Bud Selig announced yesterday that, based on the recommendation of his special committee, the schedules for the 2010 League Championship Serieseseses have been shortened by eliminating an off-day between Games 4 and 5. Inasmuch as it was a totally superfluous off-day, this is a good thing. Next up, in all likelihood, will be expanding the division series from a best of five to a best of seven affair. That, however, will have to wait until at least the 2012 season, as it has to be the subject of collective bargaining. The players want it, however, so it shouldn’t be a big problem making it happen.
I’m for a longer LDS partially because more baseball is an absolute good, but also because the longer a playoff series is, the more likely that the stronger overall team will advance. As it is now, a team with great depth, especially in the rotation, has a distinct advantage in the regular season. Yet in a short, drawn-out playoff series, they are at a disadvantage as compared to a Spahn-and-Sain-and-three-days-of-rain kind of team, and that kind of bugs me.
Obviously the key to all of this working is the whole schedule, not just one random off-day, being condensed and optimized. The easiest way to do that is to tell FOX or whoever has the broadcast rights that they don’t get to dictate when a playoff series starts. I know TV will cry and moan about this, but we’re all grownups. We can handle it.