MLB players, managers and execs Thursday weighed in on the imminent announcement that the league will add two more teams to the playoffs beginning this season. Yankees SS Derek Jeter said, "It puts even more importance on winning the division, but that’s always been the plan anyway. I think it’s good. It will make things more interesting." Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira said, "The wild card is no longer a safety net. You can win 10 games more than the team behind you, but you’re going to have to play them in a one-game playoff -- and anything can happen in one game. Nobody wants to be that wild card" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/2).Yankees manager Joe Girardi: "You don’t want to be in that one-game playoff. Your motivation is to win the division" (N.Y. POST, 3/2). Blue Jays manager John Farrell: "It’s great for baseball and I hope it comes into play this year. Any time you increase opportunity and potential late in the season, it’s going to keep the divisional and league races going deeper into the month of September" (TORONTO SUN, 3/2). Rockies RF Michael Cuddyer: "This is a good number. If it goes beyond five teams, that's way too many. This caters to the fan, and that's what we are all about." Rockies 1B Jason Giambi: "If you have to burn your ace in the play-in game, that's huge. I like the idea that the division winner gets an edge. You have earned that over 162 games" (DENVER POST, 3/2). Rays 3B Evan Longoria said, "It was pretty unanimous around the league that the more playoff spots the better. Once you get into the playoffs, it's more revenue for the ball club, it's more excitement for the players, so I think it would be a no-brainer for everybody" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/2). Phillies P Dave Bush: "If we could recreate that one-game playoff with Wild Card teams, that would be great. And there would be more incentive to win the division" (MLB.com, 3/1).
MORE CHANCES TO MAKE POSTSEASON: In Newark, Andy McCullough writes the expected introduction of a second wild card "was greeted with support inside the Mets' clubhouse." The reasoning "is simple: Players appreciate the greater opportunity to vie for the postseason. More meaningful games will appear on the schedule." Mets 3B David Wright said the expanded field "would have been nice five years ago," when the Mets lost the NL East to the Phillies by one game. Wright: "It'll be good for the game. Any time you get that win-or-go-home mentality, it's good for the players, it's good for the fans" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 3/2). Marlins P Josh Johnson: "Just another chance for us to get in, if that's what we need." Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen: "I'd rather have another chance to win than no chance" (PALM BEACH POST, 3/2).
TOO MUCH RIDING ON ONE GAME: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes the "biggest complaint of the new playoff system is that after enduring a grueling 162-game season and earning a playoff berth, two teams can be eliminated in 24 hours." Cardinals Senior VP & GM John Mozeliak said, "All of us that participate in a 162-game season, you always wish you had at least a best-of-five (playoff). I guess you think of it now as a play-in game" (USA TODAY, 3/2). Braves CF Michael Bourn said, "It doesn’t make sense. You play all those games just to play one game? It would be better to play a series, even just a three-game series. We don’t play a one-game series the whole year and now we’re going to play one game in the playoffs? Add another team, that’s cool. But one game? Come on, man." Braves 3B Chipper Jones: "The season’s already long enough. I know the almighty buck triggers everything, but when is enough enough? ... One game is cutthroat. It’s win-or-go-home baseball, and players aren’t like that" (AJC.com, 3/1). In N.Y., Tyler Kepner noted the "downside is just how the extra games will fit into a packed October calendar." With travel "issues, potential tiebreakers, the threat of bad weather, and everyone’s desire for the World Series to end before Nov. 1, this could be the scheduling equivalent of a 10-car pile-up." But kicking off the postseason "with two win-or-go-home games will give baseball a dash of March Madness or the NFL playoffs" (NYTIMES.com, 3/1).
WE KNOW DRAMA: The N.Y. Daily News’ John Harper said of the new MLB playoff format, “It insures that we're going to get drama. With a one-game playoff, it’s going to be a huge deal. It may not be fair, especially one wild card team could win 95 games and the second one wins 85, and one game decides which team goes on for the playoffs. For a season that's 162 games, that's not really the ideal way to settle things. But at this point, it's about the fans, bringing fans to the sport and this makes for great drama.” The N.Y. Daily News’ Tim Smith said, “It's going to add some juice to the end of the season, for sure. That's probably what you're going to need in some situations and in certain segments because sometimes teams just sort of run away with things and then there are dead teams in there” (“Daily News Live,” SportsNet N.Y., 3/2). SportsNet N.Y.’s Marc Malusis said, “You add more cities, more teams, more interest later on in the year. I do like it. I think it's a good job by Major League Baseball and Bud Selig.” However, SportsNet N.Y.’s Meredith Marakovits: “Wild Card Wednesday this past season was some of the best baseball I've ever seen and I hope you don't lose that as the season is coming to a close because of this one-game playoff” (“The WheelHouse,” SportsNet N.Y., 3/2). SI.com’s Joe Sheehan said, “You don't fix a problem with the wild card by adding another wild card, like fixing lung cancer by smoking more cigarettes. ... It’s going to be a real sham. You're going to throw away 162 games of baseball in one afternoon” (“NBC Sports Talk,” NBC Sports Network, 3/1).
