by Paul Semendinger
October 14, 2022
***
Continuity matters. There is something about the daily rhythm of baseball that makes it special. It is, in a very meaningful way, one thing about baseball that makes it very different from the other sports - baseball is a fan's daily companion. For the most part, from late March and into October, a fan gets to watch his or her team playing baseball every day. And that's wonderful. Each day there's a chance for something special. Each day brings an opportunity for something great.
And then... the playoffs. With the playoffs come days and days and days and days of nothing. I get the idea of the bye. If they are going to add rounds of playoffs, the teams with the best records should get some type of bonus. But, on the other hand, the continuity, the rhythm of the season, the daily anticipation, really (for me at least), much of the fun of baseball... is lost once the off days start to accumulate.
The Yankees have played once over the last eight days. Again, I understand why. There is now a Wild Card Series. And, rain happens. I get it. But I don't think it's good for the sport. And I don't think it's good for the players Part of preparing for games is the daily grind and the daily focus that is needed to be successful. Long layoffs break that continuity; that rhythm.
Going from one game over an eight day period to four games in four days, with travel, from New York to Cleveland and possibly from Cleveland back to New York in that short span can't be a great thing for the players. It just can't. Going from drills and simulated games and batting practice to the intensity of every at bat being meaningful, every play meaning something, every pitch having meaning can't be the best thing either.
I'm not saying this will result in injuries, though it seems, logically, that it might. I am saying that it just seems like a lot. We're going from nothing to everything. It's a wild ride all because of the wild card. (And, as I recall from days long ago, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Disney World ended in a crash. Wild rides aren't always good in the long run.)
I don't think the long layoff is a good thing for the players or for the sport.
Baseball, like every other major sport, is in love with playoffs. That's where the money is. I get it. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't like this long layoff. I don't think it's a good thing. I don't think it's good for the teams to have to go from no games to possibly four games in four days. It just seems like a little too much.
We will now see how it all turns out...
After the long wait, a poorly scheduled off day, and then a rainy night, it seems we'll have baseball again starting this afternoon.
Here we go! Buckle up. Here come the Yankees.
Now, let's just hope they keep winning.
Let's Go Yankees!
