Collective Bargaining Agreement

[Willets Point]

I know I'm a broken record, but I've long been on board for a regional realignment of the leagues. Three leagues of 10 teams (East, Central, West) with a balanced league-only schedule. Build up regional rivalries and sell more tickets because fans will be able to travel to more road games. All the games in the same (or adjacent) time zones so TV viewers aren't falling asleep (or still at work) when the game is on and ratings go up. If they expand to 32 teams, then four leagues of 8 teams each works even better.

[Edgy MD]

That's OK. I'm not jumping to agree, but I think being a broken record is great. Fight, fight, fight for your turf!

[Benjamin Grimm]

I do think that now that this CBA is in place, talk of expansion will start to heat up.

[Fman99]

Willets Point wrote: I know I'm a broken record, but I've long been on board for a regional realignment of the leagues. Three leagues of 10 teams (East, Central, West) with a balanced league-only schedule. Build up regional rivalries and sell more tickets because fans will be able to travel to more road games. All the games in the same (or adjacent) time zones so TV viewers aren't falling asleep (or still at work) when the game is on and ratings go up. If they expand to 32 teams, then four leagues of 8 teams each works even better.

This is an easier pill for a lot of folks to swallow now that they've crammed the DuH down NL fans' throats. The two leagues really are indistinguishable now, rules-wise.

[metsmarathon]

i'd be on board with a 3x10 regional alignment.

[TABLE]











[/TABLE]

	east		central		west
	mets		twins		mariners
	yankees		brewers		a's
	red sox		tigers		giants
	phillies		guardians		angels
	blue jays		reds		dodgers
	orioles		cubs		padres
	nationals		white sox		d-backs
	marlins		cardinals		rockies
	rays		royals		rangers
	pirates		braves		astros

expansion gets tricky, but assuming you have a team in vegas (bad idea but whatevs) or portland, and a team in the carolinas or montreal (and no other teams move) you could get the following:


[TABLE]









[/TABLE]

	east		north		south		west
	mets		twins		rockeis]		mariners
	yankees		brewers		royals		a's
	red sox		tigers		cardinals		giants
	phillies		guardians		rangers		angels
	pirates		reds		astros		dodgers
	orioles		cubs		braves		padres
	nationals		white sox		rays		d-backs
	CAROLINA		blue jays		marlins		VEGAS

i'm sure other permutations are possible. like if a team were in montreal, you'd want them in the same division as the jays, but its a start, and not altogether wacky.

[bmfc1]

I'm guessing that Nashville is a favorite for an expansion team.

[batmagadanleadoff]

No more tiebreaking games. No more 163d games. Tiebreakers for playoff spots and seeds will now be determined by mathematical formulas.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't particularly like that. That's okay for seeds, but not for whether or not you win a division or a playoff spot.

[Frayed Knot]

Willets Point wrote: Three leagues of 10 teams (East, Central, West) with a balanced league-only schedule. ... If they expand to 32 teams, then four leagues of 8 teams each works even better.

Unfortunately, the trend in U.S. sports is towards more and more divisions with fewer teams in each (and, of course, greatly expanded post-seasons) and MLB is clearly into chasing trends right now. [Duh, the NFL went to 14 teams so we need to also]

[Edgy MD]

And the ongoing trend, of course, is for even numbers of leagues/conferences.



I'm pretty certain we'll have two leagues of two divisions and eight teams in each division within three years.

[Willets Point]

Edgy MD wrote: I'm pretty certain we'll have two leagues of two divisions and eight teams in each division within three years.

I wouldn't mind that so much, but I fear that the two leagues will have four divisions of four teams each. And every season one or more divisions will be "won" by a team with around 80 to 85 wins. And a 100+ win team in another division in the same lead will get a Wild Card.

[Double Switch]

Edgy MD wrote: And the ongoing trend, of course, is for even numbers of leagues/conferences. I'm pretty certain we'll have two leagues of two divisions and eight teams in each division within three years.

In keeping with even numbers, within two to four years.

[Centerfield]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=86832 time=1647025420 user_id=68]
No more tiebreaking games. No more 163d games. Tiebreakers for playoff spots and seeds will now be determined by mathematical formulas.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: I'm pretty certain we'll have two leagues of two divisions and eight teams in each division within three years.

I doubt it.

They'll (stupidly) go to eight divisions of four teams each rather than four/eight.

[Double Switch]

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: I'm pretty certain we'll have two leagues of two divisions and eight teams in each division within three years. I doubt it. They'll (stupidly) go to eight divisions of four teams each rather than four/eight.

But the leagues/divisions will all play using the same standard rules just like in the NFL, the NHL, the NBA.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: I'm pretty certain we'll have two leagues of two divisions and eight teams in each division within three years. I doubt it. They'll (stupidly) go to eight divisions of four teams each rather than four/eight.

I also think that that's the more likely scenario.

[Edgy MD]

Man, you don't know how things will change, but a division of the Jays, Sox, Yankees, and Orioles could be brutal for Baltimore.

[Lefty Specialist]

Edgy MD wrote: Man, you don't know how things will change, but a division of the Jays, Sox, Yankees, and Orioles could be brutal for Baltimore.

Easier than a division of the Jays, Sox, Yankees, Rays and Orioles.

[Edgy MD]

Perhaps, but at time of my posing, I imagined a four-team division of the four most northeastern AL teams. I guess I was placing the Rays in a division with three other non-existent southeastern AL squads.



I dunno. Maybe they end up with Houston, Texas, and Chatanooga or something in the "AL South."

[Benjamin Grimm]

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlbs-runner-on-second-in-extras-rule-reportedly-could-return-league-testing-ball-strike-challenge-in-minors/https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlbs-runner-on-second-in-extras-rule-reportedly-could-return-league-testing-ball-strike-challenge-in-minors/

The extra-innings ghost-runner rule may not be going away just yet. MLB and the MLBPA are discussing bringing the rule, which places a runner at second base at the beginning of every half-inning after the ninth inning, back as part of the league's health and safety protocols for the 2022 season, report The Athletic's Matt Gelb and Jayson Stark. No agreement has been reached on the tiebreaker rule or the healthy and safety protocols in general, though several players told Gelb and Stark they expect the rule to return in 2022. MLB and the MLBPA agreed to do away with the rule, as well as seven-inning doubleheader games, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement. The healthy and safety protocols are expected to be announced later this week.

[Frayed Knot]

A rule which has ZERO to do with health and safety issues.

[Edgy MD]

While I certainly agree, has anybody tried to lay out the process by which this rule ameliorates health and safety concerns?

[kcmets]

Edgy MD wrote: has anybody tried to lay out the process by which this rule ameliorates health and safety

Yes. That's all this retard can say until further notice.

[Willets Point]

I believe the idea was that by preventing long extra-inning games it limited potential exposure to COVID, but there are seemingly dozens of other much more effective health and safety rules that have already been discontinued. It's kind of like people who are going to parties unmasked still kept washing their groceries when they brought them home.

[kcmets]

There's a whole 'nother majority of players who don't like long games going

into the 13-14th inning -- thinking it's taxing on the body, causes players to miss

subsequent games and messes up the bullpen rotations. Not to mention that there's

also having to send pitchers down and and bringing in a fresh arm.



Or so I've heard. Gosh knows what I'll wake up to tomorrow for posting that.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, I figure this is an attempt to use Covid as an excuse to avoid something that's perhaps less-than-desireable to owners and management.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Not sure if this was at all related to the CBA (prolly not) but after a shameful episode in 2021, the Minor Leagues are taking back their rightful names (PCL, IL, EL, SAL, FSL, MWL, TL etc)

[Edgy MD]

That's great.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That is good news. I don't know why those names were ever abandoned.

[MFS62]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Not sure if this was at all related to the CBA (prolly not) but after a shameful episode in 2021, the Minor Leagues are taking back their rightful names (PCL, IL, EL, SAL, FSL, MWL, TL etc)

A big thank you to the person who made that decision.

Later