Bud Selig Has Set a New Low
Any time Bud Selig has something to do with anything it is bound to be stupid. He is going to be gone pretty soon, and it seems like he wants to leave us with one last bad thing before his reign of stupid is over. Selig and his "special committee for on-field matters" have begun investigating a MLB realignment strategy that you have to see to believe.
The proposal involves teams no longer being tied down to divisions, meaning they can change each season based on a number of factors. Those factors include geography, payroll, and interest in competing. That's right interest in competing. Basically if a team like the Royals has no interest in actually winning games in a given season they can elect to move to the AL East where extra games against the Red Sox and Yankees would boost income while losing just as many games.
The article I linked to there uses the Indians as the example of doing the same thing. They know they aren't winning anything this season, why not go to a division with more profitable and popular opponents. On the other side (again this example comes from the article) a team like the Rays can leave the AL East and dominate the AL Central.
click read more to continue reading Do I really need to explain how stupid this idea is? While I don't find myself particularly attached to the way the divisions are currently aligned, I really don't think we need to change them each season based on who cares to win or not. Not to mention I'm not sold on the idea working at all in the National League.
The main draw of the NL Central (excuse me for the Cubs-centric world I live in) is the Cubs and to a lesser extent the Cardinals. Just like the Red Sox and Yankees fans fill up opposing stadiums, the Cubs do the same. Would any Central team want to give that up? Without a Central team wanting to move the NL could never change, since a move of more than 2 time zones wouldn't be allowed (this whole thing just sounds dumb when I type it).
So basically the NL would never change, unless I'm missing something. Meanwhile the AL would become a 5 or 6 team league that is constantly breaking the wins record. The Red Sox and Yankees would get to face a division of really bad teams each season, meaning their win totals would be well north of 100. Meanwhile the West and Central would become a cluster of mediocrity.
How about this Bud- if realignment is really that imporant to you then find a better way of doing it. Don't let teams decide if they plan on tanking a season, its basically allowing them to spit in the faces of their fans. Nothing like dropping $5000 on season tickets to watch the Royals or Indians lost 115 games on purpose.
