that was bad.
According to an article I read, there were 6 infield fly calls in which the outfielder dropped the ball. The furthest one from home plate was 178 feet away. Nearly 50 feet shorter than this one.
Honestly, I'm undecided if the call last night was the right one or not. It's designed to help the runners, and the offense, but considering the runners were able to successfully advance anyways after the ball dropped makes me think the wrong call was made. But, it's a very tough call for an ump to make as it's a 100% judgment call needed to be made in a split second. It could have gone either way.
No, it couldn't have gone either way, because it landed 55 feet into the outfield. The infielder turned his back on the ball well before the call was made. Calling an infield fly on a play when the infielder turns his back to home plate is not only the wrong call, it's quite simply stupid. That's is easily the worst call I have ever seen in my life in any sport.
Honestly, I'm undecided if the call last night was the right one or not. It's designed to help the runners, and the offense, but considering the runners were able to successfully advance anyways after the ball dropped makes me think the wrong call was made. But, it's a very tough call for an ump to make as it's a 100% judgment call needed to be made in a split second. It could have gone either way.
To be fair to the umps, the rule is designed to prevent the fielder from intentionally dropping it to create a double play.
The SS let it drop by accident. He wasn't mentally prepared to throw the ball for a double play.
I personally don't have a problem with the infield fly call being called that far away from the infield. The rule states that even the OF can be the ones playing the ball for the double pay and get an infield fly call. I have a HUGE issue with how late it was called, and the fact that it was called when no one was really in a good position to play it (my teammates in high school would always scream BERMUDA when a ball was hit in that area because communication gets lost over there.) By calling it when the ball is about to land, you do not negate the disadvantage the runners are at. Pretty much the only thing the umpire did by calling the infield fly was automatically call the batter out. He didn't help the runners out at all. If he called it earlier, the runners would have tagged up.
I guess technically if he called it earlier, the Braves would be at even more of a disadvantage because the runners would have stayed at 1st and 2nd instead of advancing, but thats not really the point.
It's not an infield fly when the ball lands 50 feet in the outfield. A fast and attentive runner could have tagged up and scored from third on a fly ball like that. Braves got jobbed, plain and simple.
I think this postseason is going to depend a lot on CC coming out against the Orioles and having a good game. He has pitched well in his last three starts, but in general, the O's have destroyed Yankees pitching this year. If CC pitches a good game, I think he will regain some of that lost confidence from the course of the regular season. Hopefully it will put him in a groove and settle everyone else in nicely as well. We need our best pitcher to be our best pitcher to win this year. Game one is a big test to see if CC will be that guy for us.
