I think the LCS and WS game dates should not be set in stone at the beginning of each season. If both LCS end in 5 games, there is no reason the WS could not start a few days earlier.

Also, I do not think there should be as many travel days during any of the series. I know this helps line up games for TV but teams are used to traveling during the season and it does not put a team at a disadvantage because both teams are making the same trip(s).

The NYT also reports that this was the least-viewed Series by a significant amount.

The division series is here to stay. Because of all the playoff series now, I think fans of teams not involved in the World Series aren’t as interested as they were before MLB added the division series. They’ve seen too much baseball leading up to the World Series. Having the extra round of playoffs is good for the game overall. More games matter for more teams down the stretch with eight teams making the playoffs. The division series, on the down side, takes away from interest in the World Series.

Yes, you can make the argument that the LCS takes away from interest in the World Series, too. Again, the LCS starting in 1969 was and is good for the game overall, but it takes away from the World Series.

I’m not advocating any changes other than earlier evening start times and cutting down on the number of off days in postseason. Let’s face it! Unless you’ve got a situation like the Yankees in 2001 being in the Series shortly after 9/11 or some team from the northside of Chicago making it, the World Series is not going to be as special as it was before the division series came into being. The division series is here to stay.

I’ve been hearing that for years. If 10, 15 or 20 years ago kids couldn’t stay up to watch the games then they are not going to be interested now that they are adults. Most fans fall in love with the game as a kid. They are doing a bad job of renewing their fan base. It’s not as bad as what boxing did to itself. Boxing made every fight pay per view and once the fighters they knew retired no one cared about the sport.

are exactly why I admire you, Al. Today’s post is about a quadrillion times better than anything written in the local media. You are the true voice of the fan. Maybe if newspapers hired smart people like you, their problems wouldn’t be so awful.
Keep it up my friend! And thanks again.

That is something I think about every time I see him pitch. Something as cruel as physically assaulting your own wife is not something I easilly forget.

Kansas City is neither a warm-weather nor a dome team. Maybe when they have this huge rolling roof that can cover arrowhead too you could call it that.

…I know the union would never ever agree to it (god forbid the players get tired) and the owners would be afraid of losing $1 of revenue but it would be great for the fans….and could allow some flexibility in the schedule for off days and rainouts.

The easiest “fix” is to start the games 30 minutes earlier at 7:00 (ct) rather than 7:30. 7:00 is the beginning of prime time so there’s no reason to start the games at 7:30. If FOX wants to do a 30 minute pregame show that 99% of us ignore that’s fine, but do it at 6:30.

Whoever suggested the 3 or 4 day night DH’s was right on the money. That would shave 4 days off the regular season and would be a good start. The next thing they must do is can the unneeded travel and off days. Baseball is played every day during the regular season with a day off about once every two weeks. Play the first round in 5 days starting on Fri. Have one off day between the LDS and the LCS and then play the LCS starting on Thu. with just one off day built in. Then start the WS after one off day on Saturday afternoon and play it with just one off day. Every get away day in the play-offs that is not followed by an off day should be an afternoon game (maybe stagger starts between 2 and 4ET). If they followed this schedule you would have had the post season done by Oct. 18th this year and you would have given a whole lot of young people a chance to see more post season games. Someone brought up the Final Four being ahead of baseball…isn’t funny that they start March Madness with games at noon on a thursday and it is a smashing success?? Every game doesn’t have to end after midnight in the eastern time zone.

How about taking off about 5 days of spring training, goodness mid Feb. to April 1 is long enough. Start the season last weekend of March. Also I agree each team gets a daynight Doubleheader. This is not a whole lotta of days, but it does save a few.
 Today in Delaware, I am 1 hour drive south of Philly, 64 and sunny, all next week low 60’s. Philly just had a bad 48 hours of weather, not much you can do.
 Thank God it is over. Go Cubs 2009

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2008/10/31/651207/kerry-wood-files-for-free

what really damped my enthusiasm was all the off-days during the playoffs. During the season they can play 19 games in 20 or 21 days; let’s do that in the post-season too. Just when the momentum gets going, there’s another off day. Or two.

During the Division Series they never had 4 games on the same day, so 2 teams always had to have a day off. TBS effectively ran baseball triple-headers, one game after the other. Why can’t they use two networks (like the CS round had) and have games at the same time? Every weekend all season we’d have 15 or 16 games going on more or less at once, and that only added to the excitement.

It bugs me when a team that has 2 strong starters but an otherwise weak rotation can win in the postseason because they never have to use their 4th starter. (Case in point: 2001 Diamondbacks.)

And I just lose interest when there are soooo many off days.

But a neutral site is not warranted. The world is getting warmer, allegedly, so it’s absolutely idiotic to entertain these knee jerk reactions to some inclement weather for a couple days. Instead of moving the world series to a neutral site, why don’t we do something equally idiotic and make a machine that controls the weather? If the weather is that important then just have it in San Diego every year.

End the All-Star game fiasco and determine world series home field based on alternating year. Although, had the NL won the All-Star then they would have avoided that rain in Philly.

MLB needs to make the DH uniform for both leagues. This is long overdue, there’s no reason to have a pitcher hit anymore.

The World Series needs to be decided on

It not only penalizes loyal fans, but also, who can schedule a week’s worth vacation to a distant city on short notice? This is not a one game event where corporations buy most tickets.

The thing I’d fix is play a late afternoon (EDT) game on Monday afternoon, so as not to compete with Monday Night Football. A day game Saturday or Sunday in the middle of both pro and college football seasons won’t work, for obvious reasons. Of course, this means they have to start the series earlier or schedule less travel days off.

Also, start night games no later than 8:05 EDT. We don’t need a half hour pre-game show. Player intros can ve made before 8:00 EDT. They can be shown by Fox or FSN, as they choose. I’m assuming FSN because local affiliates won’t want to give up the lucrative 7:30 PM EST slot. Anyway, starting all games at 8:30 PM EST is not a good idea.

In any case the World Series is going to be watched the most when big market teams are involved and/or the series is extended to seven games. We cannot control that, so all those sportscasters who had to look for a hotel room to stay in Philadelphia two extra days should relax and remember this isn’t about them.

Lock Bud Selig in a closet on Oct. 1, give him a pizza and a sixer of beer every day, and don’t let him out until the WS is done.

Next?

but I have one thought. Having at least ONE day WS game wouldn’t hurt TV ratings all that much IMHO. How many of you go somewhere (sports bar, typically) at lunch? If the game started at 4PM EDT, that’s 1:00 here in AZ and the Left Coast. I used to love it when I was in school and the teacher would turn on a radio for a little while (if we were good) and let us listen. I am pretty sure that most schools have TV’s in the classrooms, the teachers could reward good behavior with a bit of WS baseball.

I know, I know, it’s ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS. But, basing EVERTHING that sports and TV does wholly on money and NOT THE FAN sickens me. Give us a little break once in a while. The owners/networks are all getting rich from their partnership, so they have no incentive to change their MO. But, I say, because they are so rich, they can afford to lose a few (almighty) dollars and build some good will.