Partly because they each swept their division series, the Yankees and the Angels have played just eight games in 20 days since the end of the regular season. In a session with Los Angeles-area writers on Saturday, Angels Manager Mike Scioscia made his feelings clear.
"Ridiculous," Scioscia said. "I don’t know. Can I say it any clearer than that? We should have never had a day off last Wednesday. We should never have three days off after the season. You shouldn’t even have two days off after the season.
"It just takes an advantage away for a deep team, which everybody feels very strongly is an asset. It takes that advantage away and I think that’s something that Major League Baseball hopefully will consider looking at."
Exactly correct, in my view. Don't blame the extra round of playoffs due to the wild card being added starting in 1995 -- in 2002, the last time we had a seven-game World Series, Game Seven took place on October 27, which is a full nine days earlier than a Game Seven will happen this year. That is, if we don't have any more rainouts. The 2002 postseason took 24 days (October 3-27). The 2009 postseason, if it goes its entire length (meaning, a seven-game World Series), will encompass 29 days, with multiple off days in various series, not to mention the postponements we've already had. TV is the reason -- Fox and TBS were able to get the dates spread out in order to not have any games head-to-head in the early rounds, and as few games as possible in the daytime in the LCS round.
That's not a good enough reason. Mike Scioscia is right. If anyone can wake Bud Selig up, let's fix this before the 2010 postseason. Here's more from Jeff Passan and Gordon Edes on this topic.
Oh, and if you're a Yankees and New York Giants fan? Better have multiple TVs available today, as Ed Valentine points out at Pinstripe Alley.
Angels at Yankees, 7:20 pm CDT. Yankees lead series 3-2. TV: Fox. Announcers: Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Angels site Halos Heaven and Yankees site Pinstripe Alley.
Discuss amongst yourselves.