Baseball Update: Expanded Playoffs, Yankee Panic, & Pitcher Walk-Off Home Run

The Baseball Update takes a look at the stories and happenings around Major League Baseball. 

Creepy Pirate is Creepy: If you thought the Pittsburgh Pirate was creepy before, watch this video.



There's just something about Pirates that have always fascinated me. The laughing Pittsburgh Pirate though is just creepy and should be set ablaze.

Expanded Playoffs?: Oh yes folks it's coming. Major League Baseball is going to water down their product in a couple of years by adding another Wild Card to each leagues and then the two wild card teams would play each other in a best of 3 round to decide who moves on from there to face the division winners. Does that sound convoluted to you? It does to me.

Some of the players are not happy about this possible move including Tim Lincecum who I didn't know had an opinion on anything until this topic was brought up. Baseball Prospectus brings up the fact about scheduling.

Here's another point though, you're watering down the product Bud. The best thing about baseball in my opinion is that it is extremely hard to make the playoffs. Only one team can win six divisions and only two teams can win the Wild Card. Basketball and hockey in my opinion have watered down playoffs because half of their teams in the league can make it to the postseason. In baseball only a handful of the teams can reach the postseason. That in essence makes the regular season meaningful to teams fighting for a playoff spot. Don't ruin this Bud by adding another team and another round of playoff games. You're going to do it anyways, but at least think about what you are doing.


Should Grady Sizemore Tone Down His Style?: Pete Gammons certainly believes so. Gammons is afraid Sizemore's balls-to-the-wall style will cut short his playing career. Certainly an interesting debate when Gammons brought up the fact that Darrin Erstad and Ken Griffey Jr. played at the ball-to-the-wall style during the early parts of their careers and were hurt for the last years they played. So should Sizemore tone down his style a little?

Gammons isn't suggesting Sizemore should loaf, but he is suggesting that Sizemore shouldn't crash into the wall chasing every fly ball. Preserve his body since Sizemore has already had knee surgery and has been injured numerous times before. Sadly I have to agree with Gammons. Sizemore is a very important player to the Indians who are the surprise team of the year. The Indians could very well win the weak AL Central, but they'll need Sizemore to help them get there. Sizemore can't help if he's recovery from another injury.

The Legend of Sam Fuld Grows: Tampa Bay outfielder Sam Fuld has reached cult status since the beginning of the season. His diving catches and .400+ OBP gives Sabermetrics nerds wood. Well the sabermetric nerds will definitely have blue balls after reading this story. 

Among worldly Sam Fuld's many experiences is the time he spent as an intern at Stats, Inc., after he graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics.

From his cubicle in Aurora, Ill., Fuld would watch games on film and plot every pitch.

"The type, the velocity and the location," Fuld said. "This was before all the computer systems did that for you."

That sound you just heard was Sabermetric nerds blowing their load.

PANIC!: Mariano Rivera blew another save yesterday. That can only mean one thing in Yankee world. PANIC! HOARD WATER, FOOD AND BATTERIES THE WORLD IS GOING TO END. IF YOU'RE ELDERLY OR A SMALL CHILD, YOU MIGHT NOT SURVIVE!

Only The Giants: Mark Simon of the ESPN baseball blog Sweet Spot is taking a look back at the crazy 1986 season. Today he looks at the last pitcher who hit a walk-off home run. Padres Craig Lefferts and his tremendous mustache was the last pitcher who hit a walk-off home run. Of course he hit that home run off a Giants pitcher. Of course the team that lost a pair of games last season without giving up more than one hit to the opposing team would be the last team that gave up a walk-off home run to a pitcher.