We want to catch Tampa but if not - we want the Yankees to catch Tampa

[bobo52]

There are 4 WC teams but the WC1 will probably be the division winner in the West.  Remember one of the WC teams is the division winner with the worst record - and that division winner is the #1 seed regardless of record.  

Interestingly in the National League - that was the Dodgers last year and might be them again this year.  They simply want to get into the playoffs and then trot out Yamamoto, Snell, Skubal and Ohtani and clean up on you.  

With WC1 being Houston right now - the Yankees and Sox are #2 and #3 and would play each other.  

Right now we play the Yankees and all 3 games are in Yankee Stadium.  

If we catch the Yankees - we still play them but get them in Fenway.

If the Yankees catch Tampa - we probably get Tampa.  If we catch both the Yankees and Tampa - we can rest in the WC round as those 2 teams play each other.  

Added bonus to the scenario where the Yankees catch Tampa is that we dont play the Yankees until the ALCS.

Id rather face the Yankees later since I think they are the toughest team in the AL.  Give somebody else the chance to beat them so that we might not even play them and/or we have a longer playoff run. 

 

[JoeBrady]

Catching the Rays is very unlikely, but would be huge.  That would give us the best record in the AL and make us a nominal favorite to go to the WS.

But catching the NYY would be pretty big as well.

[UtahSox]

I agree. But it would be nice to somehow get on the other side of the bracket away from the AL East teams.
 

I think baseball should either expand to 8 playoff teams and play a best of five opening series orrrrrrr favor more total record versus division champion. (my preferred)

 

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, UtahSox said:

I agree. But it would be nice to somehow get on the other side of the bracket away from the AL East teams.
 

I think baseball should either expand to 8 playoff teams and play a best of five opening series orrrrrrr favor more total record versus division champion. (my preferred)

 

I'd guess that's in the plans.  As soon as LV and TB are settled in new stadiums, add two teams to make it an even 32.  Four divisions, four WC teams, maybe cut back on regular season games and expand the playoffs.  That could be an excellent bargaining chip for both sides for the new CBA.  More revenue can put out a lot of fires.

[bobo52]

Quote

I'd guess that's in the plans.  As soon as LV and TB are settled in new stadiums, add two teams to make it an even 32.  Four divisions, four WC teams, maybe cut back on regular season games and expand the playoffs.  That could be an excellent bargaining chip for both sides for the new CBA.  More revenue can put out a lot of fires.

Id love to see the playoffs expanded, the regular season shortened and the playoffs starting in early to mid September.  Games being played in 40-50 degree weather in NY and Boston at night in late October are a problem.  Eliminate 20 regular season games since the regular season dent mean as much anyways when 8 teams make the playoffs.  Then ave the playoffs Start September 8-10 and end by October 15.  

[JoeBrady]

6 hours ago, bobo52 said:

Id love to see the playoffs expanded, the regular season shortened and the playoffs starting in early to mid September.  Games being played in 40-50 degree weather in NY and Boston at night in late October are a problem.  Eliminate 20 regular season games since the regular season dent mean as much anyways when 8 teams make the playoffs.  Then ave the playoffs Start September 8-10 and end by October 15.  

I used to have Yankee season tickets, and chopped them up between friends.  You've never seen anything more unpopular than an early-April, Tuesday night against KC.  People wouldn't even bother to ask about some of those games.  Take 6 off the last week of September and 6 off the first week of April.  Add another week of playoff games.

[moonslav59]

To be honest, I'd rather see MLB shrink to 28 teams (4 divisions of 7.) It won't ever happen, but baseball would be better with 28.

32 teams does make for an easier playoff format, with 4 division winners and 4 WC per league, but I hope they don't hand the division winners the home field.

I might prefer 4 divisions of 8 over 8 divisions of 4, but that won't happen. If no teams switch leagues, maybe the 8 divisions might look like this:

AL

BOS, NYY, BAL, TOR

DET, CLE, CWS, MIN

TBR, KCR, HOU, TEX

SEA, SAC, LAA, LV

NL

NYM, PHI, WSH PIT

ATL, MIA, NC, STL

CIN, MIL, CHC, COL

SFG, LAD, SDP, AZ

I'd swap a few NL-AL teams into this:

AL

BOS, NYY, BAL, WSH

MIA, TBR, HOU, TEX

TOR, CLE, DET, CIN

SEA, LAA, LV, SAC

NL

NYM, PHI, PIT, NC

ATL, STL, KCR, COL

CHC, CWS, MIL, MIN

SFG, LAD, SDP, AZ

Go total Geographic:

TOR, BOS, NYY, NYM

PHI, PIT, WSH, BAL

NC, ATL, TBR, MIA

DET, CLE, CIN, INDY

MIN, MIL, CWS, CHC

KCR, STL, TEX, HOU

SEA, SFG, LV, COL

LAD, LAA, SDP, AZ

Wouldn't 4 divisions of 8 make things neater?

TOR, BOS, NYY, NYM, PHI, PIT, BAL, WSH

NC, ATL, TBR, MIA, KCR, STL, TEX, HOU

DET, CLE, CIN, CHC, CWS, MIL, MIN, COL

LV, AZ, SEA, SFG, SAC, LAD, LAA, SDP

[UtahSox]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

To be honest, I'd rather see MLB shrink to 28 teams (4 divisions of 7.) It won't ever happen, but baseball would be better with 28.

32 teams does make for an easier playoff format, with 4 division winners and 4 WC per league, but I hope they don't hand the division winners the home field.

I might prefer 4 divisions of 8 over 8 divisions of 4, but that won't happen. If no teams switch leagues, maybe the 8 divisions might look like this:

AL

BOS, NYY, BAL, TOR

DET, CLE, CWS, MIN

TBR, KCR, HOU, TEX

SEA, SAC, LAA, LV

NL

NYM, PHI, WSH PIT

ATL, MIA, NC, STL

CIN, MIL, CHC, COL

SFG, LAD, SDP, AZ

I'd swap a few NL-AL teams into this:

AL

BOS, NYY, BAL, WSH

MIA, TBR, HOU, TEX

TOR, CLE, DET, CIN

SEA, LAA, LV, SAC

NL

NYM, PHI, PIT, NC

ATL, STL, KCR, COL

CHC, CWS, MIL, MIN

SFG, LAD, SDP, AZ

Go total Geographic:

TOR, BOS, NYY, NYM

PHI, PIT, WSH, BAL

NC, ATL, TBR, MIA

DET, CLE, CIN, INDY

MIN, MIL, CWS, CHC

KCR, STL, TEX, HOU

SEA, SFG, LV, COL

LAD, LAA, SDP, AZ

Wouldn't 4 divisions of 8 make things neater?

TOR, BOS, NYY, NYM, PHI, PIT, BAL, WSH

NC, ATL, TBR, MIA, KCR, STL, TEX, HOU

DET, CLE, CIN, CHC, CWS, MIL, MIN, COL

LV, AZ, SEA, SFG, SAC, LAD, LAA, SDP

A couple thoughts.

1. Nashville & SLC are the MLB teams for expansion. 99.6% sure. 
2. I would do 4 divisions of 8 teams so that we don’t get such lopsided divisions. 

AL East: Bos, NYY, Tor, Bal,Wh Sox, Cle, Det, Minn

AL West: LAA, Sea, LV, SLC, AZ, KC, Hou, Tex

NL East: NYM, Phi, Pit, Wash, Atl, Nash, Mia, TBR

NL West: Cubs, Mil, St Lou, Cin, SDP, LAD, SFG, Col

 

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

 Nashville & SLC are the MLB teams for expansion. 99.6% sure. 

Why?

With Oak out, I'd think Sacramento is in.

SLC? I'd think North Carolina (Charlotte is #21 metro area and NC is baseball country), San Antonio (23rd) between SA and Austin (25t) Maybe, even Indianapolis (33rd) would be better.

Nashville #34

Raleigh #40 (CHar-Raleigh?)

Memphis and OKL City are bigger than SLC.

[UtahSox]

5 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Why?

With Oak out, I'd think Sacramento is in.

SLC? I'd think North Carolina (Charlotte is #21 metro area and NC is baseball country), San Antonio (23rd) between SA and Austin (25t) Maybe, even Indianapolis (33rd) would be better.

Nashville #34

Raleigh #40 (CHar-Raleigh?)

Memphis and OKL City are bigger than SLC.

Why SLC? I’m not positive. But I think it’s happening, It’s all but been assured. Here is what I know. 

Population: 2.8m people within a 60 minute drive of SLC. The population #’s don’t look good when comparing to other cities because there are many well ran municipalities close to SLC that have remained independent. From what I’ve learned is rather unique to SLC.
Politics & Economics: Utah has Massive corporate growth and backing, its been nicknamed the “Silicone slopes”. Utah loves sports, state already has Mobilized and approved financing in place, like a 3b project for MLB stadium. State of Utah has young population with explosive growth. The politics are pro business. 

follow the $$: I have a personal relationship with extremely close business connections to Miller family the leaders of “Big League Utah” they will be be the team owners. And let’s just say they have gotten extremely conservative with cash the last 2-3 years. They were the former owners of the Utah Jazz. They have bought up land surrounding the proposed site. The idea is to emulate the Braves set up in SLC. They are moving forward as if it’s happening. 
 

look at how they came to market in NHL with the Utah Mammoth, you will see the blueprint and why for a smaller market Utah is a serious player for MLB. 

 

[notin]

20 hours ago, UtahSox said:

I agree. But it would be nice to somehow get on the other side of the bracket away from the AL East teams.
 

I think baseball should either expand to 8 playoff teams and play a best of five opening series orrrrrrr favor more total record versus division champion. (my preferred)

 

How about getting rid of divisions altogether and ranking postseason solely by record?  Why is the AL West leader getting home games when they might finish under .500?  The 4th AL Wild Card team might finish with a better record and  - especially if it’s Toronto - got that better record against a tougher schedule.  Clearly they are the better team that is only being penalized by geography…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

45 minutes ago, notin said:

How about getting rid of divisions altogether and ranking postseason solely by record?  Why is the AL West leader getting home games when they might finish under .500?  The 4th AL Wild Card team might finish with a better record and  - especially if it’s Toronto - got that better record against a tougher schedule.  Clearly they are the better team that is only being penalized by geography…

And the current format also forces embarrassing scenarios like two opposing teams trying to lose their final regular season game against each other because the winner then has to go play an entire first-round playoff series in the Bronx, NY instead of at any AL Central club's city.

Imagine: to start that fateful deciding showdown if the Red Sox called up a 32-year old minor league pitcher who had an 0-9 record with a 7 ERA in AAA vs. a Tigers team who really didn't want to take advantage of batting practice for one more day? 

What would fans of both teams think?

[JoeBrady]

9 hours ago, UtahSox said:

Why SLC? I’m not positive.

That was a pretty impressive analysis.  Thanks.  Knowing nothing about SLC, how does the alcohol thing work?  Can they sell at the stadium?  Can they advertise gambling?

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Why is the AL West leader getting home games when they might finish under .500?

IMO, they shouldn't.  Teams should need motivation to finish with the best record they can.  It makes no difference in this case, but if the ALW winner and the RS were tied, then the ALW winner should need to consider playing everyone in the last week instead of resting everyone.

[moonslav59]

12 hours ago, UtahSox said:

Why SLC? I’m not positive. But I think it’s happening, It’s all but been assured. Here is what I know. 

Population: 2.8m people within a 60 minute drive of SLC. The population #’s don’t look good when comparing to other cities because there are many well ran municipalities close to SLC that have remained independent. From what I’ve learned is rather unique to SLC.
Politics & Economics: Utah has Massive corporate growth and backing, its been nicknamed the “Silicone slopes”. Utah loves sports, state already has Mobilized and approved financing in place, like a 3b project for MLB stadium. State of Utah has young population with explosive growth. The politics are pro business. 

follow the $$: I have a personal relationship with extremely close business connections to Miller family the leaders of “Big League Utah” they will be be the team owners. And let’s just say they have gotten extremely conservative with cash the last 2-3 years. They were the former owners of the Utah Jazz. They have bought up land surrounding the proposed site. The idea is to emulate the Braves set up in SLC. They are moving forward as if it’s happening. 
 

look at how they came to market in NHL with the Utah Mammoth, you will see the blueprint and why for a smaller market Utah is a serious player for MLB. 

 

Metropolitan areas and populations count nearby suburbs, towns and cities. There are at least 5-6 other areas with mor epeople within driving distance.

San Antonio and Austin are huge. They are and hour and 20 mins apart. Both could support a team, but you could put the park 40 mins between them. Not ideal, I know, but either alone is better than SLC.

[moonslav59]

2.8 M live within 60 mins of SA and 2.3M within 60 of Austin.

Put the stadium 40 mins to each and we're nearing 4-5M total with 60 mins.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, notin said:

How about getting rid of divisions altogether and ranking postseason solely by record?  Why is the AL West leader getting home games when they might finish under .500?  The 4th AL Wild Card team might finish with a better record and  - especially if it’s Toronto - got that better record against a tougher schedule.  Clearly they are the better team that is only being penalized by geography…

Agreed.

two 15 team divisions.

3 games ve other league (3 x 15=45)

8 games x 14 in own league (14 x 8=112)

157 total. Rotate an extra game vs other league making 5 teams a 4 game series or 2 H and 2A.

[mvp 78]

I want the Yankees to catch an STD.

[UtahSox]

On 8/24/2026 at 8:01 AM, JoeBrady said:

That was a pretty impressive analysis.  Thanks.  Knowing nothing about SLC, how does the alcohol thing work?  Can they sell at the stadium?  Can they advertise gambling?

SLC still has some weird alcohol laws, you can look them up…  but yes you can get a beer or cocktail at a game. 
 

draftkings sportsbook is illegal in Utah, DraftKings has their fantasy stuff as well, so I guess they could advertise in Utah? Kalshi labels itself as a predictive market, so you can bet sports on it. I use it daily. 

[UtahSox]

21 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Metropolitan areas and populations count nearby suburbs, towns and cities. There are at least 5-6 other areas with mor epeople within driving distance.

San Antonio and Austin are huge. They are and hour and 20 mins apart. Both could support a team, but you could put the park 40 mins between them. Not ideal, I know, but either alone is better than SLC.

Yeah SLC is shovel in ground ready, has support of entire state roughly 4m people, provides mlb with another west team for late night viewing.

It will interesting with altitude as most baseball teams play at sea level. LV is getting the A’s 2000 ft above sea level, if they add SLC is 4200ft above sea level that would be 3 elevation teams. Denver sits at 5200ft. 

[UtahSox]

I know the two expansion teams are gonna be something MLB throws in late to help the players association with whatever compromises they’re having to make. I sure hope everybody is just posturing in terms of missing baseball next year. I think they’ve done a lot of research, and understand how detrimental 1994 was to the sport. Owners want the hard cap compromising with the salary Floor, players want to continue with everything how it is. 
 

Predictions on how the sausage gets made and where we end up? Also, when does baseball start next year? 

[illinoisredsox]

On 8/24/2026 at 11:33 AM, moonslav59 said:

Metropolitan areas and populations count nearby suburbs, towns and cities. There are at least 5-6 other areas with mor epeople within driving distance.

San Antonio and Austin are huge. They are and hour and 20 mins apart. Both could support a team, but you could put the park 40 mins between them. Not ideal, I know, but either alone is better than SLC.

Do the Astros and/or Rangers have some sort of territorial rights for San Antonio and/or Austin?  If so, there would be massive compensation due those franchises should MLB want to expand there.  I know the Orioles and Nationals had a long litigation once the Nats relocated (though the distance between Baltimore and  Washington is far less than the Texas cities).

I’d be more concerned about the lack of a natural fan base.  Fans who recently moved to Texas probably stay fans of other teams and long time residents aren’t going to switch from the Astros or Rangers.  Of course, at this point, that would be a likely problem with any city.

[mvp 78]

41 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

Do the Astros and/or Rangers have some sort of territorial rights for San Antonio and/or Austin?  If so, there would be massive compensation due those franchises should MLB want to expand there.  I know the Orioles and Nationals had a long litigation once the Nats relocated (though the distance between Baltimore and  Washington is far less than the Texas cities).

I’d be more concerned about the lack of a natural fan base.  Fans who recently moved to Texas probably stay fans of other teams and long time residents aren’t going to switch from the Astros or Rangers.  Of course, at this point, that would be a likely problem with any city.

Hard to really project what attendance would look like. The metropolitan area is smaller than Tampa and they haven't been able to adequately fill that stadium since inception. When you look at Texas and Houston, there is a strong correlation between W/L % and attendance. For an expansion team, that could be a little ugly. 

[mvp 78]

The other places I've heard suggested are Nashville, Orlando and Portland. I think Salt Lake would be as bad for pitchers as Denver is. None of the cities suggested scream out to me as a complete lock. 

[moonslav59]

North Carolina is baseball rabid.

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

North Carolina is baseball rabid.

Charlotteans have an NBA team that they barely support and have couldn't even keep the 4 Horsemen around. My guess is that Rick Flair has secretly bankrupted the metro area. They are not deserving. 

[moonslav59]

39 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Charlotteans have an NBA team that they barely support and have couldn't even keep the 4 Horsemen around. My guess is that Rick Flair has secretly bankrupted the metro area. They are not deserving. 

They must have a dozen minor league teams and support them well.

I think they'd go to baseball games more than people from SLC.

The problem is the population is too scattered in NC. Building a stadium between two cities might mean it's too far for either city to attend games. I'm not sure Charlotte alone can support a MLB team, but I'm not so sure about SLC or Nashville either.

I never hear Indianapolis mentioned.

[JoeBrady]

6 hours ago, UtahSox said:

Owners want the hard cap compromising with the salary Floor, players want to continue with everything how it is. 
 

Predictions on how the sausage gets made and where we end up? Also, when does baseball start next year? 

I'm not sure MLB is intent on a cap.  There are 5 super-cap team, plus 4 expensive teams.  Why should 21 teams go on strike to help cap 9 teams?  And those five top teams pay almost a half-billion in CBT.  And the lower ten teams probably just want to share the top team's revenue.  I think the owners want to make more money, but I think they will push a cap as long as they can, and then settle on winning several smaller battles. 

[UtahSox]

5 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

The other places I've heard suggested are Nashville, Orlando and Portland. I think Salt Lake would be as bad for pitchers as Denver is. None of the cities suggested scream out to me as a complete lock. 

 

5 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

North Carolina is baseball rabid.

I’ll bet either of you it’s SLC and Nashville. I’ll go up to $1000 IF MLB expands and it’s not in SLC and Nashville. Like Ive been trying to tell you I think it’s a done deal. Yes I have a couple of sources.

It will be bad for pitchers, a full 4200 ft above sea level. Get hot summer winds the baseball will fly. Fun fact the Angels will not send their talented young pitchers to their AAA team SL Bees (Bees play in Daybreak south of SLC about 20 miles their field is at 4700 ft above sea level). It’s straight from double A to big leagues usually.

[moonslav59]

31 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

 

I’ll bet either of you it’s SLC and Nashville. I’ll go up to $1000 IF MLB expands and it’s not in SLC and Nashville. Like Ive been trying to tell you I think it’s a done deal. Yes I have a couple of sources.

It will be bad for pitchers, a full 4200 ft above sea level. Get hot summer winds the baseball will fly. Fun fact the Angels will not send their talented young pitchers to their AAA team SL Bees (Bees play in Daybreak south of SLC about 20 miles their field is at 4700 ft above sea level). It’s straight from double A to big leagues usually.

I wouldn't bet on any place until I know wo is paying who and how much.

My own opinion is that Sacramento could fill the void the A's left behind.

San Antonio or Austin seem as viable as Nashville, if not more so.

NC seems right to me, but people are too spread out among cities just barely too small to support a MLB team. However,

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has 2.9M +10% growth in 5 yrs

San Antonio- New Braunfels 2.8M +10%

Austin-Round Rock 2.6M +15%

Portland-Vancouver 2.5M +1%

Sacramento 2.5M +3%

(Las Vegas at 2.4M had less but got the A's.)

2.2M Indianapolis +6%

2.2 Nashville +9%

1.9 San Jose -1%

1.5 Raleigh  (+13%) & OKL City (+6%)

1.4 Louisville +3%

1.3 Memphis (0%) & SLC +4%