All Tied Up

Grandstander · September 30th, 2007, 08:54 AM

Should the Padres lose today while the Mets, Phillies and Rockies all win, we will be left with a situation of four teams with identical records. Philadelphia and New York will be tied for the Eastern division crown, and all four teams will be tied for the wild card.

The tie breaker system works like this:

Quote:

If Colorado, New York and Philadelphia win Sunday and San Diego loses, all would finish 89-73. New York and Philadelphia would play the NL East tiebreaker Monday; the loser would play a three-team, two-day, wild-card tiebreaker with Colorado and San Diego on Tuesday and Wednesday. In that scenario, Colorado (the team with the best head-to-head record among the three teams in the wild-card tiebreaker) would get the choice of having a bye on Tuesday or playing both games at home.

ESPN - NL tiebreaker scenarios - MLB

I'm wondering, since 163rd tie breaker games count in the regular season standings and stats, why would the loser of the Phillies-Mets playoff game still be in the wild card hunt? That loser would have it's record drop to 89-74 while the other elligible teams were all at 89-73.

And if the above scenario should be realized, which scenario should the Rockies select? Obviously it's better to just have to beat one team to make the cut, even if it means doing it on the road, but I wonder how much the revenues from one or two tie breaker games at home will tempt the Rockies into playing two rather than one.

Also....I've seen no explanation regarding who the Rockies would play regardless of their choice of two at home or one on the road. If they select home, who is their first opponent and who is the second? If they select road, is it the Padres or the loser of the Mets-Phillies game who winds up hosting two at home? How is all that determined?

The Padres could solve all this by winning today.....but I sort of hope that they don't.

unreal654 · September 30th, 2007, 10:06 AM

I really hope the Padres win.

jtur88 · September 30th, 2007, 10:15 AM

No. The loser of the Phils Mets onepgame playoff would have their 74th loss, and the Padres cannot lose 74. The mets can win the division, but cannot mathematically figure in the wild card.

unreal654 · September 30th, 2007, 10:16 AM

I'm pretty sure that the loser of the Mets/Phils tie breaker is still in contention for the wildcard and treated as a 73 loss team.

bedir than average · September 30th, 2007, 10:21 AM

So Rollins can wind up playing up to 3 more games? (losing the NL East Playoff, winning game one of the three way WC and winning game two thereby being the NL Wild Card team)

Some records are made to remain unbroken

Grandstander · September 30th, 2007, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtur88

No. The loser of the Phils Mets onepgame playoff would have their 74th loss, and the Padres cannot lose 74. The mets can win the division, but cannot mathematically figure in the wild card.

Them ain't the rules, didn't you read them in my quoted link? The loser of the Mets-Phillies games, depsite having an additional loss, still qualifies as a wild card contender if the Padres lose today.

bedir than average · September 30th, 2007, 03:50 PM

Looks as if the only tie we may be able to see is a tie for the NL Wild Card between San Diego and Colorado.

jtur88 · September 30th, 2007, 04:49 PM

It used to be the rule, as recently as last year. Did they change that rule this year? Just like this year they changed the rule so that now the batter cannot step out of the box and the pitcher has 12 seconds to pitch?

Is the extra game after today counted in the stats of the players? If so, a team pitching staff can have a total of 74 losses, but the team would have only 73 l.osses. Is that correct?

Your link has been updated, and no longer references the Mets.

Here are some of the other new "rules" imposed in 2007: (The seem to be rather hit-and-miss about enforcing them. In fact, absolutely 100% miss))

The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News

Time between pitches: The allotment for delivering the ball with no one on base has been reduced, from 20 seconds to 12. The price for each violation is a ball.

• Batter's box presence: Conversely, an automatic strike will be assessed each time a batter violates the rule requiring they keep one foot in the batter's box throughout his at-bat, except for certain game-play conditions -- during which he is still not allowed to leave the dirt area surrounding the plate.

jtur88 · September 30th, 2007, 07:26 PM

I stand corrected. Here is the rule:

Rules Relating to Divisonal Tiebreakers - Baseball-Reference.com

September 30th, 2007, 10:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
jtur88 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 7,857	No. The loser of the Phils Mets onepgame playoff would have their 74th loss, and the Padres cannot lose 74. The mets can win the division, but cannot mathematically figure in the wild card. __________________ ------------------ When people ask what I hope to see before I die, I answer that I've already seen too much.

September 30th, 2007, 10:21 AM	#5 (permalink)
bedir than average Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Starbucks Posts: 8,258	So Rollins can wind up playing up to 3 more games? (losing the NL East Playoff, winning game one of the three way WC and winning game two thereby being the NL Wild Card team) Some records are made to remain unbroken __________________ I'm sorry I left for a while. I needed a vaction, and then work changed substantially. I'm over 50 hour weeks, plus two hours a day of commuting time. A few weeks ago I launched my own blog about Seattle Sounders FC and Life in Puget Sound. I won't be by these parts often as my focus has changed. Sorry about the unannounced retirement.

September 30th, 2007, 03:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
bedir than average Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Starbucks Posts: 8,258	Looks as if the only tie we may be able to see is a tie for the NL Wild Card between San Diego and Colorado. __________________ I'm sorry I left for a while. I needed a vaction, and then work changed substantially. I'm over 50 hour weeks, plus two hours a day of commuting time. A few weeks ago I launched my own blog about Seattle Sounders FC and Life in Puget Sound. I won't be by these parts often as my focus has changed. Sorry about the unannounced retirement.

September 30th, 2007, 04:49 PM	#8 (permalink)
jtur88 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 7,857	It used to be the rule, as recently as last year. Did they change that rule this year? Just like this year they changed the rule so that now the batter cannot step out of the box and the pitcher has 12 seconds to pitch? Is the extra game after today counted in the stats of the players? If so, a team pitching staff can have a total of 74 losses, but the team would have only 73 l.osses. Is that correct? Your link has been updated, and no longer references the Mets. Here are some of the other new "rules" imposed in 2007: (The seem to be rather hit-and-miss about enforcing them. In fact, absolutely 100% miss)) The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News Time between pitches: The allotment for delivering the ball with no one on base has been reduced, from 20 seconds to 12. The price for each violation is a ball. • Batter's box presence: Conversely, an automatic strike will be assessed each time a batter violates the rule requiring they keep one foot in the batter's box throughout his at-bat, except for certain game-play conditions -- during which he is still not allowed to leave the dirt area surrounding the plate. __________________ ------------------ When people ask what I hope to see before I die, I answer that I've already seen too much. Last edited by jtur88; September 30th, 2007 at 05:06 PM.

September 30th, 2007, 07:26 PM	#9 (permalink)
jtur88 Hall of Famer Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Texas Posts: 7,857	I stand corrected. Here is the rule: Rules Relating to Divisonal Tiebreakers - Baseball-Reference.com __________________ ------------------ When people ask what I hope to see before I die, I answer that I've already seen too much.

September 30th, 2007, 10:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
unreal654 Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 332	I really hope the Padres win.

September 30th, 2007, 10:16 AM	#4 (permalink)
unreal654 Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 332	I'm pretty sure that the loser of the Mets/Phils tie breaker is still in contention for the wildcard and treated as a 73 loss team.