-- Bud Selig, when asked if ten playoff teams -- which Selig is strongly considering for 2012 -- is “fair.” And 12 is more fair than ten, and 16 is way more fair than 12. We can play this game all day if we want to.
Either way, with the union appearing to adopt the idea of an expanded playoff wholeheartedly, it seems inevitable that it’s going to happen. Baseball will survive this, just as as it survived the wild card. But let’s not equate survival with optimal conditions, OK? Baseball’s playoffs are better than the other sports precisely because mediocre teams are, for the most part, kept out.
And, it’s worth noting, if there was a 10-team setup this year, there would have been basically zero pennant race drama whatsoever apart from a bit of a battle between Boston and Chicago for the fifth slot in the AL. The whole thing between San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta would have been totally academic.