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If the elimination of divisions will create too many meaningless games, maybe they should go in the opposite direction and make more.
How about four divisions of four. MLB expands yet again adding two AL clubs. NY adds a third franchise and Vegas gets one. Afterall, they couldn't draw any worse than the Florida clubs.

In the end, here's what I want. A playoff system that rewards or punishes a team based on its season long body of work. Right now the system doesn't do that.

Remember, my feelings on this topic are purely self-centered. The current system may be fine, until it affects my team. In '87 the system was fine because it benefited me. Right now I don't like the idea of seeing a lineup that goes; Damon, Jeter, Abreu, ARod, Giambi, Matsui, Sheff, Posada, & Cano when there is another team more deserving but is exempt because of a flawed system.

In the end, if the Twins don't win the world series, I at least want the post season to last more than four or five days.

I am no way saying the Twins can't beat the Yankees, but I am just playing the odds. Just like Gardy does, there is a reason why Mauer bats 3rd and Ford is a bench player. Ford may deliver and Mauer may fail in a given situation, but the odds are Mauer will deliver more often over a longer period of time.

The Empire's Proposed Geographical Realignment (Never gonna happen, but who knows)

American League

Northeast:
Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Mets
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees

Midwest:
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins

California:
Anaheim Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
Oakland Athletics
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants


National League

Atlantic:
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Florida Marlins
Tampa Bay D-Rays
Washington Nationals

Central:
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals
St. Louis Cardinals
Toronto Bluejays

West:
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Houston Astros
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

In reality, all I would do is put Kansas City in the AL West and move Milwaukee back into the AL Central. That or just put Houston into the AL West. I'd like to see kinda like the NFL did (they do everything right don't they) and make it more geographical and balanced as far as # of teams in each division.

Twins Magic Number for a playoff spot is down to 2.

Great road trip wining every series and coming back 7-3.

Tigers have clinched a payoff spot. They deserve it. I was hoping they wouldnt collapse and let the Whiteys in. They have a great ballpark.

If you ever are thinking about a weekend getaway and following the Twins on the road, head to Comerica. It will be good to see playoff baseball there.

The Tigers only have 6 left. The Twins have to finish ahead of them by one game. It will be tough.

It would be great to clinch the WC tonight.

I dont think the Twins rotation is thin. Not for the playoffs.

Gardy has to pleased with Garza. He has soildified himself as one of the playoff starters. He isnt Liriano but who is.

Bonser will be fine. At least as good as Radke. I say let Radke concentrate on the GM decisions and coaching 3rd base like he did last year and forget about him as a pitcher. I did a long time ago.

What if Radke has an OK start vs Royals? What are you gonna do? Bump Silva in the playoffs? Let him take his sore arm and early inning shellings into retirement.

Go Twins. Win the first 2 vs Royals,lock up the WC and then rest some guys.

Yea, I would bump Silva. I would rather have Radke pitching on purely guts rather than seeing Silva throwing 86 MPH fastballs down the middle to A-Rod, Abreu, and Sheffield. If he holds up in a start against the Royals, pencil him in as the # 3 or 4 starter. He has a great playoff track record and is a much better option than Silva. Let Silva make his last two starts this week and then give him his walking papers.

Tell us how you really feel about Silva, Blue Breeze.

Radke has been better than Silva this year and has the playoff record but I think you have a crap shoot either way.

Silva has been terrible at times but lately has been OK. I didnt think he was that bad vs Balt in his last outing.

Radke was real bad the first part of the season but was real good until he got hurt. He was in a groove. What he is going to be like after a month of not pitching is anybodys guess.

I wouldnt risk it.

I'd argue that Radke has been hurt all season and gutting it out until he just physically could not get the ball up there with anything on it. The fact that he's had a month off might actually help more than it hurts as the arm and shoulder have had that long to heal. As Breeze said, with his track record I'd trust Radke out there with an 83 mph fastball over Silva's 86 mph version. Like you said packerboy, it's a crapshoot and I'd go with the track record.

Of the four teams likely to make the playoffs the Twins do have the weakest rotation. They've got Cy Santana but then have to make it through the next three games with two rookies and Carlos Silva or Radke. Bonser has started to show that he's ready to pitch in the playoff pressure cooker, but Garza was rattled when he first came up and the playoffs will be another level so he might have some problems adjusting again. Their pen will need to carry them and it can if the starters keep them in the game.

Empire, I know you're just speculating but there's no way you can mess around with mixing the leagues together. For one thing you'd have to resolve the DH issue. Isn't the reason they had to move Milwaukee into the NL because they had an odd number of teams in each league after one of the expansions? If you move Milaukee back into the AL you'll have to have an interleague game almost every night.

I'm not a big fan of the unbalanced schedule, I'd like to see the Yankees and Red Sox here more than one time. I don't like the All-Star game deciding homefield advantage for the World Series. I've said this before, but I'd prefer the team with the best record getting that advantage, I know teams in a weak division or even league can have an advantage but at least it's determined by what the teams did on the field.

I'll admit I am not Silva's biggest fan. Never really have been. He had a couple decent seasons but to me it seemed he had a lot of luck during that stretch. A lot of scorchers were hit right at people and turned into double plays. Even guys like Jose Lima have had great seasons in this league, sometimes magic prevails over talent. He really rubbed me the wrong way last year when he bashed the offense for not giving him enough runs. Guess what, 10 wins with an over 6 ERA means he is getting support this year. It all runs in cycles, and it's not as if the team last year wasn't putting out their best effort. He also upset me when he left a critical game in Tampa because of a stomach ache. In the heat of a pennant race with every game being so important, I just don't like the lack of competitiveness. Chris Simms played a football game with a ruptured spleen, and Silva can't tough out a tummy ache, it bothers me. He doesn't strike me as mentally tough enough to be a consistent performer. That's the last I'll say about Silva.

Mussina appears to be a little banged up. He is the Yankees best starter, and if he misses any time at all, the Yankees would have the weakest rotation going into the playoffs. If I had to rank rotations as of now, it would go Detroit, Oakland if Harden is healthy, Minnesota, New York. Oddly enough the team with the weakest rotation is the heavy favorite to go to the Series. Hopefully their pitching dooms them in the postseason as it has recently.

Yah, I have the same problem with Radke.

He has never been the 'ace' that he was made out to be and ultimately paid to be. I think he has been a financial drain on the organization in a way that is disproportionate with his contribution.

When he spouted off last year about the lack of free agent signings and made some idiotic commenst about decisions by the 3rd base coach, he really Boofed me off.

And finnally, ChrisK and I now go at each other constantly over this issue and its all Radkes fault.

Breeze, you have a point about the Yankees rotation and if you go on numbers alone you're probably right. Still it's awful tough to feel confident when the Twins are sending out a boofin' rookie and the Yankees counter with Randy Johnson. Yeah, he's not been real good this year, but it's still Randy boofin' Johnson. Maybe that'll make it all the sweeter if the Twins get past the Yankees...

Breeze, I'm a little more positive on Silva, I think he might do alright in his original role coming out of the pen but he seems to run into a wall at about 4 innings. There's no question that Radke's mentally tougher, does anyone remember the first game of the Oakland playoff series a few years back, where the team was kicking the ball around and Radke pitched his tail off to keep them in the game which they eventually won. I know if he can throw the ball he'll give it everything he's got. And if he doesn't packerboy will be sure to let me know about it, especially at the Liffey next year between the AA quarterfinals.

I was going to mention something about Silva coming out of the pen, but my rant got too long. I think he is better served there, he can replace Willie Eyre for the postseason.

It's looking good with the Sox down 6-1 and the Twins up 1-0, the clinch could come tonight.

TWINS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!

Twins Clinch!

Johan: CY YOUNG

Morneau: MVP

Liriano: (shoulda been) ROOKIE OF YEAR

Gardenhire: MANAGER OF YEAR

Nicely done boys, and now the division.

I don't see it any other way than this.

1Santana
2Bonser
3Garza
4Silva

Believe it or not, but the next three with the Royals could be the toughest from here on out. Tigers look out! My sources out by the lake tell me that there are a couple of boat tours lined up for this weekend reserved under the names of Paul Konerko and Juan Uribe. Don't think the Sox are going to be thinking too much ball on the weekend.

The incredible Boof strikes again.

Unbooflievable.

Thanks for getting this ball rolling back on 6-18 IS.

Very impressive.

A fitting way to clinch.

The starting pitcher who spent most of the year in AAA shuts down the other team.

Morneau and Hunter hit big bombs.

Way to go.

I never thought it would be over this early. The Whiteys blew a gasket but the Twins won it with very good Sept run.

Dont look now but your Twins are one game back from having the best record in the AL. Thats a long way from the title of this thread.

Based on where all of these teams are right now, if the Twins can get by the Yankees, they will win the World Series. The Twins are better than the A's and the Tigers.

Santana is the key to the length of the playoff run. As he goes, the Twins will go. There is no other player in the postseason who is so critical to his team's success.

The Unit's gotta bad back, Mussina has a bruised hand, everyone's favorite in the AL is getting banged up at the wrong time in the one place they could not afford it, their rotation.

If Bonser pitches as he has lately in the postseason, we have a very good shot at the series. Throw in 2 stellar performances from Santana, and our chances in that first round are looking good. Let's take care of the hapless Royals these next 3 games and then mop up on an indifferent White Sox team this weekend.

This will be Santanas last start tonight so he can only get to 19 wins.

Even though the playoffs are clinched, there is still alot of interst in how individual players will do.

Mauers pursuit of the batting title will be interesting. Does he sit on the last day(s) if its a meaningless game and he has the lead?

With Ortiz and Dye's team eliminated form the playoffs, what will stop Morneau from being MVP? Maybe Jeter winning the batting titile.

Interesting that Mauer may help his roomie win the MVP by keeping Jeter from the Silver Bat, unless Jeters own teamate does that.

No wy does anyone edge Santana form the Cy Young.

If Gardy wins the division , is he manager of the year?

Thats a real interesting battle. Leyland takes over a team that was 20+ games under .500 and has them 30 games over in 1 season. Gardy battles thru some real serious injuries and re -tools a team on the run and he is 30 over .500. Coin flip.

Whats is the most intersting is we thought that the only thing we would have to talk about at this time would be individual stats and next season because the playoffs would be out of reach. Now, Ozzie can do that.

I agree with all your points, but you're forgetting one man in the Coach Of The Year race, Joe Torre.

Many say this is his best coaching job ever. He had the injuries to Matsui, Sheffield, and Cano and managed to hold the team together. He is widely regarded as the best manager in baseball.

Personally, I think it would be a joke if he won, and would show absolute east coast/Yankee bias. I could win 90 games managing that team with 200+million dollars to spend, and I think what Leyland and Gardy have done, Torre wouldn't have been able to. I really hope he isn't even considered in this race.

I agree with all your points, but you're forgetting one man in the Coach Of The Year race, Joe Torre.

Many say this is his best coaching job ever. He had the injuries to Matsui, Sheffield, and Cano and managed to hold the team together. He is widely regarded as the best manager in baseball.

Personally, I think it would be a joke if he won, and would show absolute east coast/Yankee bias. I could win 90 games managing that team with 200+million dollars to spend, and I think what Leyland and Gardy have done, Torre wouldn't have been able to. I really hope he isn't even considered in this race.

Morneau will not win the MVP. For one to win that award there needs to be support coming from all over the country. Let's just say that he isn't getting much love from a market that is in the division and within 500 miles of where he plays.

In the beginning of the year the Twins were odd bad with players like the creepy Tony Batista and the pouting Kyle Lohse. Now they are odd good with players like Bonser and Bartlett who responded positively to their demotions. Today's athletes, pro or not, usually don't dig deeper to make themselves better when they are benched, challenged, or demoted. Bonser and Bartlett could have claimed victim status or become disgruntled tools, a la Kyle Lohse. Instead they execised their own demons and made themselves better. Reusse's column yesterday really explained how Bonser took his medicine and came back a better pitcher.

Kyle, the problems you had in Minnesota will follow you to the Reds, the system isn't the problem, you are. By the way, how's it working out for you? The team you played yourself out of has had injuries and has gone as deep as Class A ball this year to find a starter.

Any manager who gets his team in the playoffs deserves consideration regardless of payroll. But if the team has a 'storyline' to it, it seems the awards follow.

Both Det and Min were out of the playoffs last year. Det hasnt been there in 20 years and lost 90 games last year. We all know the Twins story.

The Yankees have been business as usual in spite of some injuries. They won the division last year. Same old stuff.

IS, who do the people in CHI like for MVP? Dye, I suppose.

All I know is that in recent years, there has been a strong bias towards someone from a playoff team. Morneau has the best numbers overall of anyone on a playoff team. If he doesnt get it, I would like to hear why.

I dont like the idea of Mauer sitting. He can DH.Let him win the batting title on the field. Its the only award we have that you cant argue about.

Are they planning on sitting Mauer for the rest of the season? The individual awards are fine, but Gardy's highest priority has to be getting the team ready for the playoffs and if that means Mauer needs a few days off so be it. I don't think he needs the full six games off however, he should at least DH most of the games to keep sharp as you can get too much rest.

Although Gardenhire does deserve manager of the year consideration, I'd have to give it to Leyland. He took basically the same team as last year which finished twenty games under .500 and turned them into one of the best in baseball.

I was at the game last night, Johan seemed a little bit off but still pitched well and after squandering a number of good chances the hitters finally came through for him. The crowd was announced at 24,000 and at the end of the game when Nathan was pitching his way out of a self-induced jam she said the crowd was louder than at the Vikings game on Sunday which she'd also been at. I heard Dan Barreiro on KFAN yesterday saying the Twins were the most exciting story that he's seen here, even better than the 1998 Vikings. So packerboy, this team may have finally transformed this town into a baseball town though you know the Vikings will never be out of the picture.

Detroit Tigers 2006 Salaries
PLAYER SALARY (US$)
1. Magglio Ordonez 16,200,000
2. Ivan Rodriguez 10,616,410
3. Sean Casey 8,500,000
4. Kenny Rogers 8,000,000
5. Troy Percival 6,000,000
6. Todd Jones 5,809,159
7. Carlos Guillen 5,000,000
8. Placido Polanco 4,600,000
9. Brandon Inge 3,000,000
10. Craig Monroe 2,800,000
11. Neifi Perez 2,500,000
12. Mike Maroth 2,300,000
13. Jeremy Bonderman 2,300,000
14. Matt Stairs 1,350,000
15. Jamie Walker 1,250,000
16. Justin Verlander 980,000
17. Vance Wilson 750,000
18. Nate Robertson 402,500
19. Fernando Rodney 385,000
20. Omar Infante 385,000
21. Ramon Santiago 375,000
22. Chris Shelton 365,000
23. Jason Grilli 350,000
24. Marcus Thames 342,000
25. Curtis Granderson 335,000
26. Craig Dingman 330,000
27. Joel Zumaya 327,000
Total Team Salary: 82,302,069

Minnesota Twins 2006 Salaries
PLAYER SALARY (US$)
1. Torii Hunter 10,750,000
2. Phil Nevin 10,333,347
3. Brad Radke 9,000,000
4. Johan Santana 8,750,000
5. Shannon Stewart 6,500,000
6. Luis Castillo 5,485,548
7. Joe Nathan 3,750,000
8. Carlos Silva 3,200,000
9. Rondell White 2,500,000
10. Michael Cuddyer 1,300,000
11. Mike Redmond 900,000
12. Juan Rincon 900,000
13. Nick Punto 690,000
14. Lew Ford 425,000
15. Joe Mauer 400,000
16. Justin Morneau 385,000
17. Jesse Crain 361,000
18. Matt Guerrier 343,500
19. Luis Rodriguez 332,000
20. Scott Baker 330,000
21. Jason Kubel 327,000
22. Francisco Liriano 327,000
23. Willie Eyre 327,000
Total Team Salary: 63,810,048

Even with Nevins 10 Mil, the Twins are 20 Million behind the Tigers.

Gardy does the most with the least.

I dont think so ChrisK. When the crowd is 18,000 on the first home game after a phenominal 7-3 stretch drive road trip and on a night they could clinch......baseball town it aint.

Thats great that Barrerio says that but his station is non stop Vikings. I usually get in the car about 7:30 AM and turn on the Fan.

No matter if the Twins are hot or coming off an exicting win the night before, they are talking about the third string Viking linebacker and whether he can contribute or will make the practice squad.

I then switch stations.

Say ChrisK, I suppose you will be in the stands on Thursday with your #22 jersy on watching your washed up overpaid hero try to pitch.

And why? For Love of The Game.

Good point Neut. But then do we give it to the Oakland manager? I hink they are pretty low budget too.