The other post is getting so long and has mixed subject matter, so I started a new one. There's a lot of good discussion and many different opinions on the playoff format.
Since the beginning of this format a few years back, my Braves team has been in the bottom tourney and now more recently have improved to getting the bye and playing in the "game 17." It sounds like there is about equal support on both sides of this subject. Since this was decided and voted on for this year, the only thing I disagree with is the random seeding for game 17. The top 6 teams with byes should get seeded on their regular season record, not randomly. 1-6, 2-5 & 3-4. That way the teams who finish higher in the standings get some "reward" for their efforts.
That being said, I have brought up many suggestions for scheduling, playoffs and any number of things at the GM meetings. I listen to my teammates and consider their opinions before making any suggestions at the meetings. Some were adopted and others not. I'm all for democracy and always go along with the majority and I don't complain about it to the rest of the league. (I sounded like a f#@kin congressman there but believe me, I'm not) :)
When the Braves were in the lower division and had to play in that round robin weekend, we hated it. Every single player hated it, including me. Maybe we have a little different team make up on the Braves. We have a lot of part time guys who put a bit more priority on family obligations, but still LOVE playing baseball. We acquired a few players from around the league, but we were formed with mostly all new players to the league through word of mouth just finding guys who hadn't heard of this league to come out and try it. I never had any connections to players moving up from the 33 division or anywhere else. But it has worked out pretty well for us as we improve a little bit each year. We are simply here to have fun playing a kids game, which doesn't mean we don't care about winning and being competitive; it's just not our driving force. To be in this league and move into the later playoff rounds, we are asking everyone to give up the entire weekend throughout the month of September every year. Tough on family life; kids going to school, playing sports, kids going to college, weddings, birthdays, employment etc etc. Some of my guys would prefer a one and done playoff system and get rid of the best of three format.
I suggest that we use weeknight games along with Sunday games just for the playoffs if we all like the best of three format. Saves your pitching staff, reduces risk of injury due to fatigue and allows you a family life in September. Play your playoff games 1 & 2 on Sunday as a DH, then if there's rubber game, play it on Wednesday or Thursday night. That leaves your Saturdays to family or other obligations.
I have some different ideas that are not always well received. I don't like the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality that society has evolved into. I think we should just play the regular season 16 games and the top 8 make the playoffs the way baseball has always been. We'd finish the season this year on September 23rd if that was the format. I heard and understand the argument that the bottom 4 teams shouldn't have to finance the playoffs for the top 8. I even suggested at a meeting that we calculate the team fees to include enough for a simple 8 team playoff, and then rebate the amount of money back to the teams that don't make the playoffs so that they would not pay more than their fair share. It would not be that difficult to do. I could not garner enough support for that, but I still think it's the way to go. It may even provide some incentive to actively recruit some new blood into the league so you can make the playoffs. When we were kids, when we lost, we went home! And we accepted it. Everyone can't win! It's not the end of the world that you don't play for one extra weekend.
I do like the weighted schedule and I think we've done a good job with that. It truly does give the lower half of the division, as determined by the previous year's results, a real chance to get into the playoffs. Two of them are guaranteed to get in.
Anyway, I just thought I'd weigh in to throw some new ideas out there. I'm going to ask my guys to attend the next meeting if they want to be heard in an official forum.
I suggest that we use weeknight games along with Sunday games just for the playoffs if we all like the best of three format. Saves your pitching staff, reduces risk of injury due to fatigue and allows you a family life in September. Play your playoff games 1 & 2 on Sunday as a DH, then if there's rubber game, play it on Wednesday or Thursday night. That leaves your Saturdays to family or other obligations.
I love this idea and think we should consider it for the regular season as well. We could have just semifinals and finals after Labor Day if we just had three weeknight games over the summer.
I have some different ideas that are not always well received. I don't like the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality that society has evolved into. I think we should just play the regular season 16 games and the top 8 make the playoffs the way baseball has always been.
Not sure I follow. Only one team gets a trophy each year. Just qualifying for playoffs doesnt give anyone a trophy. You still need to earn it. In fact, if we do not guarantee everyone a playoff spot, why have playoffs at all? Regular season champ wins the league. Thats what they do in pro soccer....
And as we all know already, soccer sucks! Thats why Americans dont care about it. We play baseball, and baseball has playoffs. Always has to some extent. Even when it was just a World Series.
You are taking my everyone gets a trophy literally. It was just meant to convey an attitude. No one gets a trophy for winning this league. But EVERYONE makes the playoffs!
Despite entering the weekend as the #8 seed and making the playoffs if the season had been over, the Cyclones DID NOT make the playoffs. We failed to earn the spot and were beaten by better teams. They earned the right to be there and we did not.
