This is a lot of information to process in one thread, so I'll just lay it out. According to MLB.com, starting in 2013, the Houston Astros are moving to the AL West, joining their state rivals; the Rangers, and their new competition of the A's, Angels, and the Mariners. Because their move means evening up the leagues at 15 teams each, Interleague will be played for the entire season. I suppose it's great news if you want to see the A's play at all of the MLB parks without waiting 10 years between each visit; one of the big debates right now is the balance of the schedule.
And to make baseball more fun, I guess?, MLB is also adding two more wild card teams to the playoff hunt, as early as next season.
"You don't do things for only one year. You do things for a long period of time," Selig said. "We believe after a lot of study and a lot of thought that the addition of two Wild Cards is really going to help us in the long run. One thing you learn is that baseball is a metaphor for life and nothing's perfect. But I think people are excited about it. They should be."
Are you excited?
So, from what I understand, 10 of the 30 teams will make the playoffs; the six division winners and four Wild Card teams. The wild card teams in each division will likely play a one game playoff to determine who goes on to the rest of the playoffs. Just think; our children will never know the days where a team simply won the division by winning the most games.
But what I really want to know is this: As long as MLB is blurring the lines between the NL and the AL, are we finally going to see a league-wide DH rule implemented? I mean no offense to baseball purists who thrive on the "strategy" of the pitcher batting, but I have zero desire to see that out of any of my A's pitchers. I can tolerate the handful of games that take place at NL parks under the current schedule, but I would be disgusted with much more. To me, it is a joke to watch pitchers' "bat", and there is a reason I root for the AL over the NL.
Give me the Astros; I recognize that we are at an unfair advantage with a 4-team division; give me the extra Wild Card team; it's just one more chance for the A's to enter the crapshoot that is the playoffs; give me a more balanced schedule; I'm tired of all-Angels, all-Rangers, all-Mariners all time time, but if I have to watch our pitchers bat along with the rest of our craptastic offense, baseball just might be a little less fun.