Play Ball: MLB Playoffs Today Begin With Intriguing Storylines

The MLB Playoffs get underway this afternoon "dotted with big markets -- New York, Boston and two teams from Los Angeles -- and storylines that sell," according to Ben Goessling of the WASHINGTON TIMES. The Yankees are "back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus," and Dodgers manager Joe Torre could "face his old team in a Dodgers-Yankees series." Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez also would face his former team if the Dodgers and the Red Sox reach the World Series. Meanwhile, the Phillies are "trying to become the first repeat champions" since the Yankees in '00 and the first from the NL since the Reds in '76. Four of the seven largest media markets in the country are represented, and the "prospect of a ratings boost couldn't come at a better time for MLB, which saw attendance drop for the second straight year." However, the "flip side of the higher-profile slate of playoff teams is a renewed round of questions about whether baseball's pay-for-postseason culture has returned" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/7). MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said of the postseason spots being dominated by big-budget clubs, "I believe this is an aberration, but certainly I'm going to watch it. Nobody is prouder of revenue-sharing and our new economic system than I am" ("Mike & Mike in the Morning," ESPN2, 10/7).

GREAT WAY TO GET IT STARTED: In Boston, Nick Cafardo wrote MLB "might have come under some criticism for the scheduling issue which delayed" the Tigers-Twins one-game AL Central playoff to last night while the Vikings hosted the Packers at the Metrodome for "MNF," but the wait was "well worth it." The "positive feedback from such a great game was well worth the scheduling snafu." One AL exec said, "If you're advertising why you should watch playoff baseball, all you had to do was watch that game. It kept you on the edge of your seat. It was everything baseball was all about" (BOSTON.com, 10/6). USA TODAY's Mike Lopresti wrote MLB needs a "compelling October ... as it fights the annual autumn battle not to be swallowed by the NFL." The World Series "has been decided in five games or fewer" each year since '04, and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said it is "very" important for the World Series to last longer. Selig: "I say it to myself every World Series, so it's a fair question" (USA TODAY, 10/6).

CALENDAR CALL: In Detroit, Tony Paul writes this year's World Series will be "only the second World Series to conclude in November, after the 2001 classic," which was pushed back due to the attacks of September 11. Paul: "We thought commissioner Bud Selig took this matter seriously last fall, when crummy weather in Philadelphia forced the suspension of Game 5. ... That stop-and-go, combined with the unheralded Rays' presence, led to the worst ratings in World Series history. Yet, here we are just one year later, starting the World Series later than ever, three days before Halloween" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/7).

FIVE ALIVE: In N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote leading up to the MLB Playoffs, there has been a "determined call for the first round to expand to a best-of-seven affair," but Turner President of Sales, Distribution & Sports David Levy said that "no one from MLB has approached him about going from best-of-five to best-of-seven." Levy: "From a business standpoint, I wouldn't mind having some more games, basically because Turner controls the divisional series. But you know what, I think there's something special about a five-game series versus a seven-game series" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/4). Selig said while the league will "always consider change," he is currently "content to leave things exactly as they are" regarding the playoff setup. Selig: "If you vote in an additional Wild Card team, you're talking about more games. Nobody seemed to be interested in just a one-game playoff. The players really didn't like it. ... There is no club who is interested in reducing the regular season, and I don't blame them. Economically, it doesn't make any sense" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN2, 10/7). He added, “We have the least amount of playoff teams. I’m proud of that" ("Mike Francesa," YES Network, 10/6).