SALVAGING A SEASON

As the death toll continues to climb in pandemic hot spots, MLB and other sports leagues are still scrambling to find a way to re-start their seasons.

MLB has been kicking around several proposals.

Now another possible plan is gaining attention after USA Today reported MLB is considering a three-division plan in which teams would play exclusively against division opponents.

According to Bob Nightengale, a schedule of at least 100 games would play out beginning in late June, or ideally no later than July 2.

The plan would eliminate the American League and National League for the 2020 season and would end with an extended postseason format. No other details about how that format might look were shared.

The most notable detail included is that the plan would be based around all 30 teams playing some or all of the season at their home ballpark, albeit without fans in attendance. Of course, the plan would need the approval of medical experts to become a serious consideration. Nightengale says he spoke to three anonymous executives with knowledge of talks who expressed optimism this plan could have legs. Yahoo Sports shows the alignment:

The problem is that there will still be quarantine and logistic questions for every team and every player. Will travel be restricted to buses and charter planes? Will players be able to go to their families during home series? Will homestands be longer than usual so teams do not have to travel as much? If teams can travel in a modified schedule (the travel and hotel industry have been crushed by the lock down) why not pick up the real schedule?

One would assume that all games would include a DH, to the chagrin of NL purists. One would also assume that since there will be no minor league baseball, teams will have expanded rosters (maybe up to 40 players).

But how will history take this strange solution? Will this year's records have an automatic * attached to it? Will the postseason merely be a "seeding" format for a World Cup soccer elimination tournament?

This could also be the excuse the Commissioner wants to put in his controversial rule changes that fundamentally change the nature of the game.

Playing baseball just for the sake of playing baseball to generate TV games and revenue is not the key patriotic move in this situation. Individual states are still trying to control who and what can happen in its borders. The fear of the virus contagion has paralyzed rational thought. Some states are going to start to relax restrictions while other states are going to start enforcing virus rule prohibitions. MLB owners want to salvage their season, but at what cost?

HITTERS RULE REALIGNMENT

It was a game of musical chairs and Yoenis Cespedes was the last free agent outfielder standing.

He did not get the mega-deal that he was looking for in free agency. In fact, it really comes down to a one year deal with an insurance bonus in case of injury.

Cespedes re-signed with the Mets for 3 years/$75 million deal with a one year opt out clause. That means he will be playing in 2016 for another round of free agency. That should be good for the Mets.
If he gets hurt, he can keep the $50 million guarantee for the next two years.

It was a good and necessary deal for the Mets. The New York Times baseball writer remarked  that  re-signing of Cespedes should go a long way towards restoring fan trust in the organization. The club has taken a lot of flak in recent years for perceived penny pinching and a failure to make big, meaningful moves in the offseason. Much of that can be blamed upon the Bernie Madoff scandal and the fact that minority stakes can be redeemed like loan payments in the near future.

The Mets needed a power hitter to compliment their young starting pitching staff. Cespedes is the key in their line up. But some observe that Cespedes is targeted to play center field, which is not his strong suit.

Yahoo Sports wrote that based on past performance, Cespedes can be a disaster in center field. He has excellent arm strength but he has poor route running and quick recognition skills that a good CF needs to cover ground in both left center and right center. 


In a perfect world, Cespedes would DH for the Mets. And this may be why this off-season there has been more and more talk about bringing the DH to the National League. The Cubs would like to see the DH since Kyle Schwarber is a hitter without a position. He wants to catch but the organization does not believe he has the defensive skills to play behind the plate everyday. However, Schwarber disagrees. Schwarber is a pure hitter who is willing to play an uncomfortable left field in order to get in the line up. He may be best suited as a first basemen, but Rizzo has that position locked up. So the Cubs front office would love to have the DH option for Joe Maddon. 

But that is the last, clear difference between the American and National leagues. As an old school baseball fan, I enjoy the strategy and nuisances of having pitchers bat in the NL. And it is always fun to see good hitting pitchers (which the Cubs have actually been blessed with in the past decade) help their own cause. It is ironic that the best youth hitters are most likely the best hitters on their team gets lost as a prospect moves his way through academic and pro levels of development.

If the NL goes the route of the DH, then there really is no need to have separate leagues anymore. This would spread the discussion of major realignment of all the 30 teams. 

You can divide 30 teams evenly by 6 divisions of 5 teams each. The playoffs get easier with the 6 divisional winners making the playoffs and two "wild cards" for any division rounding out the competition. The best regular season records control home field advantage throughout the playoffs, including the World Series.

The only reasons to realign baseball is to cut down on travel expenses and increase regional rivalries, since it is possible that drawing in-park attendance may become a major factor as cable television ratings continue to decline.

For example, the Midwest division seems easy:

Twins, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Royals, Cardinals.

In fact, this division has "double" rivalries built in, such as the Cardinals-Royals and Cardinals-Cubs; Cubs-Cardinals and Cubs-White Sox, etc.

The Western division also seems easy:

Mariners, Giants, A's, Angels, Dodgers, Padres.

The South gets spread between all three time zones:

Diamondbacks, Rangers, Astros, Rockies, Marlins, Rays.

The Central would run North to South:

Blue Jays, Tigers, Indians, Pirates, Reds, Braves.

That leaves the East Coast teams:

Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Orioles, Phillies, Nationals.