Let's Talk Baseball: Bold Proposal Final Standings

Following are the final standings for my bold proposal for baseball realignment. The basic idea is two divisions, upper and lower, determined by last year's final standings. The bottom three of the First Division are relegated for next year. The top two of the Second are promoted, along with the winner of a playoff between the next four.


First Division

1. Phillies (+4 from August)
2. Rays (unchanged)
3. Yankees (-2)
4. Twins (unchanged)
5. Giants (+3)
6. Braves (-3)
7. Rangers (-2)
8. Red Sox (-3)
9. Cardinals (unchanged)
10. Rockies (unchanged)
11. Tigers (+2)
12. Marlins (unchanged)
12. Angels (+2)
12. Dodgers (-1)
15. Cubs (unchanged)
16. Mariners (unchanged)


Second Division

1. Reds (unchanged)
2. Padres (unchanged)
3. White Sox (unchanged)
4. Blue Jays (unchanged)
5. A's (unchanged)
6. Mets (unchanged)
7. Brewers (unchanged)
8. Astros (unchanged)
9. Nationals (unchanged)
9. Indians (+3)
11. Royals (-1)
12. Orioles (+1)
13. Diamondbacks (-2)
14. Pirates (unchanged)


Biggest rise: Phillies

Greatest falls: Braves and Red Sox

And so...

- The top eight teams in the First Division would make the playoffs, the only difference from the real world being that the Red Sox are in (you're welcome) and the Reds are out (don't hate me just yet). My first playoff round: Phillies-Red Sox, Rays-Rangers, Yankees-Braves and Twins-Giants.

- The bottom three in the First Division would be demoted for the following year, so Cubs and Mariners both go down. The Angels, Marlins and Dodgers all finished with identical records so I'm going to head-to-head to make the call. Dodgers had losing records against both the Angels and Marlins this year and the other two never played each other. So, the Dodgers go down, too.

- The top two in the Second Division are automatically promoted so Reds and Padres move up. The next four would enter a playoff to determine the third promotion. That playoff's first round would be White Sox-Mets and Blue Jays-A's. The winners would then play each other. I'll give the White Sox the benefit of the doubt on this one and say they'd make it through.

After all that, next year's divisions would be as follows:

First Division

Phillies
Rays
Yankees
Twins
Giants
Braves
Rangers
Red Sox
Cardinals
Rockies
Tigers
Marlins
Angels
Reds
Padres
White Sox


Second Division

Dodgers
Cubs
Mariners
Blue Jays
A's
Mets
Brewers
Astros
Nationals
Indians
Royals
Orioles
Diamondbacks
Pirates

The Reds, of course, have the opportunity to upset the apple cart on all of this. If they should win the World Series, I'll abandon the whole idea. Please understand, though, I want them to win (I did tell you not to hate me yet). I want to be proven wrong. I want to believe that more than just an elite group of teams have a shot at winning the World Series each year.

So, as the playoffs begin later this week, I will be watching the Reds with great interest.