RUMOR: Marlins or Astros to move to AL

[Spider-Dan]

How can it be the top five teams out of each league?  One team gets a bye?  That doesn't sound likely.

[Tenshot13]

How can it be the top five teams out of each league?  One team gets a bye?  That doesn't sound likely.

He definitely said 5.  Probably misspoke.

[SportsChick]

No, probably not a mis-speak. Have you not all heard that they want to expand the playoffs? There would be two wildcards and they would play a three game series before the rest began - like a play in series

[bsfins]

I found these through MLBtraderumors.com....

Bob Nightnegale mentions the Diamond backs move to the Al, moving the Astros to the NL west...
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2011-06-13-major-league-baseball-realignment-arizona-diamondbacks_n.htm

Then Steve Gilbert of MLB.com,says the Diamondbacks might be open to the a move to the AL
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110613&content_id=20445572&vkey=news_ari&c_id=ari&partnerId=rss_ari

[Brian Fein]

No one likes the Diamondbacks anyway, take them.

Seems like, essentially, there would be 6 teams out of 10 with first round byes.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

How can it be the top five teams out of each league?  One team gets a bye?  That doesn't sound likely.

With 5 teams...you can't have one team get a bye...3 teams would get a bye.

4 vs. 5 --- then 1 v 4/5 and 2 v 3. 

If you only give one team a bye than it is 2 v5, 4 v 3.  And in round 2 you have three teams unless you want to give the #1 seed two byes. 

[SportsChick]

There wouldn't be a bye

[mecadonzilla]

I'd be fine with any realignment for the most part as long as MLB gets rid of the unbalanced schedules that cause the Yankees and Red Sox to play seemingly every other series and get rid of the rule where the winner of the All Star Game gets home field advantage in the World Series.

Sorry for the hi-jack. 

[StL FinFan]

Each league used to have just East and West, and then they had to go and do the stupid Central division thing.  So now they are talking about going back to just 2 divisions?  Maybe the Cardinals can be in the West this time so they can say they have been in all 3.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

and get rid of the rule where the winner of the All Star Game gets home field advantage in the World Series.

I'll bite.  How should they determine who gets homefield adv?  Someone has to have it.  I think this method is better than all others tried. 

[Brian Fein]

^^ How about which team has the better record?  Just a thought....

[Pappy13]

^^ How about which team has the better record?  Just a thought....

The point of the all-star game determining home feld adv was to make the game meaningful, not to accurately determine a home field adv for the 2 clubs in the series.

Take that away and the All-star game again becomes irrelevent and both sides go back to playing starters 2 or 3 innings.

I like it the way it is. I don't believe that home field advantage is much of an advantage anyway.

[Brian Fein]

The all-star game is an exhibition.  Its supposed to be fun.  If it was serious, then most guys would never crack the lineup.  You'd only have 1 starting pitcher on each roster.  Fans of teams NOT named "Yankees" and "Red Sox" would likely never get to see their favorite players play.

But, who cares about the fans, right?

[Spider-Dan]

WS homefield should be determined by overall interleague record (between the leagues), with All-Star Game as a tiebreaker.

[Sunstroke]

^^^ But then you end up having scheduling disparities and other minutia deciding things.

Alternate the home field advantage from one year to the next...

Voilla! Fairness.