Buffalo Boy's Blog

The title of this is probably stating the obvious and thats the point. MLB needs some changes and after watching the post-season they are glaring changes.

First and foremost: Its November. I understood what I believe was the first year they stretched it out into November after 9/11, they had to. That was acceptable for obvious reasons, but since then, playing into November has been the rule as opposed to the exception.

After this year Major League Baseball needs to get a schedule that is either going to A) cut the season back to 154 games and end the season a week early or B) Play mandatory double-headers every other Sunday throughout the season with the exception of the holiday weekends including Easter Sunday if it so happens to fall in the early season, Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day.

Doing one of the above would end the season earlier. I like the mandatory double-header idea. Not day-night double-headers but back to back games, finish one and start the next. Two games for the price of one. Give the fans a treat every other Sunday. If you do the double-headers you could theoretically end the season 2 weeks earlier and play an extra round of playoffs and still finish the playoffs in October even if you extended both the extra round and the division series to 7 games.

Another idea, get rid of the days off during the postseason. I am a firm believer that the playoffs should mirror the type of schedule players go through during the regular season. During the regular season teams play sometimes 14 days or more in a row with no day off. Why do they need a day off every two games during the post-season? For a travel day? Hell, there are weeks during the season when teams would play at home on a Sunday afternoon and be on the west coast for Monday night and the other way around. If its a matter of east/west coast travel then schedule game times appropriately.

On the same note, finish one series start the next one right away even if the teams finish early. If two teams are done with their series early get it on for the next one.

Bottom line is simple, bring back the concept of Mr. October. One of these years the damn World Series is going to have to be played in the snow and that would be an embarrassment to the sport.

Finally, instant replay is a joke. They use it for one thing...Home Runs. What a friggin bone headed idea that only a weak minded commissioner could come up with. Either use instant replay or don't but don't use it for one god damn.thing.

I think everyone who has paid any attention would agree this year that the umpiring sucked this year. Whether it was tags at home plate, balls landing fair by a foot that were called foul or catches that really weren't, use replay to get the calls right if you have it.

Screw the purists. The technology is there, use it to get the calls right. The other option is getting calls wrong when huge games are on the line. Take the sport and its championships seriously by installing instant replay to get these missed calls we saw this year right. Every other sport uses replay so join the 21st century and get your inept umpires some help.

Now, let me contradict myself by saying that the Phillies are spanking Yankees tonight, lets see this thing go to game 7 baby (I believe that would end it November 6th?