Expansion and Divisions

[moonslav59]

Just now, Duran Is The Man said:

the traditionalist in me doesn't like inter-league play, but the fan in me likes limited IL play.

I absolutely love seeing us play NL teams, especially at Wrigley Field or versus storied franchises like the Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals and Pirates. (I'm trying to workout a way to visit my sister in Pittsburgh during the mid August series against the Pirates. That stadium looks awesome.)

[notin]

14 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

I never understood Original Rays.

It’s a chain of pizza places in New York City.  There’s this whole warfare over the name Ray’s when it comes to NYC pizza.

 

<sigh> I guess you’re more of a 2 Brothers guy…

 

[jad]

2 hours ago, notin said:

It’s a chain of pizza places in New York City.  There’s this whole warfare over the name Ray’s when it comes to NYC pizza.

 

<sigh> I guess you’re more of a 2 Brothers guy…

 

I ate at a bunch of these, all claiming to be the 'original'; but it didn't matter since V&T's was better anyway.  Sort of like "Tommy's"  in LA, where the food was equally bad at the original and all the wannabe's.

 

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, notin said:

It’s a chain of pizza places in New York City.  There’s this whole warfare over the name Ray’s when it comes to NYC pizza.

 

<sigh> I guess you’re more of a 2 Brothers guy…

 

Probably both gone now, but there was a joint on the corner of Fordham & Valentine Avenue that rated highly and Pepino's on 241 St. & White Plains Road.  Now I mostly go to Frank Pepe's. 

[notin]

1 hour ago, jad said:

I ate at a bunch of these, all claiming to be the 'original'; but it didn't matter since V&T's was better anyway.  Sort of like "Tommy's"  in LA, where the food was equally bad at the original and all the wannabe's.

 

Apparently they have Ray’s, Original Ray’s, Famous Ray’s, and Famous Original Ray’s and they’re all completely unrelated and probably have nothing to do with the actual original Ray’s…

[alsoason]

What I would like is have a couple of teams from each division switch or trade places with their counterpart in the Other league. For two years, the Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels go play in the NL while the Braves, Pirates, Giants play in the AL. then Orioles, Twins, Mariners, switch with the Mets, Reds, Padres, for 2 years. Yankees, WhiteSox, Astros switch  with Marlins, Cubs, Rockies for 2 years. Blue Jays, Royals switch with Philly, Brewers,DBacks for 2 years  Rays,, Guardians,A's switch Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers for    2 years, then start over with the Sox NL FOR 2 AL FOR 8.      

[UtahSox]

7 hours ago, alsoason said:

What I would like is have a couple of teams from each division switch or trade places with their counterpart in the Other league. For two years, the Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels go play in the NL while the Braves, Pirates, Giants play in the AL. then Orioles, Twins, Mariners, switch with the Mets, Reds, Padres, for 2 years. Yankees, WhiteSox, Astros switch  with Marlins, Cubs, Rockies for 2 years. Blue Jays, Royals switch with Philly, Brewers,DBacks for 2 years  Rays,, Guardians,A's switch Nationals, Cardinals and Dodgers for    2 years, then start over with the Sox NL FOR 2 AL FOR 8.      

My initial thought was I hate it. But the more I thought about it, would be fun to create a different vibe 1 out of every 4 years. Only 1 out of 4 You wouldn’t lose rivalries but the change would achieve some of what you’re speaking of.

Thought is 1 out of every 4 years you ranked teams 1-32 over the previous 4 years and create 4 8 team divisions like FIFA. I used Chat GPT to “rank teams 1-30 over prior 4 seasons. Here is how they ranked teams:

MLB “FIFA Rankings” (2021–2025)

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Houston Astros

3. Milwaukee Brewers

4. New York Yankees

5. Atlanta Braves

6. Philadelphia Phillies

7. Seattle Mariners

8. Tampa Bay Rays

9. Toronto Blue Jays

10. San Diego Padres

11. Cleveland Guardians

12. San Francisco Giants

13. New York Mets

14. Boston Red Sox

15. St. Louis Cardinals

16. Chicago Cubs

17. Baltimore Orioles

18. Detroit Tigers

19. Minnesota Twins

20. Cincinnati Reds

21. Arizona Diamondbacks

22. Texas Rangers

23. Kansas City Royals

24. Miami Marlins

25. Los Angeles Angels

26. Pittsburgh Pirates

27. Oakland Athletics

28. Chicago White Sox

29. Washington Nationals

30. Colorado Rockies

 

Div A:

1: Dodgers

8. Rays

9. Blue Jays

16. Cubs

17. Orioles

24. Marlins

25. Angels

32. Expansion team 

Div B:

2. Astros

7. Mariners

10. Padres

15. Cardinals

18. Tigers

23. Royals

26. Pirates

31. Expansion team

Div C

3. Brewers

6. Phillies 

11. Guardians 

14. Red Sox

19. Twins

22. Rangers

27. Athletics

30. Rockies

Div D

4. Yankees

5. Braves

12. Giants

13. Mets

20. Reds 

21. DBacks

28. White Sox

29. Nationals

It would be fun probably add excitement without destroying built in rivalries. 

[mvp 78]

12 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

It would be fun probably add excitement without destroying built in rivalries. 

I don't like it, but if the schedules are balanced going forward, it doesn't make a difference. I'd rather they go back to the strict AL/NL split and two East and West divisions.