I like BillyBeaneismyHero’s idea, but we won’t see a balanced schedule anytime soon.  The reason rhymes with “ESPN wants the Sox and Yankees to play each other a million times a year.”

(I realize I asked this in the NBC post, but I was hoping you’d sate my curiosity this time.)

What was the reasoning behind using Cashman’s quote in a post you(do you do the headlines?) headlined “Are the playoffs fair?”

Cashman’s quote had nothing to do with the fairness of the current playoff system, but was actually a good take on what may have been if the current playoff format had always been in place.

However, Mike Scioscia had a quote that directly related to the headline. “‘The wild-card team should have a much tougher road,’ Scioscia says. ‘It should be a much greater challenge where you have to scratch and claw.’”

But you chose the Cashman quote.

Mode: I don’t know that I had any real reasoning. I usually don’t put too much thought into which quotes I pick when many are available and somewhat interesting. I think I was interested in (a) having a quote from someone associated with the Yankees, simply because they’re the top seed this year; and (b) I’ve always been partial to anything that reminds us that it was much easier to win a championship years ago, what with the single playoff series.