Wildcard Query

[walter sobchak]

Greetings all

I am a brand new member and am writing from far away Australia. I am nonetheless a big MLB fan.

I have a query regarding the wildcard playoff game. Does anyone else think it a little odd that it is a straight one-game playoff rather than, say, a best of three series? All other playoff series are either best of five or best of seven to ensure that the better team wins, rather than possibly just the luckier.

Cheers

WS

[ian2813]

Greetings all

I am a brand new member and am writing from far away Australia. I am nonetheless a big MLB fan.

I have a query regarding the wildcard playoff game. Does anyone else think it a little odd that it is a straight one-game playoff rather than, say, a best of three series? All other playoff series are either best of five or best of seven to ensure that the better team wins, rather than possibly just the luckier.

Cheers

WS

I oppose the second wild card altogether, so yes, I think it's dumb that one game is going to decide a shot at the real playoffs. The argument for it is that it makes winning the division more important, but I think that's a "problem" most people weren't concerned with in the first place, and the "solution" creates more problems than it solves. All I know is that I'm going to be really, really upset if the Cardinals beat the Braves in the NL Wild Card game.

[walter sobchak]

I oppose the second wild card altogether, so yes, I think it's dumb that one game is going to decide a shot at the real playoffs. The argument for it is that it makes winning the division more important, but I think that's a "problem" most people weren't concerned with in the first place, and the "solution" creates more problems than it solves. All I know is that I'm going to be really, really upset if the Cardinals beat the Braves in the NL Wild Card game.

I wouldn't blame you. Would you be any less upset if the Cards won in a best of three?

WS

[ian2813]

I wouldn't blame you. Would you be any less upset if the Cards won in a best of three?

WS

I hate the Cardinals with a passion, so just knowing that they wouldn't have been in the playoffs in the first place under the old system means I would be just as upset.

[Bothrops Atrox]

I hate the Cardinals with a passion,

Why is this?

[SamtheBravesFan]

I've said this in another thread: it's its own seperate round of playoffs, but it has the properties of a Game 163. The winner goes on to the "real" playoffs, the loser goes home. No one minds that concept with division tie-breakers. However, this wild-card round is being treated as a seperate round with roster rules and everything. The round was made in mind to prevent teams from tanking to get the wild card because they like their chances with a particular opponent.

It would be better with three games, but the season would have to start in March for that to be viable; they have to squeeze a lot of games just to potentially keep the World Series out of November.

I guess they decided on one-game for two reasons: it's the simplest solution and creates "drama". Already seeing that on Braves commercials, acting like it's such a dramatic new thing. It's stressful, is what it is. The Braves will be "in the playoffs", but if they don't win this game, it will feel like they were never there.

[ian2813]

Why is this?

11 Championships, media darlings, self-congratulatory fans who talk about how classy they are while they go out of their way to bash other teams, especially the Cubs (from what I've seen, you're a rare Cardinal fan who doesn't act that way, Matthew, and I thank you for it). I just can't stand 'em.

What they did last year was perhaps the most disgusting thing I've ever experienced in my almost 18 years of following baseball (knocking the 2007 Red Sox' run off the top of the list), and it still haunts me to this day. It wasn't just that they were the Cardinals, it was the fact that the team they beat was a Rangers team I really liked and wanted to see win a title. They completely ruined last season for me.

Simply put, the Cardinals make baseball a lot less fun. The fact that they're all but certainly going to be in the playoffs thanks to the idiotic second wild card that I was against from the beginning only makes it worse. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it.

[GiambiJuice]

It's so nice to see another Big Lebowski fan on these forums... welcome.

[Pere]

...the idiotic second wild card that I was against from the beginning...

Did you favor the first wild card?

[ian2813]

Did you favor the first wild card?

My first year really following baseball was 1995, so I never had a chance to form any opposition to the first one.

I probably wouldn't have been crazy about it, but given that MLB had just expanded at the time, I might've been a little more understanding. This second wild card was a completely unnecessary change from the moment it was proposed, in my opinion.

[Bothrops Atrox]

11 Championships, media darlings, self-congratulatory fans who talk about how classy they are while they go out of their way to bash other teams,

.

I know - it is hard for the east and west coast teams to get any ink/air time with all of the competing hype for the little flyover-state small market team.

Not sure I have heard anything worse from Cardinal fans than other fanbase. In fact, at the ballpark, Cardinal fans are always giving standing ovations when the players on the other team do something great. You can't base fandom on internet interactions, it brings out the very fringe of every fan-group. If all somebody had was the internet to make some generalizations about humanity, I am pretty sure they would kill themselves on the spot.

[walter sobchak]

It's so nice to see another Big Lebowski fan on these forums... welcome.

Thank you very much. I hope to be a good contributor.

WS

[ian2813]

I know - it is hard for the east and west coast teams to get any ink/air time with all of the competing hype for the little flyover-state small market team.

Not sure I have heard anything worse from Cardinal fans than other fanbase. In fact, at the ballpark, Cardinal fans are always giving standing ovations when the players on the other team do something great. You can't base fandom on internet interactions, it brings out the very fringe of every fan-group. If all somebody had was the internet to make some generalizations about humanity, I am pretty sure they would kill themselves on the spot.

I couldn't care less what size a city the Cardinals play in. I just don't like them because they've had plenty of historical success and I'd rather see new teams get championships.

As far as the fans go, you're probably not as sensitive to it, being a Cardinal fan yourself, but let's just say that in my experience, Cardinal fans are among the most obnoxious. Yes, the internet brings out all sorts of trolls, but I've seen much worse behavior from Cardinal fans on average than I have from most other teams' fans. I don't want this discussion to take an ugly turn, so let's leave it at that.

[9RoyHobbsRF]

The second wild card team and wild card playoff game thoughts

1) if you don't want your season to come down to a one game coin flip, win your division
2) we have seen many times when two teams from one division coast in to the playoffs with no drama on who finished first and who gets the wild card as there really was only a very small difference (possibly getting HF advantage for the LCS)
3) look at the A's / Rangers the Rangers could go from the #1 seed to the road wild card one and done team on the basis of the last series of the season

I think the second wild card and one and done wild card game is a good thing, so what if the #5 seed wins the world series, not much difference than the #4 seed which has happened several times

[9RoyHobbsRF]

I couldn't care less what size a city the Cardinals play in. I just don't like them because they've had plenty of historical success and I'd rather see new teams get championships.

As far as the fans go, you're probably not as sensitive to it, being a Cardinal fan yourself, but let's just say that in my experience, Cardinal fans are among the most obnoxious. Yes, the internet brings out all sorts of trolls, but I've seen much worse behavior from Cardinal fans on average than I have from most other teams' fans. I don't want this discussion to take an ugly turn, so let's leave it at that.

so what should the Cardinals do, not try to win any more?

I don't get this at all

What they did last year was perhaps the most disgusting thing I've ever experienced in my almost 18 years of following baseball

winning thrilling baseball games is disgusting?