thomas leverett weblog

October

October is synonymous with good, playoff baseball. But baseball has a serious problem. It's overextended. It needs to bring back October.

Here's a fact about the North: sometime in late October, the weather turns. By Halloween, it's always cold, windy, snowy, below freezing. There is some variation: sometimes it turns early (the 20th), sometimes late (the 25th), but it always turns. You don't really want to be outside after it turns, at least, you don't want to stand around, outside, or sit. If you're trick-or-treating, you'll survive, because you have a couple of extra layers. But you might be cold and miserable when you get home.

Here's baseball's problem: we're in the playoffs now, but we've just started. Somebody will win spots in the NL and AL playoffs this weekend, and we should be ready for the World Series in what, about ten days? That's too long! Once it's cold, we're busy. We have to plastic up the windows, shovel snow, get antifreeze in the cars, etc. It's too late!

We can watch baseball NOW. Playoffs, more playoffs, we're good. It's good baseball and these are good teams. I can also follow even if I don't watch. The weather is right: cool, orange leaves everywhere, fresh air; it's nice outside. Once it turns, forget it.

Baseball needs to maximize the World Series, not marginalize it. Maximizing it means making it OVER before it turns. We should be doing the World Series now. We should give the World Series its ten days and make them all good, not November days.

There are several ways to do it: make a shorter season; squeeze up the wild-card games (making it best of three was good), squeeze up the division playoffs (make them best of three?), cut with the days off between games, etc. Every day helps. You need ten for a seven-day series and all need to be before it turns. I don't want to watch it in the snow. Even if I'm a faithful Cleveland fan.

posted by tom @ 8:29 AM