MLB labor talks: New playoff proposals emerge

An MLB proposal for an expanded playoffs "includes the ability for division winners to pick their wild-card opponent," according to sources. The format, proposed as part of ongoing CBA negotiations, "would call for 14 teams -- seven from each league -- to make the playoffs, four more than currently play in the postseason." The team with the best record in each league "would get a bye into the best-of-five division series." Sources said that there are "mixed feelings on the proposal." Meanwhile, a "more recent addition to the negotiations is an NBA-style lottery system for the draft." The league "believes it will at least partly address players' tanking concerns." It remains "unclear if either proposal will be implemented into the new CBA" (ESPN.com, 11/29).