Following are the current 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. Yankees (unchanged from June)
2. Rays (+2)
3. Rangers (-2)
4. Braves (+1)
5. Giants (+8)
6. Red Sox (-3)
7. Cardinals (-1)
7. Twins (-1)
9. Phillies (+1)
10. Dodgers (-4)
10. Rockies (+2)
12. Marlins (-1)
13. Tigers (-2)
14. Angels (-5)
15. Cubs (unchanged)
16. Mariners (unchanged)
Second Division
1. Padres (unchanged)
2. White Sox (+2)
3. Reds (unchanged)
4. Blue Jays (+2)
5. Mets (-3)
6. A's (unchanged)
7. Brewers (unchanged)
8. Nationals (unchanged)
9. Astros (+1)
10. Royals (-2)
11. Indians (+1)
12. Diamondbacks (-2)
13. Pirates (unchanged)
14. Orioles (unchanged)
Biggest rise: Giants
Greatest fall: Angels
I find it interesting that there's a lot more change in the First Division than there is in the Second. I'm not sure what it means. I think that volatility among the best teams is good. All of the division races (in the real world) should be fun to watch heading into the final two months of the regular season. It's a little disappointing, though I suppose not surprising, that it's a lot harder to dig your team out of an early season hole.
There are still two real-world division leaders in my Second Division: the Padres and the White Sox. The Padres, in fact, have the best record in the National League and the third best in baseball. If one of my second division teams wins the World Series, I will consider this experiment a failure. Just to be clear, I'm sort of hoping that it will fail. I want to believe that more than just a handful of teams have a chance to win the World Series each year. We shall see.
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