Dale: To reseed or not to reseed? Improving the MLB playoffs
From Christopher Dale at The Hardball Times on September 14, 2018:
The season’s end for Cleveland, currently 18 games over .500 and 14½ games ahead of the second-place Minnesota Twins, has seemed inevitable for months. Cleveland was the overwhelming favorite to win the AL Central going into the year and, since May 26, has been the only team in the division with so much as a .500 record.
Besides the general cruddiness of divisional rivals, a key reason for Cleveland’s four-month cruise control — though granted, the team added two nice pieces in Brad Hand and Josh Donaldson along the way — is that there’s been very little to jockey for in terms of playoff positioning. Early in the season, it seemed likely the Red Sox and Astros would both finish with a better record, leaving Cleveland essentially cemented in the third seed since spring. And despite a brief threat to the Astros from the upstart Oakland Athletics, Cleveland has also been reasonably sure of its first round opponent; bags have been packed for Houston since well before the All-Star break.
Besides being incredibly boring, a sound argument can be made that this team’s predetermined postseason positioning is unfair to another team: The Boston Red Sox.
Read the full article here: https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/to-reseed-or-not-to-reseed-improving-the-mlb-playoffs/
Originally published: September 19, 2018. Last Updated: September 19, 2018.