Kill the Wild-Card, Restore True Champions
PLUS: URIAS FOLLOWS FOOTSTEPS OF FORMER DODGER PITCHER TREVOR BAUER
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Miami slugger Jorge Soler, out with an oblique issue as the Fish fight for a wild-card spot, has had the problem before, spending time on the IL with oblique strains with the Kansas City Royals in 2020 and 2021 . . .
The Marlins also lost defending Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, who also went on the IL earlier this week, putting another dent in their faint playoff hopes . . .
Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber, a 40-homer man for the second straight year, is arguably the game’s most unconventional leadoff hitter, ranking fourth in home runs, third in strikeouts, and second in walk rate with a batting average below the Mendoza Line. He also has his own beer, called Schwarber’s, created by Yards Brewing and an ungrammatical slogan, “Work hard. Drink easy” . . .
Spencer Strider has 250 strikeouts with four starts remaining and stands with John Smoltz and Phil Niekro (262 in 1977) as the only Braves to tally 250-plus strikeouts in the modern era . . .
Leading Off
It’s High Time To Shrink the Playoffs, Scrap the Wild-Card
By Dan Schlossberg
Sorry, guys, but I’m not wild about the wild-card.
I hated it when there was one wild-card winner in the playoffs, hated it more when there were two, and absolutely detest the fact that there are three — expanding the post-season into a tournament that reeks of football, basketball, and hockey.
Baseball has a 162-game schedule for a reason: to determine the best team between the end of spring training and the start of the post-season.
Anything that creates the slightest chance that the best teams won’t reach the World Series is a travesty.
For example, the Miami Marlins managed to win two world championships without ever finishing first. In 31 seasons, including this one, the Fish have never won the NL East.
The 2002 Los Angeles Angels won their only World Series by getting hot when it counted, riding a wild-card into a world championship over another wild-card, the San Francisco Giants.
Though obviously a bold-faced revenue grab, the wild-card system was supposedly designed to retain interest in cities whose teams dropped out of contention in September.
To the contrary, the wild-card justifies mediocrity, creating the very real possibility that a team with more losses than wins can get hot just in time to win a world championship with a losing record. That would be a black mark against the game, as is anything that compromises the integrity of the World Series.
With six divisions in baseball today, isn’t there enough interest in the races for the division titles?
It’s a good storyline that the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached the playoffs 11 years in a row and the Atlanta Braves have the longest active streak — which will reach six this year — and also own the longest title streak (14) since the 1969 advent of divisional play.
Except for the East and West divisions of the National League, all of the divisions have real races going on.
There are even three-team races in two of those four, the AL West and NL Central. The American League East race is intriguing because every team is likely to finish over .500, while the American League Central is the weakest division in the land.
While wild-card standings change almost daily, does anyone really care about them? MLB Network keeps trying to make that case but isn’t very convincing.
The wild-card also weakens the trade deadline, with way too many teams (notably the 2023 Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres) thinking they’re still alive. That stifles trading and deprives fans of the most exciting aspect of baseball season between the All-Star Game and the playoffs.
Since baseball would be better balanced with 32 teams rather than the current 30, why not realign into four eight-team leagues, each split into divisions of four, and send the wild-card to the dustbin of baseball history?
Baseball has made plenty of changes, especially recently, but focusing on champions rather than also-rans would be an enormous improvement.
What say you, Rob Manfred?
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of 42 baseball books and a national baseball writer for forbes.com. Email him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
First Trevor Bauer, Now Julio Urias, Place Careers In Jeopardy
By Dan Schlossberg
What is it with these guys anyway?
First it was Trevor Bauer, who signed a nine-figure deal, then frittered away his career by violating Major League Baseball’s strict policy on domestic and sexual violence.
Now it’s Julio Urías, another star-quality pitcher but now on administrative leave while MLB investigates similar charges — for the second time.
Do the Dodgers not do thorough background checks on these guys?
And do the players themselves think they’re invulnerable, safe from fines, suspension, or even discovery?
In a statement that sounds eerily reminiscent of the one that followed the Bauer case, the team said, “The Dodgers take all allegations of the kind in this case very seriously, and we do not condone or excuse any acts of domestic violence. We are fully cooperating with MLB’s investigation and support MLB’s and the Commissioner’s enforcement of the policy.”
Urías will remain on administrative leave “until further notice,” per a statement from the league, under the domestic violence policy it jointly negotiated with the MLB Players Association.
While Urías didn’t travel with the team to Miami, the league’s move to place him on leave had been expected.
Urías was originally scheduled to be the team’s starter for the Thursday game against Miami — and avoids a potential grievance had the Dodgers not used Urías as planned while he was still healthy and on the active roster.
For both Urías and the Dodgers, the timing couldn’t be worse.
The pitcher has a court date scheduled for Sept. 27, less than a week before the start of the playoffs. Obviously, his eligibility to pitch has come under serious jeopardy.
Asked about the star lefty, manager Dave Roberts said he didn’t know enough yet.
“Obviously these are very serious circumstances,” he said. “I would expect it to take the time needed to make sure that the right actions are taken. So I don’t know how long it will take, but I think we’re expecting it to take some time.”
That means the case may extend well past the World Series — and into the beginning of free-agent season. Urías, who currently earns more than $14 million per season, would have been one of the top left-handed pitchers available for any team to sign.
His eventual punishment — and it’s coming — won’t approach the record 324-game suspension (the equivalent of two full seasons) given to Bauer in April 2022. The most severe punishment handed out under the sport's domestic violence policy, it was later shortened by an arbitrator to 194 games, including time served.
But the pitcher, who once won a Cy Young Award, isn’t likely to return to the majors. He’s now pitching in Japan.
Urías, a 27-year-old Mexican, also faces a murky future. Since the current incident under investigation is his second, what team would risk signing him?
Yes, he’s a good pitcher, leading the National League in wins in 2021 and ERA in 2022, but he’s struggled this season.
Without Urías, Roberts will enter the playoffs with a huge hole in his rotation — unless Walker Buehler’s September comeback from Tommy John surgery is successful.
Clayton Kershaw, also a prospective free agent, is No. 1 but then what? Can a rookie named Bobby Miller show the same poise and promise in the playoffs that he did in the regular season?
Dodger fans are holding their breath.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of 41 baseball books, including The New Baseball Bible. Catch his byline in forbes.com, Memores & Dreams, Sports Collectors Digest, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, and other outlets. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
“If we were going to lose Freddie (Freeman), Matt was the perfect guy. You couldn’t go out and make a trade for anybody else that was going to be better than what he brings and the total package. Now spending a year-and-a-half, almost two years with him, it’s been everything I thought it’d be. The guy is just off the charts.”
— Braves manager Brian Snitker on Matt Olson
Entering play this weekend, Olson is four home runs shy of tying the franchise home run record of Andruw Jones, who hit 51 in 2005 . . .
Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews never hit more than 47 in a season, which Olson has already done this season . . .
Mookie Betts left loanDepot Park on crutches Thursday after fouling a ball off his foot but isn’t expected to be sidelined long . . .
The Braves believe they’ll soon have Kyle Wright, a 21-game winner last year, back in their rotation — just in time for post-season play . . .
Not surprisingly, both New York teams are playing much better now that they’ve decided to let their prospects play as the season winds down.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
While I agree there are too many playoff spots, allowing mediocre teams into the playoffs, I also LOVE the 3-game wild card round. You have elimination games on DAY TWO of the post season. That immediately gets fans engaged. You’re not wrong, Dan Schlossberg, but your argument has a real Grampa Simpson energy. No matter how many, or few, teams are in the playoffs, it’s a crapshoot of randomness. Whichever team gets hot (see 2019 Nationals, 2021 Braves, 2022 Phillies) can make a run. I’m watching the Wild card standings daily and am all in. Your right, it doesn’t encourage teams to “go for it” but it brings more meaningful September games to more fan bases. And more joy for more people is always better, right?