Contraction is Alive and Well and Living on espn.com

sweaver · 02-08-2002, 08:29 PM

Contraction may be off the table for this year, but the idea lives on. Witness this column posted on espn.com by Karl Ravech, Mr. Baseball Tonight:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/ravech_karl/1190990.html
OK, so now that the time factor for this year is removed, will there be contraction next year? Should there be? Which teams are most likely to be contracted? How could this be done?

This may be the true story of 2002, baseball style.

Xanadu Dragon · 02-08-2002, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Economically speaking, contraction will alleviate a burden on Major League Baseball to keep failing franchises afloat.

Great statement - if only he had included a how or why, maybe I could take it seriously.

BuzzBuzzard · 02-10-2002, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon

Great statement - if only he had included a how or why, maybe I could take it seriously.

XD - the answer to your question is slapping you in the face, especially on the 'how'. By eliminating the Expos, say, you have gotten rid of a team that can't make money. That is the how. You simply get rid of them and the problem begins to go away.

Xanadu Dragon · 02-10-2002, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BuzzBuzzard
XD - the answer to your question is slapping you in the face, especially on the 'how'. By eliminating the Expos, say, you have gotten rid of a team that can't make money. That is the how. You simply get rid of them and the problem begins to go away.

If a person has a broken arm, you could make the problem go away by killing them. Same logic, or lack there of, no?

gyb13 · 02-10-2002, 08:39 PM

It's not really killing the person. It's more like amputating the arm.

sweaver · 02-10-2002, 08:42 PM

I'm in favor of amputation as a treatment for head injuries. But that's another matter entirely.

OK, if we go with an assumption that contraction is good for what ails ya', how far should we really contract. Assume you got to decide how many clubs major league baseball should have. Remember there are currently 30. How many should there be?

gyb13 · 02-10-2002, 09:19 PM

I'd like to see 4 divisions of 8 teams each (bye bye wild card). You could relocate a team (say MON to Northern VA area), plus add two more (upper NJ and Mexico City?!), and go back to the golden age when winning pennants actually meant something.

sweaver · 02-10-2002, 09:24 PM

Can we clarify that as, two divisions in each league? And you want to add two teams, gyb, not contract, correct?

gyb13 · 02-10-2002, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sweaver
Can we clarify that as, two divisions in each league? And you want to add two teams, gyb, not contract, correct?

That's right! For the heck of it, here's one possible breakdown:
AL West: ANA, CHW, KC, MIN, OAK, SEA, TX, Mexico City
AL East: BAL, BOS, CLE, DET, NYY, TAM, TOR, New Jersey
NL West: ARI, CHC, COL, HOU, LA, STL, SD, SF
NL East: ATL, CIN, FLA, MIL, NYM, PHI, PIT, Washington
Like I said, it's just one possible breakdown, so don't point out issues with rivalries, the viability of MLB in Mexico, etc. The main point is just that I'd like to see MLB go back to two-division leagues (w/o the wild card), and I think there's enough talent worldwide to go around to field 32 teams.

KCBOOMER · 02-11-2002, 10:23 AM

Instead of breaking up your 32 team league along the traditional American & National League lines what say we break them up by big market - small market. Put all the big market teams in one league with absolutely no restrictions on spending. And all the small market teams in the other with hard salary cap.

The nice thing about this is that the big market teams could spend all they want and yet the small market teams would still get a team to the World Series.

gyb13 · 02-11-2002, 10:42 AM

But what would you do at the edges (teams ranked 15-17 in revenue)? Would they move from league to league as their market share moved? How would you deal with changing revenue streams?

KCBOOMER · 02-11-2002, 05:39 PM

Every year is a new year. Once the year is underway each team is "stuck" in their league.

As far as how the teams get assigned we can do it a number of ways, hell we could even ask for voulnteers.

gyb13 · 02-11-2002, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by KCBOOMER
The nice thing about this is that the big market teams could spend all they want and yet the small market teams would still get a team to the World Series.

The not-so-nice thing is that this doesn't give small market teams much of an incentive to improve their ballclubs. They can field a below average team and still have a shot at winning their lower-revenue league.

sweaver · 02-11-2002, 07:47 PM

I think, if you were to do something like this, you would have to completely split the leagues. The "lower revenue" league would become a AAAA minor league. No World Series.

Fuzzy Bear · 02-12-2002, 07:42 PM

I've said this before, in another post, but it is time for the US Congress to regulate baseball. They need to do this because of all the conning and bilking they do to taxpayers, some of which do not want to build new stadiums, training facilities, luxury boxes, etc. We don't need fewer teams; we need economic sanity.

If it comes to the point where MLB goes bankrupt and we have to start baseball from scratch, so be it. We'll always have baseball. It's Bud Selig and the Fox Dodgers we'll miss if that happens.

02-08-2002, 08:29 PM	#1
sweaver Netshrine Cleanup Hitter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The Mountain State Posts: 8,883	Contraction is Alive and Well and Living on espn.com Contraction may be off the table for this year, but the idea lives on. Witness this column posted on espn.com by Karl Ravech, Mr. Baseball Tonight: http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/ravech_karl/1190990.html OK, so now that the time factor for this year is removed, will there be contraction next year? Should there be? Which teams are most likely to be contracted? How could this be done? This may be the true story of 2002, baseball style.

02-10-2002, 08:39 PM	#5
gyb13 NS Omnipresent Brasilian Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Crazy George's playground Posts: 10,903	It's not really killing the person. It's more like amputating the arm. __________________ Gustavo NDF Moderator Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

02-10-2002, 09:19 PM	#7
gyb13 NS Omnipresent Brasilian Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Crazy George's playground Posts: 10,903	I'd like to see 4 divisions of 8 teams each (bye bye wild card). You could relocate a team (say MON to Northern VA area), plus add two more (upper NJ and Mexico City?!), and go back to the golden age when winning pennants actually meant something. __________________ Gustavo NDF Moderator Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

02-11-2002, 10:23 AM	#10
KCBOOMER NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Home of the T-Bones Posts: 11,116	Instead of breaking up your 32 team league along the traditional American & National League lines what say we break them up by big market - small market. Put all the big market teams in one league with absolutely no restrictions on spending. And all the small market teams in the other with hard salary cap. The nice thing about this is that the big market teams could spend all they want and yet the small market teams would still get a team to the World Series. __________________ KCBOOMER *Buck O'Neil: The Monarch of Baseball*

02-11-2002, 10:42 AM	#11
gyb13 NS Omnipresent Brasilian Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Crazy George's playground Posts: 10,903	But what would you do at the edges (teams ranked 15-17 in revenue)? Would they move from league to league as their market share moved? How would you deal with changing revenue streams? __________________ Gustavo NDF Moderator Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

02-10-2002, 08:42 PM	#6
sweaver Netshrine Cleanup Hitter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The Mountain State Posts: 8,883	I'm in favor of amputation as a treatment for head injuries. But that's another matter entirely. OK, if we go with an assumption that contraction is good for what ails ya', how far should we really contract. Assume you got to decide how many clubs major league baseball should have. Remember there are currently 30. How many should there be?

02-10-2002, 09:24 PM	#8
sweaver Netshrine Cleanup Hitter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The Mountain State Posts: 8,883	Can we clarify that as, two divisions in each league? And you want to add two teams, gyb, not contract, correct?

02-11-2002, 05:39 PM	#12
KCBOOMER NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Home of the T-Bones Posts: 11,116	Every year is a new year. Once the year is underway each team is "stuck" in their league. As far as how the teams get assigned we can do it a number of ways, hell we could even ask for voulnteers. __________________ KCBOOMER *Buck O'Neil: The Monarch of Baseball*

02-11-2002, 07:47 PM	#14
sweaver Netshrine Cleanup Hitter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: The Mountain State Posts: 8,883	I think, if you were to do something like this, you would have to completely split the leagues. The "lower revenue" league would become a AAAA minor league. No World Series.

02-12-2002, 07:42 PM	#15
Fuzzy Bear NetShrine's Evangelist Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Living by faith, and not by sight! Posts: 2,194	I've said this before, in another post, but it is time for the US Congress to regulate baseball. They need to do this because of all the conning and bilking they do to taxpayers, some of which do not want to build new stadiums, training facilities, luxury boxes, etc. We don't need fewer teams; we need economic sanity. If it comes to the point where MLB goes bankrupt and we have to start baseball from scratch, so be it. We'll always have baseball. It's Bud Selig and the Fox Dodgers we'll miss if that happens.

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