Division Series format changed..

[pinklemo]

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball owners approved a one-year shift of the format for the best-of-five game Division Series at their joint meeting on Thursday morning.

For this season only, the Division Series will begin with two home games for lower-seeded teams, followed by up to three home games for higher-seeded teams. The change, which will eliminate a travel day prior to a Game 5, was necessary because the 2012 regular-season schedule had no wiggle room to accommodate the one-game Wild Card playoff games that will be added this year.

The regular-season schedule was announced last year before an agreement on the expanded postseason format was reached between the owners and Players Association that will add one Wild Card team in each league. There will still be a scheduled travel day between Games 2 and 3 in the Division Series.

anyone agree with this? yeah the higher seed team gets one more game but doesn't this defeat the purpose of home field advantage. Not only would you get more games but the first 2, and this doesn't have that.

[Kurtz]

The lower-seed team gets the first two games at home in a 3 game series. Yep, that's pretty silly.

Baseball totally fudged up the way they handled the extra wild card slot. Expanding the playoff entrants was a good move and long overdue, but they way they structured the whole thing is absurd.

[s e n s i]

The lower-seed team gets the first two games at home in a 3 game series. Yep, that's pretty silly.

Baseball totally fudged up the way they handled the extra wild card slot. Expanding the playoff entrants was a good move and long overdue, but they way they structured the whole thing is absurd.

no the wild card playoff is a 1 game do-or-die, played at the park of the WC team with the better record. this change is for the ALDS/NLDS...instead of the typical 2-2-1 format, they are changing it to 2-3, with the division winner getting the 3 games at home.

[Skin Blues]

The first two rounds of the playoffs weren't enough of a joke already, apparently. Now to accomodate the ridiculousness of a one-game "series", they give the better team home field disadvantage.

[RocLaFamilia]

The lower-seed team gets the first two games at home in a 3 game series. Yep, that's pretty silly.

Baseball totally fudged up the way they handled the extra wild card slot. Expanding the playoff entrants was a good move and long overdue, but they way they structured the whole thing is absurd.

no the wild card playoff is a 1 game do-or-die, played at the park of the WC team with the better record. this change is for the ALDS/NLDS...instead of the typical 2-2-1 format, they are changing it to 2-3, with the division winner getting the 3 games at home.

That's how I understood it as well, which too me is still a big advantage for the top seed, because if they can steal a game in the first 2, they then have 3 games straight at home.

[Parataxis]

The first two rounds of the playoffs weren't enough of a joke already, apparently. Now to accomodate the ridiculousness of a one-game "series", they give the better team home field disadvantage.

It's still home field advantage. If the home team wins each game, the higher seeded team still wins. And being down 2-0 doesn't mean much if you can win the next three.

[pinklemo]

The first two rounds of the playoffs weren't enough of a joke already, apparently. Now to accomodate the ridiculousness of a one-game "series", they give the better team home field disadvantage.

It's still home field advantage. If the home team wins each game, the higher seeded team still wins. And being down 2-0 doesn't mean much if you can win the next three.

if im the better team, id still want a 2-0 lead than 1-1 tie or being behind 0-2.

its a joke really

[Parataxis]

The first two rounds of the playoffs weren't enough of a joke already, apparently. Now to accomodate the ridiculousness of a one-game "series", they give the better team home field disadvantage.

It's still home field advantage. If the home team wins each game, the higher seeded team still wins. And being down 2-0 doesn't mean much if you can win the next three.

if im the better team, id still want a 2-0 lead than 1-1 tie or being behind 0-2.

its a joke really

If I'm the better team, all I really care about is that at the end of the series, I have three wins.

It's not the best way of organizing it, but it's not as bad as some people are making out. And it's much better than doing it the other way (3-2)