MLB players are taking a more conservative approach to playoff expansion, while owners are angling for a more expanded fieldGETTY IMAGES
MLB will "soon feature an expanded playoff format," and the "only thing up for debate is whether that field will increase to 14 teams, or 12, as the players have proposed," according to Sean McAdam of the BOSTON SPORTS JOURNAL. The players, whom "you might expect to be in favor of more playoff teams and the additional money for their postseason shares," are actually "taking a more conservative approach." The owners, meanwhile, with "visions of TV money piled high," are "angling for a more expanded field." Owners propose "three division winners and four wild card teams." Under this plan, the division winner with the best record in each league will "get a first-round bye." The other six teams would "square off in a best-of-three Wild Card round series," with the other two division winners "choosing their first-round opponents from among the three wild card entrants." This would "come as part of a TV show itself." The players also have offered two plans: one in which the "three-division set-up" that MLB has had since '94, and another in which it "reverts back to two divisions in each league." Under the three-division plan, the top two division winners would "get a Wild Card round bye." In a two-division plan, the division winners would "get a Wild Card round bye," and the four Wild Cards would "square off in traditional best-of-three series." This new setup would "almost guarantee" that the World Series would "drag into early November" (BOSTON SPORTS JOURNAL, 1/30).
MONEY TALKS: In S.F., John Shea wrote a "beefier" playoff bracket is "on the table for the same reason everything else is on the table." Shea: "Money. Lots and lots of money." Postseason games generate "gobs of TV (and gate) revenue for owners," and players are using the playoff bracket as a "bargaining chip to obtain what they want on other fronts." With 14 playoff teams last season, a fourth AL East team would have been included, the Blue Jays, along with the Mariners, plus the Reds and Phillies in the NL, despite the fact they won 83 and 82 games, respectively. Shea: "Is that what we really want?" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/30).
FINALLY SOME PROGRESS: In Toronto, Gregor Chisholm wrote MLB still is not "remotely close" to announcing a new labor agreement, but whenever a new deal emerges, both sides will "likely look back on this past week as the turning point in the contentious talks." The first "major concession" came last Monday when the players "dropped their demand for age-based free agency." The second was made later in the week by the owners, who "gave in to the idea of creating a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players." So, there was movement in "two key areas." That is "progress," and "finally something each side can build from." After previously going six weeks between bargaining sessions, both sides now know "full well" that if they do not reach an agreement soon, the start of spring training "could be delayed." And if there is not "much movement over the next couple of weeks," opening day could be "pushed back as well." But the pace of negotiations from here is "impossible to predict" (TORONTO STAR, 1/30). MLB Network’s Jon Morosi said last week brought "engagement on both sides about key aspects of the future CBA.” Instead of the sides playing “three-dimensional chess about philosophical questions, we’re now getting down to, we agree on certain aspects of the way this CBA will look. How do we now meet in the middle?” The next week to 10 days are "pretty crucial if we want to see spring training begin on time” (“MLB Tonight,” MLB Network, 1/28).
