The Thunder, who had strolled through the season with only one defeat were the most improved squad followed closely by the Dodgers. Some of that is owed to the unbalanced scheduling but more to the general improvement and deft managing of these two fine clubs.
Just getting back to reading the bulletin board and saw this on the 45 Welcome...maybe it's just me but this has a bit of sour grapes tonality to it...unbalanced scheduling was a rule and what transpired should not be trivialized. People got together and decided that this would benefit the division in giving everyone a fair shot and to enhance parity. I guess some people don't like the taste of humble pie...well a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
Kudos to the visionaries who went out on a limb and please keep up the good work. You guys put in a lot time and effort and are always looking to make the baseball experience a very positive one...
No sour grapes Gino. I wrote that piece. I think it accurately describes those teams. But more importantly the mgr's this year again are going with the unbalanced schedule. It had pretty broad support from top to bottom. It speaks volumes about the evolution of this particular division where parity has always been the first topic of discussion.....and the second one was how to find better players. It solved this perennial problem ...I hope ....by offering more competitive games for everyone. As one manager told me it gave them a chance to win more often, and that has huge pay-offs that convert to better teams in the future or just a better time come Sunday. The mgr's also voted to continue the same 2 tiered playoff structure. And that gave everyone a better shot at a true playoff experience and run. I can't take credit for the formats as it was ground out by many people, but I like it and i hope its here to stay. Keep in mind the mgr's re-ordered every team for this year. those with success last year moved up, others moved down. just another nice feature of the format. reel 45 comm.
Then I slide corrected, John... But yes, only positives have come out of the new format...everyone, even your humble self, should be congratulated...thinking outside the (batter's) box, is always a good thing.
Call me crazy, but I think the law firm of MARTIN,MARTIN & MASSARONI might have helped the Thunder, regardless of schedule. If you guys want to represent the Black Sox, we'll pass the hat for the retainer!!
