Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Wild-Card Rant, continued
You know, I could maybe buy in to the wild card concept a little bit--a little, eensy-weensy tiny bit--if its thumpers had arguments that weren't so totally jackassical. Case in point: This bit of ridiculosity by EPSN's Jim Caple.
I'll start with the caption on the photograph on the page, which, to be fair, may not have been written by Caple himself. But it's still so fraught with boneheadedness that I can't not lead off with it:
What's the reason for this being promoted as a benefit? Does Major League Baseball gain anything if Florida's in the race? Do fans of any other team benefit? If I said, "If we don't allow every team to get to the playoffs, the Tigers will have no chance of making the postseason, would that convince you that the wild-card system is good? Caple himself says,
More silly silliness:
(And don't give me the "Hey, the Mariners were way out of first in the summer, but only because of the wild-card system did they realize they were still in it, and they made some trades and that's why they managed to get back into it" crap. Your team is not out of it in July, unless you're from Detroit. If they pack it in at that point isntead of continuing to play good baseball, that's just stupid.)
The wild-card proponents can't win an argument because many of their points--not all, but many--are just stupid. There's not a single argument from the "purist" side--pardon me while I straighten my top hat and take puff of a Lucky Strike while gallivanting around town in my Model T with my flapper-dressed Charleston-jiving lady by my side--that can be considered as even remotely idiotic. Wild-card proponents may disagree wholeheartedly with my side, but they'd have a devil of a time saying "That's completely illogical and insane" with a straight face.
I'll start with the caption on the photograph on the page, which, to be fair, may not have been written by Caple himself. But it's still so fraught with boneheadedness that I can't not lead off with it:
If not for the wild card, Luis Castillo and the Marlins would have no chance of reaching the playoffs.SO WHAT???
What's the reason for this being promoted as a benefit? Does Major League Baseball gain anything if Florida's in the race? Do fans of any other team benefit? If I said, "If we don't allow every team to get to the playoffs, the Tigers will have no chance of making the postseason, would that convince you that the wild-card system is good? Caple himself says,
My opposition to the wild-card format declines with proportion to how many games my favorite teams are out of first place. The further out they fall, the more I like it.Wow. Convincing. It's only good if your team has a shot. Tell you what: Do Tigers fans think the wild-card system is great? How 'bout Padres fans? And hey, how about Braves and Giants fans? Their second-half of the season, which would have been winding down to a race between two teams separated by a mere game-and-a-half right now, has been reduced to two or three months of basically playing out the season. The Giants haven't had an extremely crucial game since, like, June.
More silly silliness:
And then the very first year of the wild card, we saw an even more dramatic race between the Mariners and the Angels. That ended in a one-game playoff...Closer examination--something wild-card proponents often shy away from the way vampires avoid light--reveals that the wild-card system had nothing to do with that playoff game: Seattle and California would have tied for first place in the West anyway. The three teams (Chicago, Kansas City and Minnesota) that had moved from the West to the Central with the format change in 1994 all finished with worse records. The tie would have happened anyway.
(And don't give me the "Hey, the Mariners were way out of first in the summer, but only because of the wild-card system did they realize they were still in it, and they made some trades and that's why they managed to get back into it" crap. Your team is not out of it in July, unless you're from Detroit. If they pack it in at that point isntead of continuing to play good baseball, that's just stupid.)
The wild-card proponents can't win an argument because many of their points--not all, but many--are just stupid. There's not a single argument from the "purist" side--pardon me while I straighten my top hat and take puff of a Lucky Strike while gallivanting around town in my Model T with my flapper-dressed Charleston-jiving lady by my side--that can be considered as even remotely idiotic. Wild-card proponents may disagree wholeheartedly with my side, but they'd have a devil of a time saying "That's completely illogical and insane" with a straight face.
