For the second year in a row, the Cape League will have a new playoff structure in 2010.
I haven’t seen anything official from the league, but Wareham’s web site — kind of the captain of the league web sites — is reporting that four out of five teams from each division will now make the playoffs. It was three this year, and two for as long as I can remember before that.
With eight teams, there will now be four opening-round playoff series, two division championship series and the league championship series.
I gotta say, when we talked about solutions as the league slogged through dozens of doubleheaders to cram in the last games of a rain-soaked season, I didn’t think “Adding Another Playoff Series” would be the answer. Seems kind of counter-intuitive.
The positives? It’s a guaranteed East vs. West championship match-up, which I like. We also won’t have the one-game playoff like last year, and I think that’s a good thing to scrap. Baseball wasn’t built for that.
But more games? I’m not sure I like it. Yes, it could be mitigated by the fact that each team will play at least two scheduled doubleheaders; I guess that’s all the extra days you really need. But if monsoon season rolls in again, that’s going to be trouble.
And the more teams in? I’m pretty sure I don’t like that. I understand that it’s good for the franchises, but I really feel like eight teams making the playoffs out of 10 is too many. If this system had been in place last year, Brewster (17-22-5) and Falmouth (17-24-2) would have been in. If one of those teams caught fire in the postseason, good for them, but at that point, you start asking questions about the importance of the regular season. I guess parity has reigned lately so any team could have a shot, but I feel like you have to earn that shot over the course of 44 games. Not over the course of nine games.
What does everybody think?
In other news from that same story, the season will start Sunday, June 13th with a one-game slate. Thanks to Wareham’s Scott Eaton for getting all of this info out there.
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I like this better than the 2009 format. That one game play-in was a bad idea. Baseball is not meant to be played by having one game decide a playoff. It happened in MLB last year with the Twins – White Sox and this year with the Twins – Tigers, but there isn’t much else you can do if teams are tied after 162 games.
I understand why some people won’t like the idea of 8 of 10 teams making the playoffs. That’s getting close to the watered-down NHL and NBA where so many teams qualify that it’s hard not to make the playoffs! I’m on the fence with this part of the change but I’m leaning to being OK with it because most years, the talent gap on the Cape isn’t that great from one team to another – even from the first place team to the fourth place team. I’m very glad that they are going back to an East vs. West championship round.
I’m guessing this is being driven by money. Isn’t everything? Teams will lose one home date by hosting a doubleheader. Eight teams will make up that date by hosting at least one playoff game. Most teams will host more than one playoff game. A first-place team that makes it all the way to the championship round could host as many as six playoff games. That could be a significant income boost.
The two last-place teams will have 21 home dates instead 22.
If you read the story literally, it says “teams will play at least one scheduled double-header at home and one on the road.” That seems to leave the door open for a team to host more than one scheduled doubleheader, in addition to any doubleheaders that may have to be played due to postponements.
It should be interesting, but I feel this is a big improvement over what we had this year.
I didn’t like this format when I first read it but now I’m OK with having 8 teams. While a sub .500 team can and may get hot and make it deep into or actually win the playoffs, does it really matter?
This is a league that prides itself on the notion of preparing players for the next level and not neccessarily about “winning”. If a 4th place Falmouth team ends up beating a 1st place YD team in the finals then so be it.
The season is only 44 games…the first 10 games or so for many teams are played with incomplete rosters as players complete their college seasons. The last few games are also often played with rosters that have been affected by players leaving early. Additionally, the league now asks teams to preserve their all-star pitchers for the all-star game. That gives a 30 game assessment of each team. Is that really enough?
I say it is not and that perhaps a 4th place team with a sub .500 by the time the playoffs come around really are a better team than the clubs above them in the standings at that point.
Lastly, these home playoff games are HUGE from a revenue standpoint for these franchises and the league. From a non-profit standpoint, why NOT play an extra playoff series. I think it will be fun.
The thing that kind of gets me about this is that, to me, making the playoffs is supposed to be the mark of a good team. Leagues, in any sport, that expand the post-season to include half the teams in the league seem to be missing something. If you only have to be so-so to make the playoffs, what’s the point of the whole regular season?
Now, granted, I realize that summer ball leagues are about player development. In that respect I guess let’s get as many innings in as possible. But from a fan standpoint, it just seems kind of counter intuitive to make the playoffs less exclusive.