As a long-time Ranger fan, I endorse this move. We need another Seattle in the division.

I'm revising my prediction, and no longer expect the Pirates to finish 6th in the NL Central.

/not ruling it out; they may still find a way

Two wild cards per league?

Welcome to Hockey playoffs!

Cybernetic: Why not just put Milwaukee back into the American League?

Who do you move out of the AL Central then?

Cybernetic: Why not just put Milwaukee back into the American League?

Because Bud Selig is a farkstick, that's why.

/bitter Astros fan

I thought this was announced a month or two ago.

15th worst team

That word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Cybernetic: Why not just put Milwaukee back into the American League?

With the way the MLB ownership rules work, it can be blocked. However, they can impose any restrictions they damn well please on the new guy. So, it is infinitely easier to make the Astros move than any currently stable owned franchise.

======================
Look at it this way, Astros fans, you can pay Carlos Lee ridiculous amounts of money to be a DH instead of paying him ridiculous amounts of money to be a crappy left fielder.

epyonyx: I thought this was announced a month or two ago.

It was rumored but it's now official. As a long time Astros fan this is terrible. Since 1962 this team has been a NL team. The fans want this to be a NL team and the new owner is willing to ignore this to save some money.

Good. The Astros always gave the Bravos a tough time for some reason no matter how bad they were.

With two 15-team leagues, an interleague game will be played every day during the season to balance the schedule

The only reason I go to church anymore is to pray for the death of Bud Selig.

If I was a 'Stro's fan I'd be farking livid. It's bad enough to suffer thru losing seasons, but now you're going to be forced to play shiatty AL ball? The farking DH is a blight upon humanity.

I am mostly afraid Jim Crane will turn into Frank McCourt 2.0. His purchase of the Astros is being paid for mostly by debt which more often than not does not end well for the franchise. The AL move gave him a $70 million discount on the purchase. See you in bankruptcy court in the near future.

See...
LA Dodgers
Sacramento Kings
Dallas Stars
Texas Rangers (Pre Nolan Ryan)
Dallas Mavericks (pre Cuban)
Manchester U (Glazer buy out)
NY Mets
Phoenix Coyotes
Pittsburgh Penguins (had to sell team to Lemieux)
Chicago Cubs
etc...

About time.

I think the 162 games should be broken down like this:

15 (5x3) interleague games against another division, matchups rotate each year
3 interleague "rivalry" games (Sox/Cubs, Yankees/Mets, etc.)
60 (10x6) intraleague against other divisions
84 (21x4) in-division games

JosephFinn: Cybernetic: Why not just put Milwaukee back into the American League?

Who do you move out of the AL Central then?

The Royals. Then they swap the Rockies and the Padres for the Rangers and the Angels, and the AL West is Kansas City, Colorado, Oakland, San Diego, and Seattle.

JosephFinn: Cybernetic: Why not just put Milwaukee back into the American League?

Who do you move out of the AL Central then?

KC and Houston are more or less the same distance from the west coast

DingleberryMoose: As a long-time Ranger fan, I endorse this move. We need another Seattle in the division.

As a Seattle fan, I would like to welcome the NEW cellar dwellers!

When I glanced the ESPN headline yesterday I thought the Astros were moving to Alabama. I was shocked and confused and then I was embarrassed.

So now every day will have some random interleague game?

I don't understand the need to ballance the two leagues.


Two Wildcards = retaaded. How does it work with 5 teams in a playoff tourney? A 'bye' doesn't really work in baseball as it's counter-productive.

As long as they actually reward division winners over the wild cards. From what I understand, the two wild-cards will play in a one-game playoff so that there is actually an incentive to win the division. Otherwise, we'll have Boston and NY not give a hoot if they finish in 1st or 2nd.

Why is this "Spiffy" and not "Stupid"?

If you're going to play interleague games all season, then just go all the way with it and settle on a single set of rules so everyone plays the same way. The way that the other league plays anyway is just dumb and should be abolished.

MugzyBrown: So now every day will have some random interleague game?

I don't understand the need to ballance the two leagues.


Two Wildcards = retaaded. How does it work with 5 teams in a playoff tourney? A 'bye' doesn't really work in baseball as it's counter-productive.

I vote for a one game wildcard playoff, every year. Done it a few times the past few years already anyways

As a Rangers fan I am actually looking forward to the possible rivalry.

Totally understand Astros fans sadness though.

Also don't really like the DH much. Nothing personal against any particular DH...just like the various strategies that having the pitcher hit brings to the game.

I like this move. Now, the Cubs only have to play there once every other year or so, instead of 9 times a year. Mind you, my hate is directed at the stadium, not the team. Pop fly to left, home run. Pop fly to left that would be a home run but was hit 10 feet to the left is a routine out. Fly ball to left-center is a home run if hits a line 15 feet up the wall, which comes straight down when it gets near center. Left of that line is a home run, right of the line is in play. The stupid man-made hill in center. The flag pole in play. The only thing normal about that place is right field. And what's with the train? I thought they were the Astros, not the Locomotives. Why not have a rocket going off in left field? In fact, just bring back games at the Astrodome and call it a day.

/end rant

Gunny Highway: When I glanced the ESPN headline yesterday I thought the Astros were moving to Alabama. I was shocked and confused and then I was embarrassed.

Hahaha, my wife told me the same thing when I got home yesterday. She said "Did you know the Astros are moving to Alabama?". She got a breaking news text from the local station saying Astros Move to AL.

MugzyBrown: Two Wildcards = retaaded. How does it work with 5 teams in a playoff tourney? A 'bye' doesn't really work in baseball as it's counter-productive.


I thought I had it bookmarked, but when Bud Selig offered the idea of expanding the Wild Card to include a second Wild Card team (what i called, "the Wild Wild Card"), I initially thought it was just him trying to get the big markets into the playoffs for TV revenue.

Then I went back and looked over the past 15 or so years, and while there were seasons when Yankees/Sox/Mets would have benefitted, I was more struck to see that there were years when, based upon the records, there were times when one division would have put 3 teams in teh so-called "wild wild card".

for example, I think in 2007 the Dodgers got the West, the D-Backs got the wild card, but based upon Selig's idea, the highest win total was the Rockies, who had more wins (despite being in 3rd place in their division) than the 2nd place team in another division. Nutty. there were also years when yeah, the wild wild card would have benefitted NYY / Boston. ehh.

dammit I can't find the thread.

NL Central now:
-Cards
-Stros
-Pirates
-Cubs
-Brew Crew
-Reds

AL Central-
-KC
-Indians
-South Side
-Tigers
-Twinkies

2 leagues, 3 divisions each - should be 5 teams per division, right?

Move the Brewers back to the AL, kick a team from AL Central to AL West. It's tough, having one Major League team between KC and Denver, but if Texas can be AL West, I think we can put the Brewers there, too.

JJRRutgers: As long as they actually reward division winners over the wild cards. From what I understand, the two wild-cards will play in a one-game playoff so that there is actually an incentive to win the division. Otherwise, we'll have Boston and NY not give a hoot if they finish in 1st or 2nd.

Nobody has care about placing first or second since 1994. My brother and uncle were at the final game between San Diego and Los Angeles in 1996 and they said it was boring. Despite first-place in the NL West being on the line, nobody in Dodger Stadium cared who won the game because both team were in the playoffs. Real men don't get excited about watching two teams play to have the fourth best record in the league.

The 1993 NL West race will be the last great pennant race in the history of baseball.

babysealclubber: If there is going to be interleague games everyday, abolish that abomination of a DH rule.


i know, i hate it.

and thank god the chatter of the D-Backs moving to the AL didn't come to fruition. because, yeah, it would have made a whole lot of sense to keep the NL Central with 6 teams, cut the NL West to 4 teams, to add a 5th team to the AL West.

a lot of people here (phoenix) wanted it to happen just because it would have brought the Yankees and Red Sox here a couple of times a year.

They've strayed so from tradition in the last 20 years that they should just destroy the old system and create an entirely new arrangements.

John Paul Jones: What, "try to bunt", "whatever you do, don't swing", or "and if you do hit it, don't run too hard or slide"?


there's a story i think from the 2001 World Series where Roger Clemens reached first, and the pitcher kept throwing to 1st, forcing Roger to scurry back to the bag with his sore hamstring. after 3-4 throws, Roger told the 1B (who, if i have the story right, would have been Mark Grace) "if he throws here one more time, you're getting a fastball in your ear next at bat".

Since 1995, here's who the 2nd Wild Card would've been:

95 - Astros, Angels
96 - Expos, Mariners
97 - Dodgers/Mets, Angels
98 - Giants, Blue Jays
99 - Reds, A's
00 - Dodgers, Indians
01 - Giants, Twins (That would've been interesting, watching an 85 win Twins team playoff against an A's team that won 102 freaking games!)
02 - Dodgers, Mariners/Red Sox
03 - Astros, Mariners
04 - Giants, A's
05 - Phillies, Indians
06 - Phillies, White Sox
07 - Padres, Tigers/Mariners
08 - Yankees, Mets
09 - Giants, Rangers
10 - Padres, Red Sox
11 - Braves, Red Sox

So as you can see, some more smaller market teams got a chance, New York/Boston saw their chances of making the playoffs a near certainty, and we would've been denied the epic awesomeness of watching the Braves and Red Sox collapse this year. And still, the Cubs would not have benefitted. It just makes me laugh, that is all.

k4mi: Gunny Highway: When I glanced the ESPN headline yesterday I thought the Astros were moving to Alabama. I was shocked and confused and then I was embarrassed.

Hahaha, my wife told me the same thing when I got home yesterday. She said "Did you know the Astros are moving to Alabama?". She got a breaking news text from the local station saying Astros Move to AL.

A missed period or two can be a real game-changer.

Wellon Dowd: JJRRutgers: As long as they actually reward division winners over the wild cards. From what I understand, the two wild-cards will play in a one-game playoff so that there is actually an incentive to win the division. Otherwise, we'll have Boston and NY not give a hoot if they finish in 1st or 2nd.

Nobody has care about placing first or second since 1994. My brother and uncle were at the final game between San Diego and Los Angeles in 1996 and they said it was boring. Despite first-place in the NL West being on the line, nobody in Dodger Stadium cared who won the game because both team were in the playoffs. Real men don't get excited about watching two teams play to have the fourth best record in the league.

The 1993 NL West race will be the last great pennant race in the history of baseball.

And? 2007 Rockies/Padres/Dbacks was the most exciting playoff race in, well, the past 30+ years, despite the fact that it was over both the division and wildcard spots. And it had the most exciting and controversial finish to any playoff race I've ever even heard of.

bhcompy: Wellon Dowd: JJRRutgers: As long as they actually reward division winners over the wild cards. From what I understand, the two wild-cards will play in a one-game playoff so that there is actually an incentive to win the division. Otherwise, we'll have Boston and NY not give a hoot if they finish in 1st or 2nd.

Nobody has care about placing first or second since 1994. My brother and uncle were at the final game between San Diego and Los Angeles in 1996 and they said it was boring. Despite first-place in the NL West being on the line, nobody in Dodger Stadium cared who won the game because both team were in the playoffs. Real men don't get excited about watching two teams play to have the fourth best record in the league.

The 1993 NL West race will be the last great pennant race in the history of baseball.

And? 2007 Rockies/Padres/Dbacks was the most exciting playoff race in, well, the past 30+ years, despite the fact that it was over both the division and wildcard spots. And it had the most exciting and controversial finish to any playoff race I've ever even heard of.

Matt Holliday still hasn't touched home plate.

babysealclubber: If there is going to be interleague games everyday, abolish that abomination of a DH rule.

Indeed.