Has the Division Series format for 2012 put some teams at a home field disadvantage?
Ben and Sam discuss the impact of CC Sabathia’s elbow soreness on the Yankees’ short- and long-term outlooks, and the difference between winning a division and winning a wild card under the new playoff format.
Major League Baseball’s recent decision to base home-field advantage in the World Series on the outcome of the All-Star Game runs contrary to the way Commissioner Bud Selig normally operates. Spurred by last year’s All-Star debacle in Milwaukee, the entire process – from concept to approval – took only six months, and failed to employ even one sub-committee of analysts to explore the issue. More typical of Selig’s decision-making process is his announcement of the newly-formed special task force for “The Commissioner’s Initiative: Major League Baseball in the 21st Century.”