Is the nl central a fair division? (cards, expansion, playoffs)

[ditchlights]

I have always wondered why the NL Central has six teams in it and all the others have five, except for the AL West which has four. The NHL and NFL each have an even number of teams in each of their divisions. Considering that only four teams from each league advance to the playoffs, the three division leaders and a wildcard, does this not make an uneven playing field for the six in the NL Central? MLB should either go to a system similar to hockey where the top four teams from each league with the highest winning percentage would move on to the playoffs regardless of division, or consider moving the Cardinals to the AL West which would even out all the divisions. Even though Houston is further west than St Louis, the AL West already has a team from Texas, so the Cards would be the next sensable choice. Cardinal fans would not like that though, as the AL West is not a cakewalk like their current division is. Can anyone shed some light or opinion on this?

[Orangeish]

15 teams in the NL or AL would mean you would have to have interleague games every weekend (every team plays on the weekend, and you can't divide 15 evenly). The only option would be to contract two teams or to add two new teams, and I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[ThatTNGuy]

Originally Posted by ditchlights

Cardinal fans would not like that though, as the AL West is not a cakewalk like their current division is.

Oh, please. Yeah, the Angels are usually a good team, but as of late, Oakland, Seattle and Texas haven't exactly been juggernauts. I'm sure the Cardinals would be fine.

I wouldn't like it simply because it's a bad idea - why would you take the National League's most successful franchise and move it to the American League? It doesn't make any sense. The Cardinals are one of the most widely-followed teams in the entire league, so I can imagine the uproar from fans would be an absolute nightmare for the MLB. Not to mention the fact that it would screw up traditional and popular rivalries with teams like the Cubs that have been going on for over a century now - not good.

The current setup is fine, and I don't think any of the NL Central teams are at a disadvantage because of it. If teams like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are at a disadvantage, it's not because their division has six teams.

[PeteyNice]

You would never move the Cardinals. That would be like moving the Yankees to the NL. What makes the most sense, if you wanted to balance the leagues without expansion or contraction, would be to move the Astros to the AL West. Natural rivalry with the Rangers, provides better time zone balance with 3 Pacific and 2 Central teams etc etc etc.

[jtur88]

Divisions are not fair, because there is no way to arrange divisions so they are fair. What is really unfair is to have six teams in one division and four in another. If your city's team is in a four-team division, they will win 25 titles per century. In a six-team division, they will win 17 per century. So a team in a 6-team division gets cheated out of a playoff spot 8 times a century, or once every 12 years. How fair is that. To take it to an extreme, suppose there was a 2-team division and a 28-team division. Would you rather have your team in the 2-team division and make the playoffs every other year, of the 28-team division, and make the playoffs once since 1980?

[big daryle]

Originally Posted by ditchlights

I have always wondered why the NL Central has six teams in it and all the others have five, except for the AL West which has four. The NHL and NFL each have an even number of teams in each of their divisions. Considering that only four teams from each league advance to the playoffs, the three division leaders and a wildcard, does this not make an uneven playing field for the six in the NL Central? MLB should either go to a system similar to hockey where the top four teams from each league with the highest winning percentage would move on to the playoffs regardless of division, or consider moving the Cardinals to the AL West which would even out all the divisions. Even though Houston is further west than St Louis, the AL West already has a team from Texas, so the Cards would be the next sensable choice. Cardinal fans would not like that though, as the AL West is not a cakewalk like their current division is. Can anyone shed some light or opinion on this?

I think it would be great for the Astros and Rangers to be in the same division, but for some reason MLB freaks out about the possibility of having to play a interleague game every day. Why I have no idea.

[Orangeish]

Originally Posted by big daryle

I think it would be great for the Astros and Rangers to be in the same division, but for some reason MLB freaks out about the possibility of having to play a interleague game every day. Why I have no idea.

People freak out about the handful of interleague games now.....As in a majority of most fans.

[malfunction]

If you're going to have six teams in any division, you might as well put them in the Central in either league. It makes the best geographic sense with five teams in the other divisions on either side (in a 16-team setup). The current setup of the NL Central is just fine and doesn't need changing.

[jazzy jeff 11]

it aint fair period. and theres one divison that has 4 teams. i believe the AL West. Correct me if i am wrong.

[case44]

Originally Posted by jazzy jeff 11

it aint fair period. and theres one divison that has 4 teams. i believe the AL West. Correct me if i am wrong.

Well, life isn't fair, either, jj. Yes, the AL West does have four. It doesn't bother me. The arrangement that exists now is going to have to stay this way until the American League expands, and that's if it does. But you can't move one team to create an odd number of teams in each league because one team would basically have to sit out for an entire series. And you can't really do interleague in a situation like that if travel becomes an issue. It'd be a scheduling problem.