A brief outline:
- Four divisions, seven teams
- DH for all
- Bye-bye to both of Florida's teams
- Each team plays each other once in three game sets; one at home and the other on the road
- Four division winners are guaranteed playoff spots. Wild cards are questionable
This is probably why Buck Showalter is no longer managing a major league baseball team. This is the most batsh*t crazy idea since -- maybe ever.
He abolishes the two leagues while implementing the designated hitter for all. I'll get to the DH in a moment, but these division races are somewhat of a joke.
This idea feeds into the idea of more ESPN slurping of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry as it sends the Cubs and Cardinals into separate divisions. Why? There's no explanation. Had he done it for the Yanks & Sawks, there would have been an addendum with a full explanation.
Seriously, if Showalter had the idea of breaking up the Red Sox and Yankees cross his mind, he would have likely been fired on the spot and escorted away by bulky men in black suits and banished from baseball like his name was Pete Rose. There would be mob rule outside of the studios in Bristol, Conn., and my hope is that Chris Berman is used as a sacrificial lamb to appease the angered masses.
As for the DH, my feelings have been made clear for quite some time: Anyone who likes the designated hitter is foolish. These are the same people who complain about players unable to perform the game's fundamentals. Guess what, part of those fundamentals that you learn starting in Little League are hitting and bunting.
I've said it once, I'll say it again: "Having someone hit for the pitcher is like having someone take Shaq's free throws for him."
I agree that 18 times for some of these division rivals is way too much. But seeing some of the best rivalries in baseball only six times in a year is a drastic cut for no damn reason.
Among baseball's biggest problems, realignment should be the least of Bud Selig's concerns. And while a NFL-like realignment seems like a really intriguing idea in principal, Showalter leaves out a very important aspect of the game.
The NBA has two conferences. So does the NFL. If baseball has no conferences, how do we select two finalists?
H/T: MLB Daily Dish
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