OK, since MLB is so fucked up here's my way to improve the game and make the competion much more balanced. Until MLB realizes the game is unfair and only competitive for about 30% of teams it will consistantly lose viewers and fall deeper into the crapper. Without a hard salary cap, there is no sense in even letting small market teams play. So if MLB and the PA cannnot come to terms on a hard cap and a vast reduction in salaries, this is a great way to bring balance and competion back to the game.
First of all the AL and NL will all but be done away with. This is becasue a radical realignment will need to be done to create the balanced divisions. The divisions will no longer be constructed due to location of the city the team is from, because how does that lead to competion? Just because the Yanks and the D-Rays are both in the East does not mean they are suited to play against each other since MLB does not mandate that they have the same payroll. So I propose a realignment based soley on the size of the market the team plays in and the likelyhood of the organization to spend outside of their designated market size. Simply put, let the large market teams play in diivsions with the other large market teams, and more importantly let the small market teams play in divisions with other small market teams. The matchups and rivalries this will create will be great for the sport. Finally Brewer fans and Royals fans will have some reason to watch their team play. Devil Ray fans and Rockies fans will not have to give up hope during spring training. And no longer will big spending teams have a cake walk to the playoffs simply because their owner has deeper pockets and more resources then the other teams. The competiton will be much greater, thus forcing the rivalries created to be much greater and bringing back the fans from every city in every market. Finally every team will have a chance to make the playoffs!!!
Here's the breakdown on the realignment. Each team gets seperated into a category of Large Market, Mid-Market, and Small Market teams. Since there are 30 teams, 10 teams go into each category. Like anything else a few teams may be in a grey area, but it's a minor problem. Now the tricky part with this realignament is that AL teams and NL teams would be put in the same division, and even more tricky East Coast teams and West Coast team will be put in the same division. Therefore there needs to be some adjusments made. Like I said earlier, no longer will their be an American League and a National League. There will be an Eastern League and a Western League, thus forcing AL and NL teams to be in the same League. This brings me to my next change....the DH. Gonzo goes the DH. It's a pathetic attempt to cheapen the sport anyway. Let the pitchers bat. It allows for more strategy, give's the pitchers back the advantage, and will force giant fat pieces of shit, like David Ortiz, to learn how to pick up a glove and play some defense. It's outlandish that a professional athlete will get paid tens of millions of dollars for playing the sport half assed. Getting rid of these no talent hacks will be the first step in the right direction for this sport. Now that all teams are playing on an even field with the same rules, there will be no problem with AL and NL teams in the same divisions. One other adjustment I would make to the game would be to increase the 25 man roster to 27. The reason for this is because if you get rid of the DH that causes teams to use more bench players, pinch hitters, and bull pen arms. The NL teams should be used to this but an increase in players is still needed. There are far too many injuries to pitchers and I believe it's due to over work in the bullpen. Adding another arm to the pen will allow pitchers to pitch longer and more effective. Teams should be required to field a 6 man bench and an 8 man bullpen, which will cut down on the number of call ups and send downs to the minor leagues.
OK, so here's the new realignament of MLB:
Eastern League
Large............. Mid.............. Small
Yankees........ Orioles......... Nationals
Red Sox .........Reds ............Marlins
Mets............... Cardinals.... Pirates
Phillies ...........Tigers.......... Blue Jays
Braves............ Indians........Devil Rays
Western League
Large............. Mid.................... Small
Angels........... Mariners............Twins
Dodgers.........Rangers .............Athletics
Giants ...........Astros ................Royals
Cubs.............. Padres ...............Brewers
White Sox .....Diamondbacks.......Rockies
There it is. I know most people will argue about the integrity and the history of the game. And about rivalries and teams in the same city. But guess what, this is not the same game it was 100 years ago, heck it's not the same game it was 20 years ago. Baeball has evolved and has already changed, for the worse. Unless major reconstruction is made, the game will be lost. These new divisions will create some great matchups, force teams to play differently, spend differently, and for fans to care more.
Viva La Beisbol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
