Rule #1: Baseball Must Drop the Wild Card or Lightning Will Strike Bud Selig in the Testicular Region

The Wild Card in baseball is, without competition, the worst decision any major league has made about the structure and substance of its own sport.  Ever.  I suppose someone out there will want me to say more about this, so I will, but it should be self-evident.

To counter the evolving popularity of the NBA, NFL, and (believe it or not) the NHL in the early 90s, baseball took three decisive steps. 

1. They turned a blind eye to steroids
2. They cancelled the 1994 World Series, and 
3. They started allowing 2nd place teams in the "postseason."  

All three turned out to be really, really bad decisions.  But allowing the "best loser" to keep playing is the worst.

While Jon Miller made a great argument about how this weakens the pennant races, which is the best thing about baseball, perhaps the best argument at the time came from Bob Costas.  In a Sporting News article he speculated about how Bobby Thompson's "Shot Heard Round the World" would have been called if it happened in 1995:

"THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!  THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!  THE DODGERS ARE THE WILD CARD!!!  THE DODGERS ARE THE WILD CARD!!!"

Add to this the fact that Bucky "Fucking" Dent's HR against the Red Sox in the one-game 1978 playoff also would not have happened, and you are removing the circumstances under which two of the most-loved moments in baseball history happened.  Gone.  Goodbye.  Hope you liked your Boone Logan Beanie Baby give-away.

Right now the Yankees are 2.5 games up on Boston.  No one cares, except the most passionate of Yanks and Sox fans (and I consider myself one of the former).  On Mike & Mike in the Morning today Mike Greenberg said there's basically only one pennant race left, and that's between the Texas Rangers and the Angels (no location to be given here, you need five words to say where you're from, you ain't from nowhere).  And that's a battle to see who is the 4th and 5th best team in the AL.  Old system, REAL system, either the Yanks OR the Sox make it.  Nation is riveted, every night is "must see," and there's genuine excitement.

Bud Selig, the man who calls himself the commissioner, keeps saying "people were against the Wild Card, but everyone's in favor of it now."  Bull-fucking-shit.  While I may be a member of the minority here, we exist.  But, what do you expect from a used car salesman - the truth?!?

I have not watched a single Yankees playoff game in which they were the Wild Card.  Never will.  Fortunately, in every one of the 27 years in which they won the World Series, they also won their league or division.  As it should be.