Blue Jays' brass chime in on playoff expansion debate
The Toronto Blue Jays have spent the past few years struggling in a division that includes perennial contenders, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Throw in the occasional Tampa Bay Ray division title, and the Blue Jays are in tough to make the playoffs
despite the quality of the team. With that in mind it comes as no surprise that Toronto’s general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, is in favour of expanding the playoff structure of MLB.
The Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series in the early nineties, and haven’t made the playoffs since. In 2010 they finished with an 85-77 record, but finished in fourth place in the American League East, 10 games back of first, and nine games back of the
Wild Card spot. It seems every year either Boston wins the division and the Yankees win the Wild Card, or vice versa. In 2008 and 2010 Tampa Bay stepped up and won the division. In fact, since 2008, the Rays have as many wins as the Yankees and more than the
Red Sox, making the likelihood of the Jays making the playoffs next year even bleaker.
“I think any expansion is good,” said Anthopoulos. “We have eight of 30 teams make the playoffs, and I think in almost every other sport you get half or more than half making the playoffs. Just to increase it a little bit, still have less than half the teams
make the playoffs, I think you'd make September baseball that much more exciting. I think it would be great for the game.”
Blue Jays president, Paul Beeston, isn’t quite convinced. While he is opening his mind to the concept the idea of having a large portion of the league make the playoffs isn’t something that’s been done in baseball before, and is therefore something Beeston
is wary of.
“I'm not completely there yet,” said Beeston. “But I listen to all the arguments on both sides, I think you have to have an open mind about it. There are some compelling arguments in favour of expanding the playoffs and the ones against it go back to tradition.
We as an industry are different from the other sport leagues, and being different there's a sanctity to a schedule that lets the best teams proceed to the playoffs.”
Beeston is part of a 14-man committee appointed and chaired by MLB commissioner, Bud Selig, to discuss the idea of adding two more wild-card teams for the 2012 playoffs. He was also once Selig’s right hand man at MLB’s head office, but what he has to say
isn’t necessarily what Blue Jay fans want to hear.
“I was dead against something like this a long time ago," Beeston said. "I think as the years have progressed and the game has evolved, it seems to me that's it's worth considering right now.”
Even if the league decides to expand the playoffs it won’t solve the Blue Jays’ problem of needing to deal with the Rays, Bosox and Yanks. Should the Canadian team earn a playoff spot, they would still need to beat Tampa Bay, Boston, or New York in a five
or seven game series.
"I'm sure someone can make that argument, (that an additional playoff spot would solve Toronto’s playoff woes) but not personally for me because you've got to beat (the Yankees and Red Sox) anyway," said Beeston. "If you're going to be in the American League
East you might as well be a team that's able to win it, and if you're able to win you've got a very good chance of winning the World Series."
Of course, as Beeston is well aware, even in their non-playoff years, the Blue Jays have often beaten the Yankees or Red Sox during the regular season and have recently took the Yankees bullpen for a ride or two.
The bottom line seems to be that the extra playoff games would generate extra revenue and extra opportunities for a World Series win for more clubs. Selig has gone on record saying that the regular season of 162 games would not be affected, so no one will
lose out financially in the suggested scenario. The only people who are against it are traditionalists like Beeston, but even they seem to be coming around.
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