What were the spread out baseball playoffs all about? (pitchers, pitcher, games)

[ogre]

Okay, there's been plenty of talk about the long layoff the Rockies had before the start of the World Series. That was ridiculous, but it was only one example of the adverse effects the spread out playoff schedule had. Both teams in the ALCS finished their divisional series quickly, and had fairly extended waits before the LCS began. The first game of the ALCS was played five nights after the Indians clinched the first round. For the Red Sox it was six nights. It appears that this had an effect, especially on the pitchers. When pitchers as good as Sabathia, Schilling, and Carmona all struggled in the first two games, you have to wonder whether they didn't need to shake off some rust.

And then there was the World Series. I can't help but suspect that the extended layoff left the Rockies' pitchers feeling stale, and affected the timing of their position players when they batted as well. The score of the first game, 13-1, clearly showed the Rockies were out of it both on the mound and at the plate. Once they had gotten the chance to get back to playing in real games, their performance improved, as the third game of the series was moderately close, and the second and fourth games were nail-biters.

Now here's the zinger: It could have been worse. The ALCS opened in Boston on a Friday night. That day it poured rain, the rain slacking only a couple of hours before game time. What's more, it had rained around the clock on Wednesday and Thursday. It was just a matter of lucky timing that the rain hadn't started the day the series was scheduled to open, which would have caused the teams competing for the AL pennant to have as long a layoff as the Rockies had before the World Series.

Then there was the snow in Denver the weekend before the first World Series game played there. Again, it was just a matter of luck that this didn't hit at a time when it would have upset the playoff schedule. Given the likelihood of inclement weather in October, in many cities with Major League teams, spreading out the playoffs as much as these were sets up the possibility that a weather-related postponement will turn a layoff that's already too long into something completely absurd.

Does anyone know, with information from an authoritative source, what the point of this schedule was supposed to be? I suspect it had to do with television, and the desire to show all the games without having them interfere with each other, but I don't really know that. Whatever the reason, this was ridiculous. This is a sport that involves skill and timing, and frequent play in order to maintain that skill and timing. They're really interfering with the determination of a legitimate champion by disrupting play with their scheduling of games. I for one hope we do not see this absurdity next year, or ever again.