GMs may do away with the coin-toss tiebreakers

November 7, 2008 by Benjamin Kabak 15 Comments

It’s a quiet night in Yankee-land. The GMs are heading home, and the dealing won’t come down for a few more days. But for playoff-watchers, the General Managers are close to making a significant change. They want to do away with coin-flip tiebreaker scenarios. Right now, MLB determines home-field advantage for potential tiebreaker games based on a series of coin flips. The GMs would rather see the advantage awarded to the teams with the best records in head-to-head competition. Either way, it’s all kind of arbitrary, but this seems more fair than a bunch of coin tosses.

http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/profile.php?id=594331910&ref=name Jamal G.

Brandon Roy is the greatest man alive.

As to the topic, why in God’s name has this taken so long to potentially be changed?
- radnom
  
  BECUASE OJ|HE GMS HAVE NO PAWER
  
  HAIL ZULU
mlb2009

So if the tie-breaker teams with identical records were doing a coin toss, did they do a coin toss to determine which team calls heads or tails in the tie-breaker coin toss? Or did they mash that out by playing odds & evens, and occasionally, paper, scissors, rock?
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/CRsmithT1.jpg tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Mr. Snarky Irrelevant Non Sequitur Jones
  
  They rochambeau each other for it.
Steve

If the head to head record is also tied, then the managers have to play Rock-Paper-Scissors.
Steve

“DANA POINT, Calif. – Brian Cashman’s high-stakes wagering may have to wait until Las Vegas.

The Yankee general manager left the GM meetings yesterday without any new additions to his roster, but at least has an idea about the landscape heading to next month’s winter meetings in Las Vegas.

I certainly have players that teams are interested in, some more than others,” Cashman said. “But I certainly have some players that nobody has any interest in.”

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11072008/sports/yankees/meets_taught_yankees_gm_he_has_chips_137522.htm

Very Interested-Phil Hughes, A-Jax, Melancon, Montero

Barely interested-Melky, IPK, Jeff Marquez, Chris Britton

Not interested-Kei Igawa, Alan Horne, Shelly Duncan, Eric Duncan
- Bo
  
  I find it hard to fathom that teams that are desperate for pitching aren’t interested in a 28 yr old lefty who had good numbers in AAA.
  - Spaceman.Spiff
    
    Kei is 29 now. But more importantly, he gets paid a major league contract that no one wants based on what he’s done in the major leagues, which is get battered. Maybe if he had a minor league contract, those decent numbers in AAA would draw attention but as it is right now, nobody is really clamoring for him. Most telling is probably the fact that he cleared waivers last year, that’s about how interested teams are in him.
    - http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/CRsmithT1.jpg tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Mr. Snarky Irrelevant Non Sequitur Jones
      
      Cashman: Sure, you may not be interested in Kei Igawa, but what about this unheralded mixed-race Japanese-Dominican kid I signed from the Mexican leagues last August, Keimándo Igawabañez?
      - Mike Pop
        
        Ya he looks just like Igawa but Igawa died and we got this guy.. I REPEAT HE IS NOT IGAWA !
        
        We gotta get him different finger-prints and give him a new haircut… ALso he wont be able to run 4 miles be4 every start..
      - Steve
        
        I’m glad somebody went with the bit.
  - steve (different one)
    
    Steve is just guessing at those players.
    
    i’m not saying i don’t agree with him, but it’s not like the article named the players that no one wants.
    - Spaceman.Spiff
      
      True, I’m just saying there’s a reason no one made a claim on him on waivers. No team will give up any player or prospect of note with Igawa as anything more than a throw-in. So interest has to be considered minimal at best in him.
      - steve (different one)
        
        no, i don’t disagree.
        
        though i wonder if they put him on waivers NOW if someone would take him.
        
        it’s different in the middle of the season. the teams that are out of the race won’t see the need to add any salary.
        
        but in the offseason, when teams have holes in their rotations, he could draw some interest.
        
        but you’re right, probably not.
    - Steve
      
      Not only was I guessing, but also being a little silly by listing who I thought he meant.