More Teams To The Playoffs?

There is a lot of talk this time of year about whether teams should be added to the MLB post season or how it should be changed. So here is my two cents on how the playoff can be improved.

1. Add Two More Wild Card Teams- Add another Wild Card winner in the AL and NL. Two days after the regular season ends, have the two WC teams in each respective league face each other in a 1-game playoff. It creates excitement for the fans by adding 2 extra teams and the drama of a 1-game playoff. This also gives division winners an added advantage, as the WC team has to play an extra game before they face the division winner and the WC team has to use their best pitcher. Not enough advantage is given to division winners over teams that win the WC. WC teams shouldn’t have it as easy as they do.  By doing this 1-game playoff, MLB can add teams to the postseason without having to dilute them like NBA or NHL does by letting half the league play in the playoffs.

2. Make The Divisional Series Seven Games- Enough with the 5-game DS. Baseball only has three rounds, not 70 like other sports do. Stop letting the team with the best 2 pitchers sneak by the overall well-rounded teams.

3. Let Best Record Decide World Series Home Field Advantage- Self explanatory.

That’s it. That is all you have to do to make the MLB postseason better. It will add excitement, get more fan bases involved, and add  some more, but not too many, baseball games in October.

How To Fix The Mets 2010

Mets fans have suffered through a miserable 2009 campaign. (Photo Courtesy: NYTimes.com)

Don’t think I have to go into detail on how bad the 2009 season was for the New York Mets, or how bad it’s been the last 2 years. This off-season, the Mets will have to make some drastic changes. Below I will make a rough outline on who the Mets should target this winter, mostly from the free agent market. I will assume a few things. First, the Mets want to be competitive next season and won’t stand pat with their team or fire sale. Second, The Wilpons, despite their Madoff losses, will spend some money. Third, contracts will be similar to last year’s FA market. Now let’s get started:

GM & Manager- I know Minaya and Manuel aren’t going anywhere, they should be though. I think the Wilpons will keep them around solely so they won’t have to pay the remaining salary on their contracts if they get let go. Minaya needs to go and so does Manuel. The Mets’ should look at if Bobby Valentine would be interested in coming back to NY to manage since he is no longer wanted in Japan. They won’t though, and unfortunately, Minaya & Manuel are here to stay.

Catcher- Big need for the Mets. Brian Schneider will not be re-signed, but there is not a lot on the market here. Bengie Molina should be the #1 target, but only if it’s for a decent price. After that it’s not very good. Ivan Rodriguez & Rod Barajas would be next on the list, though Texas wants to re-sign Pudge. If Molina or Pudge can’t be signed, rookie Josh Thole might be the best option to start and any veteran to back-up. Of course there could be a trade made, but I’m mostly looking at fixing the team through free agency.

First Base- Another major need for the Mets. Carlos Delgado shouldn’t be re-signed, unless options fall through and he can be brought back for a low price. I don’t know if Daniel Murphy is the answer either. Nick Johnson would be a good target that could fit in nicely for the Mets, but his health and eroding defense is a major concern. Adam LaRoche might be a better choice than Johnson, he is putting up some good numbers for Atlanta, hitting .283 with 25 homers. Prince Fielder’s name will probably be all over the winter trade rumor mill for many teams, and he would obviously be the best option for the Mets if they could get him. Another option would be trading for Nationals’ left fielder Adam Dunn and moving him to 1B, though Dunn’s defense is terrible. The Mets need a good power hitter at first, because they need to up their power numbers next season to compete.

Second Base- Luis Castillo is having a great 2009 and has an immovable contract, he’s not going anywhere.

Shortstop- Jose Reyes is a great SS and is an important part of the core of this team, when healthy.

Third Base- Like Reyes, David Wright is part of the core of the team and the face of the Franchise. However, his decreased power numbers and strikeouts are disconcerting.

Outfield- This is where the options are plentiful in the FA market. Center fielder Carlos Beltran stays put under center, as he is still one of the best and just as important to the team as Wright or Reyes.  Ray’s Carl Crawford has a $10 million option, which the Rays would be crazy not to pick up. But, the Rays might pick up the option to trade Crawford. if that is the case, the Mets should do whatever they can to acquire him. Crawford should be target #1. If not Crawford, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay are obvious targets for LF. Jeff Francoeur is nice in RF, but there are many options if the Mets want to put someone with better numbers there. Bobby Abreu, Vlad Guerrero and Xavier Nady will be available. But, Abreu and Guerrero are aging players. There health issues with Nady and Guerrero too. Gary Sheffield wouldn’t be a bad option to be re-signed and being a pinch hitter.

Starting Pitching- The biggest problem area for the Mets in my opinion. I saw this as a glaring weakness for 2009, even if the staff was fully healthy. I don’t care how much Oliver Perez will make, he wouldn’t have a spot in my rotation on any team. Johan Santana is the obvious ace, after that there is much need for improvement. I would keep John Maine and Mike Pelfrey to fill out my number 4 & 5 spots respectively. John Lackey is an obvious target. A 1-2 of Santana and Lackey would give the Mets one of the best in the MLB, which would definitely compete with the Phillies’ 1-2 of Hammels- Lee. However, if Lackey isn’t re-signed by the Angels, something could be wrong there.

Justin Duchscherer is another great option to look at, as is Jason Marquis, who has already expressed interest to playing in New York. Taking a flier on Ben Sheets or Erik Bedard has definite upside, at the right price. I would be weary on pitchers Randy Wolf, Joel Pineiro and Rich Harden. Wolf might be having a career year. With Pineiro, any pitcher that was bad before going to St.Louis scares me when they leave, look at Jeff Weaver and Jeff Suppan. I feel it’s more the Cardinal pitching coach Dave Duncan effect than anything else. Rich Harden could be a great pick-up if he can return to his old self and stay healthy, but I think his best days are behind him.

I know this plan would take quite a bit of money and the Wilpons seem to be holding their checkbook tightly these days, but they will need to spend to compete seriously next year.

Major League Annoyances

To pass some time this afternoon I’m going to do a little rant of what annoys me in baseball. This is in now particular order, and I may be missing a few things.

-The fact that so much has been taken away from the pitchers. Ballparks are smaller. Batters are allowed to where battlefield armor so they can crowd the plate. They can’t throw inside if there already has been a warning, sometimes even if he hasn’t thrown at anyone.

-Umpires who believe people are watching the game because of them. I’m tired of hearing exaggerated strike calls or seeing umps itching to throw someone out of the game for doing the smallest infraction.

-People who say there shouldn’t be instant replay because human error is part of the game. Okay, let’s see how you would react if a game winning homerun during game-7 of the World Series was taken away from your team how quick you would to say that again. Accuracy is way more important to me than the history of human error. I believe instant replay should be utilized for everything, except balls & strikes. Now, for other than homerun calls, I think the instant replay should only be used if a manager decides he wants a call reviewed. It would be a system like challenges in the NFL. Each manager gets only two replay review challenges a game.

-Much like Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay, I can’t stand people who go off about broadcasters or other people jinxing the game or players.  It’s stupid and doesn’t exist.

-All new ballparks should make fans seats a good distance away from the homerun walls, that would greatly reduce the number of instant replay reviews for homeruns.

-The pitcher hitting in the NL. It’s not that I love the DH, it’s that it’s too late to take out the DH. In most minor leagues, the pitcher doesn’t hit or work on hitting. Pitchers are much worse hitters now than they were decades ago. Also, it’s stupid having two different rules for the same sport. Either start teaching pitchers how to hit when they get to the minors and take out the DH in the American League, or put the DH in the National League.

-Hearing “it’s only a game,” especially after a big loss by people who don’t really watch sports. Baseball to me is more than just a game, it can make me insanely happy or terribly depressed for a week, a month, or several months. I’ll realize in time that that stinging loss doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but if you say it to me at a bad time be prepared for a death stare.