It's a rainy day in Bradenton; the big news of the last couple of days has been the love-fest for old Bucco's Billy Maz, Bill Virdon, Manny Sanguillen, and Teke, along with Chuck Tanner, who is out of commission right now.
These torch-passers are partly coaching up the current crop of pups, but mostly reminding PNC fans of what once was. They invoke the warm and fuzzy days of Pirate baseball, when babushka power, The Lumber Company, and Sister Sledge ruled. Historic they are; newsy, they ain't.
So GW thought he'd throw his two cents worth in regarding realignment. We care not a twit what the AL does, but the gang brought up a couple of good points that are germane to NL switcheroos.
Mark In Dallas says "The DH-No DH question is too much of a hurdle to overcome," and The Doctor Is In adds "The Phillies were a HUGE rival of the Pirates. Put the Pirates, Phils, Nats and Mets in one division."
OK, we'll take both very valid points into consideration. With a minimum of disruption, how does this NL alignment sound...?
NL East: Mets, Pirates, Phils, Nats, and Reds.
NL Central: Brewers, Cards, Cubs, Braves, Marlins, and Astros.
NL West: D-Backs, Giants, Dodgers, Padres, and Rockies.
Pretty simple, no? Swap out the Braves and Marlins with the Bucs and Reds, leave the West be, and viola - no DH controversy, no traditional lore lost, and some regional rivalries restored, while the others continue on. What's not to like?
6 comments:
Doesn't help the Bucs at all. Still have to deal with the Mets and Phillies enormous finances. If they realign they need to mix up leagues and split them by finances. Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies all in same division. The Pirates need to compete with teams with the same financial restraints they have.
Jeremy - Thanks for the input. I didn't break up the divisions for competitive purposes, but geographic.
Dunno that I could back a money league; that, to me, is like forming minor league divisions and calling them MLB; plus I fear that some owners would manipulate their revenues to get into a division they like. The goal should be to compete with the big boys. A cap, though, I could support.
That could be a good alignment. The Marlins would be better in the East, geographically speaking. Cincy and Atlanta are pretty much on the same longitude, so they could go either Central or East.
I like having the Reds and Phils as rival in our division, but I don't know what those other teams might be feeling.
Good points, Mark. I didn't want to leave the Reds' traditional rivalry behind, and I moved Florida just to keep the six-team configuration the same; they can stay or go without much difference.
I can't agree with putting the Reds in the East - for all those years when there were two divisions, the Reds were in the West. I'd keep them in the Central and the Braves in the East. Besides, since Sid Bream's slide, I doubt if any NL team has been more hated by Buc fans than the Chop Shop.
Can't argue with that logic, Cisco.
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