tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11175154.post3449805050929432017..comments2024-03-22T05:48:26.129-05:00Comments on Braves & Birds: Smaller Playoffs, Baseball EditionMichaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08365733949431139562noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11175154.post-25027770799493699982010-04-23T22:48:03.535-05:002010-04-23T22:48:03.535-05:00Anon, I honestly don't follow MLB enough to kn...Anon, I honestly don't follow MLB enough to know for certain, but it seems as if the sport has lost ground to the other major sports since the introduction of inter-league play. <br /><br />It could be a coincidental decline, but I personally stopped caring about baseball largely due to the sport's disregard for it's history as represented by inter-league play and wild card teams. It's tough to measure reasons for apathy, but I'm sure there are others that feel the same. It's possible that MLB is getting better ballpark attendance for the high profile inter-league series at the cost of lower overall attendance and ratings.<br /><br />As Yogi said, "If people don't want to come to the ballpark how are you going to stop them?"chghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08299359954137090528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11175154.post-90051717521673083222010-04-23T09:38:11.442-05:002010-04-23T09:38:11.442-05:001) Inter-league play has been a wild, almost unfat...1) Inter-league play has been a wild, almost unfathomable success. The playoff atmosphere and incredible intensity of the intra-city series (especially Chicago, and even the Ohio Cup) drastically outweighs whatever detriments accompany Atlanta-Texas matchups. Better solution; give the playoff teams with superior records larger advantages in the postseason (one thought: give the team with the best record in the regular season "pure home field advantage," where they play every single playoff game at home).<br /><br />I don't know why Buffalo or Atlanta fans care about those types of taunts. Both teams were very entertaining and successful in their primes; what more could a pro-sports fan ask for?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11175154.post-60959370840524593352010-04-23T06:20:13.526-05:002010-04-23T06:20:13.526-05:00Sorry, my friend, but I have to disagree with you ...Sorry, my friend, but I have to disagree with you here. Eliminate the wild card option would turn September into a snooze fest in the numerous cases where one team dominates a league. The wild card adds hope and fan interest for 4-5 teams every year and makes their games important. Too often does the wild card team beat the league winner? Tough doughnuts (I dont think I can swear here). <br /><br />But I do favor expanding the initial post-season series to a full seven games.Caelusnoreply@blogger.com