Okay, here's the problem. Baseball has one league with 16 teams and one with 14 teams. Some of the divisions have four teams, some have five, and the NL Central has six. Two teams - Montreal and Minnesota - aren't drawing flies. Do we fold these franchises or move them? Also, how do we even up the divisions?
It's true that the attendance in those two cities is a serious problem. The Expos drew 9,700 and 10,300 last Saturday and Sunday, while the Twins failed to pass 10,000 on either day. Montreal has had only 4 crowds of 20,000 or more since opening day!
I think we all know by now that Montreal and Minnesota can't support major league teams.
If it were possible, I'd move the Expos and fold up the Twins. However, we'd then have 29 teams, and one team will always be idle every day. Either we fold them both or move them both.
My suggeston is this: move the Expos to Washington, D.C. or northern Virginia. Move the Twins to Charlotte or Nashville. Then, make sure each division has five teams.
Really? How?
Here's my idea:
AL East - New York, Boston, Toronto, Baltimore, Washington.
AL Central - Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Charlotte/Nashville, Kansas City.
AL West - Oakland, Seattle, Anaheim, Texas, Houston.
NL East - New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Florida, Tampa Bay.
NL Central - Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee.
NL West - Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Arizona, Colorado.
As you can see, the new Washington team and the Houston Astros moved to the American League, while the Tampa Bay Devil Rays moved to the National. Now, each league has 15 teams. We've also helped a few teams out by creating natural rivalries - Baltimore vs. Washington, Florida vs. Tampa Bay, and Texas vs. Houston.
But doesn't that cause the same problem as before? You'll always have an odd team out in each league every day, unless you have interleague play every day of the season.
That leads to my second proposal. I'd divide the 30 teams into two leagues of 20 teams each.
Huh?
For scheduling purposes only, that is.
For example, the Yankees play a certain number of games in their own division, and a smaller number against each of the other AL teams. For scheduling purposes, the NL East is treated like a member of the AL as far as the Yankees are concerned. So, their league consists of the AL East, AL Central, AL West, and NL East.
In like fashion, the Dodgers play against the NL West, NL Central, NL East, and the AL West.
Each team, then, can be considered as part of a 20-team league - all 3 divisions in their own league, and the matching division in the other league.
So, if each team plays 18 times against the other 4 teams in their own division (4 X 18 = 72 games), and 6 times against the other 15 teams in its league (6 X 15 = 90 games), we have a 162 game schedule, just like now.
Or, maybe 18 games against one team is too many. Try 15 games against division rivals (4 X 15 = 60) and 7 against other teams in the league (7 X 15 = 105). This makes a 165 game schedule.
They won't play against the two other divisions in the opposite league, though.
That's OK. I think we can do without those riveting Phillies-Mariners and Angels-Marlins contests.