"Floating" realignment?

[Ty in Tampa]

I hadn't seen this anywhere until it came up in the local fishwrap.

What a ridiculously stupid concept.

[austro]

What a ridiculously stupid concept.

Consider the source:

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig created a 14-person "special committee for on-field matters" four months ago, the report said. The group developed the radical realignment plan, a noneconomic approach to improve competitive balance.

Is there some way Bud can just be locked up in somebody's basement and kept away from the rest of baseball?

[BlownRanger]

What a colossally stupid idea.  Instead of encouraging the Orioles and Blue Jays to do something about their clusterfuck organizations or even considering (gasp!) a salary cap, baseball will resort to a gimmick cooked up by an impromptu, wonkish think tank.

I realize it wasn't yesterday, but I think baseball really dropped the ball when they failed to aggressively tout the fact that in the six seasons from 2001 to 2006 their sport not only had six different world champions, they had a world champion from each of baseball's six divisions.

[juliogotay]

What a colossally stupid idea.  Instead of encouraging the Orioles and Blue Jays to do something about their clusterfuck organizations or even considering (gasp!) a salary cap, baseball will resort to a gimmick cooked up by an impromptu, wonkish think tank.

I realize it wasn't yesterday, but I think baseball really dropped the ball when they failed to aggressively tout the fact that in the six seasons from 2001 to 2006 their sport not only had six different world champions, they had a world champion from each of baseball's six divisions.

Silly idea. One thing this does is reward mediocrity. The example given, "if the Indians know they are going to be rebuilding they could move to the AL East so the Yankees and Red Sox would be visiting...."  Well, Pittsburgh would be in that division every year. Now MLB redistributes $$ from the payroll tax and what does Pittsburgh do? Use it to sign their better young players before arbitration eligible? No. They still sell those off every year. With their current ownership they cannot be helped.

[BUWebguy]

Heck, let's just go the whole soccer route. Pirates suck? They're now a AAA team! Memphis wins the PCL? Welcome to the big leagues!

[MusicMan]

Heck, let's just go the whole soccer route. Pirates suck? They're now a AAA team! Memphis wins the PCL? Welcome to the big leagues!

I would not oppose this.  I think relegation is one of the greatest concepts missing from American sports.

[austro]

I would not oppose this.  I think relegation is one of the greatest concepts missing from American sports.

I agree. It would certainly stop the Carl Pohlads of this world from bleeding their franchises dry.

[VirtualBob]

I would not oppose this.  I think relegation is one of the greatest concepts missing from American sports.

The problem is that relegation does not work well with farm teams.  In Germany, for instance, the entire 2. Liga and all but 4 teams in the 3. Liga are legitimate independent clubs.  Some may actually be striving to move up, while others may be content to develop players and sell contracts (like the Pirates), but they are not stocked with players and paid subsidies by their Bundesliga patrons.  I love the idea of relegation, but what do you do if the Round Rock Express win the PCL ... Do all of those Astros prospects suddenly become the major league property of the now-Major-League Round Rock team??  Or do they just take over the major league roster of the Pirates (or whoever they replace)??  There are no good solutions for baseball.

[Mr. Happy]

Heck, let's just go the whole soccer route. Pirates suck? They're now a AAA team! Memphis wins the PCL? Welcome to the big leagues!

This is a great idea!

[MusicMan]

The problem is that relegation does not work well with farm teams.  In Germany, for instance, the entire 2. Liga and all but 4 teams in the 3. Liga are legitimate independent clubs.  Some may actually be striving to move up, while others may be content to develop players and sell contracts (like the Pirates), but they are not stocked with players and paid subsidies by their Bundesliga patrons.  I love the idea of relegation, but what do you do if the Round Rock Express win the PCL ... Do all of those Astros prospects suddenly become the major league property of the now-Major-League Round Rock team??  Or do they just take over the major league roster of the Pirates (or whoever they replace)??  There are no good solutions for baseball.

I would have club affiliations end at AA.  The AAA level is then stocked with your Mark Saccomannos, your Borzados, etc.  Every AAA player has a clause in their contract that they may be purchased by any MLB-level team through the trading deadline.

All of a sudden, you have minor-leaguers with multiple options to the bigs: play their way up their parent club's system, play their way individually via AAA, or play their whole damn team in.

[Mr. Happy]

I would have club affiliations end at AA.  The AAA level is then stocked with your Mark Saccomannos, your Borzados, etc.  Every AAA player has a clause in their contract that they may be purchased by any MLB-level team through the trading deadline.

All of a sudden, you have minor-leaguers with multiple options to the bigs: play their way up their parent club's system, play their way individually via AAA, or play their whole damn team in.

Who would pay the player salaries at the AAA level? An MLB pool?

[MusicMan]

Who would pay the player salaries at the AAA level? An MLB pool?

No, the individual teams, although I think an MLB subsidy would make some sense.  IF you want the right to move up to MLB, you gotta be able to pay your own way.

[Andyzipp]

No, the individual teams, although I think an MLB subsidy would make some sense.  IF you want the right to move up to MLB, you gotta be able to pay your own way.

So does a Buffalo or Round Rock have to bring their stadiums to major league minimums on the chance they get to move up?

[MusicMan]

So does a Buffalo or Round Rock have to bring their stadiums to major league minimums on the chance they get to move up?

Interesting thought.  There might be some kinks to work out.

[Limey]

So does a Buffalo or Round Rock have to bring their stadiums to major league minimums on the chance they get to move up?

Yep.  In the English leagues, the top two divisions (confusingly call the Premiership and Championship - because it's a branch of the Special Olympics and everyone's a winner) have the same stadium regulations.  Any team coming up from below has a year (IIRC) to improve their facilities as required.

[austro]

Yep.  In the English leagues, the top two divisions (confusingly call the Premiership and Championship - because it's a branch of the Special Olympics and everyone's a winner) have the same stadium regulations.  Any team coming up from below has a year (IIRC) to improve their facilities as required.

If a team comes up from below, are they at risk of being sent down after only one season? Or is there some sort of guaranteed minimum stay?

[MusicMan]

Yep.  In the English leagues, the top two divisions (confusingly call the Premiership and Championship - because it's a branch of the Special Olympics and everyone's a winner) have the same stadium regulations.  Any team coming up from below has a year (IIRC) to improve their facilities as required.

How about a Champions League?

[Tralfaz]

If a team comes up from below, are they at risk of being sent down after only one season? Or is there some sort of guaranteed minimum stay?

No guarantee, finish bottom three and your relegated.  Great stuff from a casual fan stand point, heart breaking if it's "your" team.  It can get worse from there too because you can be relegated (or promoted) from any level.  In the late 90's Manchester City were relegated from the top flight, then again from the secend tier.  They've since climbed, er bought, there way, back up two divisions to the Premier League and are now one of the biggest spending clubs in Europe.

[Limey]

Yeah, what Travalz said.

There have been teams who have worked their way up from non-league status and make it all the way to the top flight.  There have been teams who have gone all the way in the other direction. 

No guarantees, but teams dropping out of the Premiership get 2 years of "parachute payments", which is meant to encourage newly promoted teams to invest in their squad, without having to worry about the long term financial ramifications of the contracts.

[MusicMan]

The problem is, this isn't exactly the right time to encourage owners to adopt the Premier League's financial model.