What a tangled web. The Major Baseball League (MBL) policy seems to be that if teams tie for the division they settle that with one extra game, not with tie breakers like season series between the teams. Maybe they should give the teams the choice. Even a coin flip might be better.
The American Conference standings:
West:
Texas 88
Oakland 84
East:
Yankees 85
Baltimore 85
Central:
Chicago 81
Detroit 79
If the Yankees and Baltimore tie they must play that one extra game while Oakland waits and rests to play the loser.
Wouldn't the loser of that Yankees - Baltimore game be better off to simply flip a coin? At least then if the team must face elimination in the Wild Card play-in game it would not need to waste pitching resources playing the extra game for the division lead.
Suppose they engage in an 18 inning game like Baltimore played just a few days ago? Suppose the Yankees are down four runs after six innings? Should manager Joe Girardi conserve resources for the do or die elimination game the next day that his Yankees are likely to face?
That coin flip looks pretty good.
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