How will the regular season end for the 2021 Boston Red Sox

[mvp 78]

The Wild Card game is the postseason, just not the preferred method of getting in.

 

Unlike a game 163 tiebreaker or games played in the A-B-C tiebreaker format, stats accrued in the WC game do NOT count towards the regular season. As they occur after the end of the season, they are by definition postseason…

 

No. It's not the postseason. The postseason happens once you win the Wild Card game.

[notin]

No. It's not the postseason. The postseason happens once you win the Wild Card game.

 

It’s after the season.

 

Baseball-Reference even lists the games on their postseason page, and they count the stats as postseason stats.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

It’s after the season.

 

Baseball-Reference even lists the games on their postseason page, and they count the stats as postseason stats.

 

I'm stepping up here to support my teammates (Sox pitchers take note, when a fielder commits an E): on talksox, every season is post season.

[dgalehouse]

Nobody that's posting here today is throwing in any towels.

 

But the facts are that the team has looked like total crap in 4 important games against the Yankees and Orioles, losing by a combined score of 25-11, and it's basically only this rinky-dink Wild Card setup and blind luck that still gives us a chance to scrape into a postseason game.

 

I don't like the second wild card one bit. I think it is just a cheap , money making gimmick. A third place team does not deserve to be in the post season. But you take what you can get. Not saying the playoffs are exactly a crapshoot , but anything can happen.

[moonslav59]

I don't like the second wild card one bit. I think it is just a cheap , money making gimmick. A third place team does not deserve to be in the post season. But you take what you can get. Not saying the playoffs are exactly a crapshoot , but anything can happen.

 

I don't disagree, but the third place team may have a better record and tougher schedule than one division winner.

 

The Sox are just one game behind the CWS.

 

The two WC teams in the NL blow away the Braves.

[dgalehouse]

I don't disagree, but the third place team may have a better record and tougher schedule than one division winner.

 

The Sox are just one game behind the CWS.

 

The two WC teams in the NL blow away the Braves.

 

There is not a balanced schedule . So , overall records can be deceiving. The strength of the divisions can vary from year to year. You still play to win your division. The Giants and Dodgers have the two best records . Should they just play each other in the World Series? Playoffs with the division winners plus one wild card is plenty. Everything beyond that is just a money grab. What's next? Three wild cards? Next thing you know , it will look like the NBA playoffs.

[notin]

I don't like the second wild card one bit. I think it is just a cheap , money making gimmick. A third place team does not deserve to be in the post season. But you take what you can get. Not saying the playoffs are exactly a crapshoot , but anything can happen.

 

At least the wild card teams are given a tougher route by having a single elimination game. And as it’s just one game, it might make some money, but not as much as a 7 game wild card series would. So be thankful for that.

 

Or would people prefer the Nippon Professional Baseball format where the Wild Card plays their first series as a best of 5, but starts off 0-1, so they have to win 3 games before the other team wins 2….

[moonslav59]

There is not a balanced schedule . So , overall records can be deceiving. The strength of the divisions can vary from year to year. You still play to win your division. The Giants and Dodgers have the two best records . Should they just play each other in the World Series? Playoffs with the division winners plus one wild card is plenty. Everything beyond that is just a money grab. What's next? Three wild cards? Next thing you know , it will look like the NBA playoffs.

 

im not saying I like the one game nonsense, but I do think STL is better than ATL.

[dgalehouse]

At least the wild card teams are given a tougher route by having a single elimination game. And as it’s just one game, it might make some money, but not as much as a 7 game wild card series would. So be thankful for that.

 

Or would people prefer the Nippon Professional Baseball format where the Wild Card plays their first series as a best of 5, but starts off 0-1, so they have to win 3 games before the other team wins 2….

 

I think most of the money comes from fan interest during the stretch run , not strictly from the one game.

[notin]

I think most of the money comes from fan interest during the stretch run , not strictly from the one game.

 

Oh that helps, but the MLB fan base probably also has hundreds of thousands who don’t watch an inning before the playoffs.

 

And if adding one single postseason game can generate significant interest, MLB would be stupid not to do it…

[jad]

I love the one-game play-in. A team that cannot win its division should not start the post season on a par with the teams that do, and this way provides a lot of incentive to win the division; you can't afford to tank, as we heard so often in the past: "Oh well, no point in trying to catch the Yankees for the division, so let's just focus on getting in through the wild card."

[notin]

im not saying I like the one game nonsense, but I do think STL is better than ATL.

 

MLB shouldn’t have divisions. Just put 15 teams in the AL; 15 in the NL. Play 9 games each against everyone in your league and 6 games against 6 teams in the other league.

 

Top 4 in each league go the the playoffs…

[moonslav59]

MLB shouldn’t have divisions. Just put 15 teams in the AL; 15 in the NL. Play 9 games each against everyone in your league and 6 games against 6 teams in the other league.

 

Top 4 in each league go the the playoffs…

 

To take away almost all of the unbalanced schedule aspects, they could just play 5 games against 12 teams and 6 vs 17

Edited September 30, 2021 by moonslav59

[jad]

The only tweaks I can think of in major sports (and I agree that most sports executives and owner groups are tone-deaf bean-counters) that solve a problem as well as the WC play-in game come, incredibly, from the NHL, one of the worst run organizations in sports--the 3 on 3 overtime, and (again incredibly) the All-Star game format, which made that the only AS game worth watching.

[Bellhorn04]

I love the one-game play-in. A team that cannot win its division should not start the post season on a par with the teams that do, and this way provides a lot of incentive to win the division; you can't afford to tank, as we heard so often in the past: "Oh well, no point in trying to catch the Yankees for the division, so let's just focus on getting in through the wild card."

 

But because the divisions are of much different quality, you get this:

 

Atlanta 85 wins

Dodgers 102 wins

 

Dodgers, with 17 more wins (!!!), are the ones who have to play in the Wild Card game (unless they catch the Giants).

 

Obviously not fair.

[mvp 78]

The divisions are there to keep up fan interest throughout August and September. If we went back to 2 leagues with no divisions, most teams would be out of it at the deadline. Attendance would go down. Ratings would go down. No way do owners get rid of the divisions.

 

As for the WC, I'm fine with it. The rule is that you need to win the division. If you don't win the division, you have to play in the WC game. This also allows for 3 teams in the same division the ability to win a playoff spot, which seems more than fair.

[jacksonianmarch]

The one thing I do not like about this rule is the single elimination part of it. If you go 162 and earn a playoff spot, you should be guaranteed more than one game. This is why I think the season should end on a Sunday, Game 1 WC on Monday at WC2 home and then Games 2 and 3 in a DHer on Tuesday at WC 1 home.

[Bellhorn04]

The divisions are there to keep up fan interest throughout August and September. If we went back to 2 leagues with no divisions, most teams would be out of it at the deadline. Attendance would go down. Ratings would go down. No way do owners get rid of the divisions.

 

As for the WC, I'm fine with it. The rule is that you need to win the division. If you don't win the division, you have to play in the WC game. This also allows for 3 teams in the same division the ability to win a playoff spot, which seems more than fair.

 

No way it's "fair" that the team with 17 more wins gets the play-in game. That's just stupid luck.

 

The new system does boost fan interest, I get that. But it's less fair than the previous system.

[mvp 78]

No way it's "fair" that the team with 17 more wins gets the play-in game. That's just stupid luck.

 

The new system does boost fan interest, I get that. But it's less fair than the previous system.

 

You would rather: 3 division winners plus 2 best nondivision winner records, but the two worst records of those teams are forced to play the WC game?

[mvp 78]

The one thing I do not like about this rule is the single elimination part of it. If you go 162 and earn a playoff spot, you should be guaranteed more than one game. This is why I think the season should end on a Sunday, Game 1 WC on Monday at WC2 home and then Games 2 and 3 in a DHer on Tuesday at WC 1 home.

 

Problem with the double header is that it would really f*** up the winner's rotation for the ALDS unless you are adding additional days off.

[notin]

The only tweaks I can think of in major sports (and I agree that most sports executives and owner groups are tone-deaf bean-counters) that solve a problem as well as the WC play-in game come, incredibly, from the NHL, one of the worst run organizations in sports--the 3 on 3 overtime, and (again incredibly) the All-Star game format, which made that the only AS game worth watching.

 

NHL overtime solutions have been a pathetic joke. When you’re running a low scoring sport that has inherent ties, fans of the sport actually understand that to be part of the game. But they have worked so hard and gotten so ridiculous with their scoring it has made the league a joke. You do realize hockey is the only sport where a team can move up in the standings with nothing but their own loss, right?

[Bellhorn04]

You would rather: 3 division winners plus 2 best nondivision winner records, but the two worst records of those teams are forced to play the WC game?

 

Like I say, the previous system with one Wild Card team was fairer. The "but now you gotta win the division!" argument is DOA. I don't like the Dodgers, but they're obviously having a vastly better season than Atlanta.

[mvp 78]

Like I say, the previous system with one Wild Card team was fairer. The "but now you gotta win the division!" argument is DOA. I don't like the Dodgers, but they're obviously having a vastly better season than Atlanta.

 

Interesting that the NL West Braves are in the playoffs, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have to play the WC game with a better record. What a world!

[Bellhorn04]

Interesting that the NL West Braves are in the playoffs, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have to play the WC game with a better record. What a world!

 

Not just a better record. 17 freakin' games better LOL

[moonslav59]

Part of me would like to see as balanced a schedule as can be made with no divisions and the top 8 teams making the playoffs.

 

Another part would like to see both leagues merged into regionalized divisions where new rivalries would be formed and travel time cut down, but the schedules would be unbalanced. That is where wild card slots make sense. Maybe make 5 divisions of 6 teams with 3 WC teams (I'd be okay with the 3rd WC slot being filled with a play-in game by #8 & #9.) You could go 6 divisions of 5 teams with 2 WCs.

 

Maybe disband 2 teams and go with 4 divisions of 7 teams or 7 divisions of 4 teams with just 1 WC or a WC play-in game.

 

[notin]

Not just a better record. 17 freakin' games better LOL

 

One thing the dual WC system has helped with is at least making sure he right teams get in, even if you don't agree with who gets the easier path.

 

I was not able to find a single instance of a team with a better record than one of the playoff teams watching from the outside without going all the way back to 2012 when the 90-72 Tampa Rays failed to make the post-season while the Detroit Tigers won the AL Central with an 88-74 record. (Baltimore and Texas both won 93 games to take the WC spots.)

[jad]

But because the divisions are of much different quality, you get this:

 

Atlanta 85 wins

Dodgers 102 wins

 

Dodgers, with 17 more wins (!!!), are the ones who have to play in the Wild Card game (unless they catch the Giants).

 

Obviously not fair.

 

Oh I realize that. It's not fair. Neither is giving a non-division winner the same chance to win the P.O. as the three division winners. But my view is so what? Baseball has so many inequities and is so riddled with chance that it's pointless to try to level the field. (And would we really want all stadiums to be alike and symmetrical? or placing first base further out for left-handers to make their paths equal to RH? or bringing the fences in on a bright sunny day when the air has more resistance? or any of thousands of similar absurdities in the game). The play-in game gives teams the incentive to play hard right up to the end and provides us with another do-or-die game to watch.

[Bellhorn04]

Oh I realize that. It's not fair. Neither is giving a non-division winner the same chance to win the P.O. as the three division winners.

 

And I disagree with your last sentence. The Dodgers are a much better team than the Braves. The Braves are only winning their division because of the randomness that goes with these arbitrary divisions. So it's perfectly fair to give the Dodgers the same chance as the Braves.

[mvp 78]

One thing the dual WC system has helped with is at least making sure he right teams get in, even if you don't agree with who gets the easier path.

 

I was not able to find a single instance of a team with a better record than one of the playoff teams watching from the outside without going all the way back to 2012 when the 90-72 Tampa Rays failed to make the post-season while the Detroit Tigers won the AL Central with an 88-74 record. (Baltimore and Texas both won 93 games to take the WC spots.)

 

And it seems like it won't happen this year either. The 5 best records from both leagues will either get a playoff birth or a WC game. Seems ok?

[mvp 78]

And I disagree with your last sentence. The Dodgers are a much better team than the Braves. The Braves are only winning their division because of the randomness that goes with these arbitrary divisions. So it's perfectly fair to give the Dodgers the same chance as the Braves.

 

The divisions aren't arbitrary. They're geographic. Is it often that there are two 100 game winners in the same division?