04-08-2010, 11:50 PM
An excerpt from an article I'm working on, it needs desperately to be polished but thats for tomorrow since I'm tired and want to have sex.
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->The rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox has a long, illustrious history, however the days of it being of genuine interest to the average fan are long gone. Having the same two teams fight it out for the World Series every year is pedantic and alienates the great fans of the 28 other teams that play n the majors.
...
In the good old days, teams played scheduled doubleheaders because of travel problems. In recent years, doubleheaders only occur because of outside forces such as weather, and are increasingly day-night doubleheaders, which means the teams get money for two games instead of just one, like it was back in the day. What does this have to do with the Yankees and Red Sox? Well, my initial idea was to make these two teams play each other an extra 20 times a year, with the thought that the increased number of games could allow one team to essentially eliminate the other, which would open the Wild Card spot for the rest of the teams in the American League, but this idea didn’t last too long because it would stretch out the season and give the teams with nearly unlimited resources even more revenue from the inevitable sellout crowds and TV deals. So my next thought was to make the 20 or so games they’re scheduled to play doubleheaders. It wouldn’t stretch out the season and it would increase the odds of one team being eliminated from playoff contention. Alas, there are issues here too. This plan would still, if the teams scheduled day-night doubleheaders, give the teams increased revenue through ticket sales. So where does that leave me?
18 inning baseball games. What could be a more perfect solution? If we made the Yankees and Red Sox play 18 innings instead of the regulation 9 every time they faced each other, we would see games that required more tact and endurance than brawn, which would appeal to old-school fans who want to see the game played the way it used to be, before steroids and small ballparks. In an 18 inning game, you would see a lot more emphasis on pitching, defense and smart base-running than you see now. We would no longer see games where one team goes ahead by five runs in the sixth inning and the game is pretty much over, because there would still be twelve innings to go! You may be wondering how this makes the league as a whole more competitive, and that is a valid question. By ensuring these two behemoths beat each other up, it makes the teams weaker, easier for the other teams in the league to beat.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->The rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox has a long, illustrious history, however the days of it being of genuine interest to the average fan are long gone. Having the same two teams fight it out for the World Series every year is pedantic and alienates the great fans of the 28 other teams that play n the majors.
...
In the good old days, teams played scheduled doubleheaders because of travel problems. In recent years, doubleheaders only occur because of outside forces such as weather, and are increasingly day-night doubleheaders, which means the teams get money for two games instead of just one, like it was back in the day. What does this have to do with the Yankees and Red Sox? Well, my initial idea was to make these two teams play each other an extra 20 times a year, with the thought that the increased number of games could allow one team to essentially eliminate the other, which would open the Wild Card spot for the rest of the teams in the American League, but this idea didn’t last too long because it would stretch out the season and give the teams with nearly unlimited resources even more revenue from the inevitable sellout crowds and TV deals. So my next thought was to make the 20 or so games they’re scheduled to play doubleheaders. It wouldn’t stretch out the season and it would increase the odds of one team being eliminated from playoff contention. Alas, there are issues here too. This plan would still, if the teams scheduled day-night doubleheaders, give the teams increased revenue through ticket sales. So where does that leave me?
18 inning baseball games. What could be a more perfect solution? If we made the Yankees and Red Sox play 18 innings instead of the regulation 9 every time they faced each other, we would see games that required more tact and endurance than brawn, which would appeal to old-school fans who want to see the game played the way it used to be, before steroids and small ballparks. In an 18 inning game, you would see a lot more emphasis on pitching, defense and smart base-running than you see now. We would no longer see games where one team goes ahead by five runs in the sixth inning and the game is pretty much over, because there would still be twelve innings to go! You may be wondering how this makes the league as a whole more competitive, and that is a valid question. By ensuring these two behemoths beat each other up, it makes the teams weaker, easier for the other teams in the league to beat.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
