I was looking at the ALCS and NLCS schedules last night and realized something, they are different from the World Series. My apologies for being a year late on this (they added an extra day in 2007) but how can baseball do this? MLB has added an extra day to both series so they now have a scheduled off-day between Games 4 and 5. Yet, in the World Series, the biggest stage for baseball, no such off-day exists.
I don't understand the logic here, why use it in one series and not another? In the LCS, a team could pitch a starter three times by using him in Game 1, then Game 4 on short rest and then Game 7 on full rest. In the World Series that can only be done by using the pitcher on short rest twice. It seems crazy to operate under two sets of rules.
The reason has to be TV. I don't know this for sure, but I suspect it was done to allow the networks to put more games into primetime. By having only one game on a given night, which they accomplish up to eight times with this system, the networks increase exposure. The thing is, I think they kill the momentum of a series. The Phillies staged a great comeback last night and after Game 3's testiness, people are into the series. It would be fun to see if they can finish the job tonight. But, thanks to the new schedule, there will be an off-day today and if the Dodgers win, another one on Thursday. That means one game in three days, not exactly the way to keep everyone interested. The same thing will happen in the ALCS if they go beyond five games.
Maybe TV should stop worrying about trying to create drama and just let it happen. They have had some bad luck this postseason with their best story (The Cubs) getting swept in the first round and not having any of the first round series go the distance. If the Dodgers get eliminated, they will lose another big story, not that any of us will feel sorry for them.