One Game - Gary Armida's Blog

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Gary Armida's Blog

One Game

Posted on October 5, 2012 at 12:42 PM.

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Baseball wasn�t meant to be decided on one game. Part of the lure of Major League Baseball is the ultimate test of an organization. That test is to see if it has enough resources to survive the 162 game season. The survivors of that test then have to survive another grueling test of a series of games against an opponent. As they advance, the series become more intense, resulting in the final best of seven round of what is Major League Baseball�s post season tournament.

The 162 game schedule allows for teams like the Pirates to get hot, but then show that they indeed had too many weaknesses to survive. It allows for the San Francisco Giants to get off to a slow start and then win the division. A good month or a poor month don�t really make or break a season for a talented team. The New York Yankees finished with the best record in the American League, yet they won just 13 games in June.

This season Bud Selig tinkered with the playoff system and inserted a new wild card team in each league�s tournament. Tonight, the four wild card teams face each other in a one game elimination to see which one can participate in the regular tournament. It seems like manufactured drama. It seems like it contradicts everything that is sacred about the Major League Baseball schedule. It feels like a gimmick in an effort to recreate the drama felt last season when the final day of the season determined so much for the October tournament.

But, it feels so right.

The wild card, single elimination play-in game may be the single most exciting innovation Selig has made since taking over as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Selig�s change to the playoff format made winning the division a priority for the first time since the 1993 season. The change made the Yankees play their everyday lineup in game 162 in order to clinch the division. It made the Oakland A�s continue to push and finally catch the Texas Rangers on the last day of the season. And, it kept baseball relevant in so many markets so late in the season.

One game.

There isn�t one thing that can be truly analyzed about one game of baseball. We can talk about how the Orioles are sending Joe Saunders to the mound to face the Texas Rangers and the fact that he has a career record of 3-7 with a 6.48 ERA in 11 career starts against the two-time American League champions. We can talk about how the Braves haven�t lost a Kris Medlen start since May 23, 2010. We can talk about the destiny of the Orioles or the grit of a champion like the Cardinals. The truth is, none of that matters in one game.

In one game, anything can happen. Prior statistics, prior tendencies, and a 162 game worth of data has been rendered meaningless. Yu Darvish could dominate like so many elite aces have. Or, he could have one of those starts where his control is lost. For one day, he could be outmatched by Joe Saunders. Josh Hamilton could have �one of those days� when everything he hits goes out of the park. Nate Mclouth could be a hero. David Freese could rediscover his October magic. Kyle Lohse could beat the game�s hottest pitchers. Chipper Jones could do something special tonight. Of course, it could be his final game on a Major League field.

One game. Anything goes.

Isn�t that what we love about baseball? Every night can be something different. Only this time, the game is important; the game advances a team into the next round of the playoffs. One game playoffs have given us some of the best baseball we�ve ever seen. The Padres and Rockies battled it out in 2007 in epic fashion. In 2008, the White Sox and Twins played a 1-0 game. And, who could forget Bucky Dent in 1978?

Play-in games such as what we will see tonight are different from game sevens. Game sevens are elimination games, but there are six games of history. Matchups are influenced. Six games can influence a game seven. A series can tire a bullpen. A true, one game playoff is a game involving two teams at full strength.

A one game playoff doesn�t allow for a projection system. Nobody can analyze it. Tonight�s games are baseball in its purest form. Each game involves two teams who will deploy every available weapon in an effort to win this one single game. It will test a Manager�s meddle as to whether or not he will overreact to a situation because of the presence of a season being a finality for one of the teams. It will test every player as added pressure and the feeling that there isn�t a guarantee of tomorrow can influence their actions. It adds a type of pressure that no other game can match.

That�s why as much as we value tradition and the sanctity of the size of the season and the fairness of a series, we will all be glued to tonight�s games. The mystery of what each game will bring draws us in just like any other regular season game. Except, this game means so much more.

Bud Selig can be criticized for a number of things, but this �one game� idea is brilliant. With it, he has captured how important the regular season is, how vital it is to win the division. He has captured the drama of a nine inning game and matched it with the finality of a playoff game. Each pitch, each hit could be the death knell to a season.

There is no analysis for tonight. Instead, just sit back and enjoy watching two teams fight against the end of their season.

Comments

# 1 jmik58 @ Oct 5

Great piece Gary. I heard another good point in favor of this staying at a one-game play-in and I think I agree with it. The fact that these Wild Card teams have to use their ace and then go into the LDS having expended their best arm -- another advantage to the division winners (at least for the one with the best overall record).

# 2 rudeworld @ Oct 5

Anything can happen.... Ask the Braves. Their is one thing that this one game wild card game brings to the table, and that is EXCITEMENT!!!! its like a Game 7.... and boy did it surely feel like a game 7... I SAY KEEP IT.

# 3 Bmore Irish @ Oct 7

well said, nice piece. i agree, the one game playoff with the extra wild card is so intense. there were some great races and stories this regular season, and idk if it was all due to the extra wild card, but i imagine it had something to do with it, and i imagine it will continue. maybe im biased cuz the O's havent been relevant since i was too young to remember. great stuff. GO O's