cabbageboy 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2006 Having read that here's the problem. First off, we're talking about 4-7 games here. Fans might be willing to travel for 1 game like the Super Bowl, but not so much a 7 game series. Aside from the NFL, which other sports have neutral sites in the title series or game? The NBA has home court throughout the playoffs where the team with the best record has home court. Ditto NHL. If anything, baseball needs something like that rather than a neutral site. Let's face it, baseball has always done bizarre things with World Series home field. It used to alternate, but what sense did it make for an 85-77 Twins team to have home field in 1987? Just make it the team with the best record overall gets home field. No need in All Star Games deciding it, just give home field to the best team. Maybe use the All Star Game as a tiebreaker if both teams have the same record, like say if the Yankees and Mets both made it this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
USC Wuz Robbed! 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2006 They can absolutely go down to a neutral site for 7 games if they made a vacation out of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2006 The neutral site is better for sportswriters, and that's about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
USC Wuz Robbed! 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2006 What do I know? Baseball isn't that hot anyways. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NYankees Report post Posted November 2, 2006 http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plasch...1&cset=true A neutral site works for three of the top four championships, why not in baseball? Award the game to a warm-weather or domed-stadium city. Play seven consecutive games there. Turn it into an annual celebration of our national pastime, Baseball Town USA. If the Super Bowl can party in one spot for one week, why can't baseball? This will end the travel-day drudgery that busts momentum. This will end the weather postponements that ruin interest. This will ensure that the most important games are played under ideal conditions. Worried about alienating home fans? Have you ever heard an NFL die-hard complain that the Super Bowl is not played at their home field? Divide up the tickets, give more to the team whose league has home-field advantage, and every game will be a sold-out blast. I guess this idiot has never been to Yankee stadium for the World Series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kahran Ramsus 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2006 I complain every year about warm-weather sites and domes being used for the Super Bowl. Play the game in Buffalo or Green Bay, like the way it was meant to be played. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2006 What the hell is he talking about? Three of the top four championships are played at a neutral site? Last time I checked, NHL, NBA and MLB all played their championship series at their home sites. He's not counting college sports is he? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vern Gagne 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2006 Having read that here's the problem. First off, we're talking about 4-7 games here. Fans might be willing to travel for 1 game like the Super Bowl, but not so much a 7 game series. Aside from the NFL, which other sports have neutral sites in the title series or game? The NBA has home court throughout the playoffs where the team with the best record has home court. Ditto NHL. If anything, baseball needs something like that rather than a neutral site. Let's face it, baseball has always done bizarre things with World Series home field. It used to alternate, but what sense did it make for an 85-77 Twins team to have home field in 1987? Just make it the team with the best record overall gets home field. No need in All Star Games deciding it, just give home field to the best team. Maybe use the All Star Game as a tiebreaker if both teams have the same record, like say if the Yankees and Mets both made it this year. Best record can be skewed if the rest of the league isn't that strong. So I don't think that's completley fair either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Man in Blak 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2006 Okay, here's a thought on an alternate playoff scenario. Same divisional structures and wild cards apply to guarantee that each league grants playoff spots to four teams. However, rather that forcing the wild card to play the top divisional team, seed the teams appropriately by regular season record (The 1 seed plays the 4, and the 2 seed plays the 3). Head-to-head record is used for a tiebreaker, if the seeds share the same record. Ties with more than two teams are a little tricky, but they can work in one of two ways: - If three teams tie for the 2nd best regular season record, the Wild Card automatically gets the 4 seed. - If three teams tie for the best regular season record and they're all division champions, the champion of the division with the Wild Card automatically gets the 1 seed. - If all four teams somehow, inexplicably, tie for the regular season record, the division with two tied teams break their "tie" with head to head, with the winner being the 1 seed and the loser being the 4 seed. The five games series length stays for the LDS format, but the higher seed in the matchup hosts all five games of the series. The LCS stays at seven games, but the higher seed gets an extra game of home field advantage, with a 2-2-3 series format. Once again, if the record is somehow the same (very improbable, at this point), head-to-head record breaks the tie. The World Series format remains the same, with 2-3-2 for a best of seven. The higher seeded team gets home field advantage (i.e. the NL's 1 seed would have the advantage over the AL's 2, 3, and 4 seeds). If the seeds meeting in the World Series are identical, ties are broken by record through the playoffs, then by regular season record. Last ditch tiebreaker for all scenarios is run differential (runs scored - runs allowed). If that is somehow the same, you might as well just flip a damn coin. Just to put this in perspective for recent playoffs, you'd have the following setup for the LDS for the last few years: 2006 LDS: Yankees host the A's Twins host the Tigers Mets host the Cardinals Padres host the Dodgers (won head-to-head, 13-5) 2005 LDS: White Sox host the Red Sox Angels host the Yankees (won head-to-head, 6-4) Cardinals host the Padres Braves host the Astros 2004 LDS: Yankees host the Twins (Twins lose head-to-head to Angels, 5-4) Red Sox host the Angels Cardinals host the Astros Braves host the Dodgers 2003 LDS: Yankees host the Twins A's host the Red Sox Braves host the Cubs Giants host the Marlins Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2006 Best record can be skewed if the rest of the league isn't that strong. So I don't think that's completley fair either. Whichever team has the best record over 162 games deserves home field, weaker league or not Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
