Teams With Best Records Get A Break
Spring training
Major League Baseball changed its playoff format to give teams with the best regular-season records an advantage in the postseason.
Under the new system, teams will be seeded in the first round based on their won-lost record and will play a 2-2-1 format instead of the current 2-3 setup.
The division winners will play the wild-card team, unless they are in the same division. In that case, the division winner with the best record will play the division winner with the worst record.
In the league championship series, teams with the home-field advantage will play the first two games at home and return for games six and seven, if necessary.
‘The Boss’ won’t sell
Despite a discussion with Cablevision, George Steinbrenner said he has no intention of selling the New York Yankees.
“I’m not talking to anybody about selling,” Steinbrenner said, responding to a report in Newsday.
Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan, whose company owns the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers, talked with the Yankees about a purchase, Newsday reported. Cablevision, which has television rights to the Yankees and New York Mets, has been rumored in baseball circles to be interested in buying one of the two teams.
“George Steinbrenner has met with Chuck Dolan several times and has enjoyed a long-term and strong relationship with Dolan and Cablevision,” Steinbrenner spokesman Howard Rubenstein said. “At one of their meetings, the possibility of Cablevision buying into the Yankees was discussed. But no deal was made. The Steinbrenners will be with the Yankees for many years to come. ‘The Boss’ is here to stay.”
No trace of defectors
The Coast Guard found no signs of four missing Cuban baseball players and a coach during routine patrols of the Florida Straits.
Two Coast Guard aircraft flew out to the Cay Sal Bank area off the southwestern Bahamas looking for the group, said spokesman Jeff Hall.
The Cubans, including four former members of the national team, left the island in a flimsy boat more than a week ago and haven’t been heard from since.
How about Las Vegas?
The Oakland Athletics are studying Las Vegas to see how well the city could support a major league baseball team, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
But A’s owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann apparently still prefer San Jose as a future home.
Las Vegas, the fastest-growing city in the country over the past 10 years, is expected to grow from 1.2 million to 2 million within the decade.
Smoltz looks sharp
John Smoltz, showing no lingering effects from off-season surgery on his right elbow, pitched a perfect inning in his first outing of spring training.
Jack McDowell pitched five scoreless innings and Tim Salmon hit a three-run homer as the Anaheim Angels beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2.
Rickey Henderson had a two-run double and stole a base for the second straight day as Oakland defeated San Diego in a split-squad game.