MLB is working toward a schedule solution that will get another team into the playoffs next year and give the top seed in the league a first-round bye. But right now it's a logistical nightmare - fitting in essence another round of playoffs as the date of Game 1 of the World Series is set (it's supposed to be Oct. 24, in case you want to mark your calendar). And if there are tiebreakers, it creates a whole other level of travel headache possibilities. But Bud Selig says he believes they'll get a plan done.

Baseball will try to spin this as a great thing, giving hope to more cities and teams to make a playoff run. And mathematically, that's true.

But that's the only development this offseason that's been good for small-market teams. Because as long as teams don't have to share their local TV money, the de facto MLB caste system is getting worse. And because sports programming is what one observer calls "the glue" to cable TV these days, the rights fees are exploding. But generally, only for the big markets.

Just look at the player contracts this offseason. After a couple of seasons of modest contract growth during the recession, the money is really flowing to star players again. And it's not just free agents such as Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Tim Lincecum isn't even eligible for free agency, and he'll be paid $18 million this year and $22 million in 2003. Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury went from making $2.4 million in 2011 to more than $8 million during the pre-arbitration negotiation process. New Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey, who made $465,000 with the A's, will make $3.9 million from the Red Sox in his third season. No wonder the A's couldn't afford him, nor Gio Gonzalez, nor Trevor Cahill. We're getting to the point where teams like the A's can only afford rookies and marginal major leaguers.

In the American League, a poverty line is becoming visible.

The haves: Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Rangers.

The have-nots: Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays, Indians, Royals, Twins, Mariners, A's and perhaps the White Sox. (The White Sox and Orioles might be considered middle class based on the markets. But it's a dwindling middle class.)

Would it be any surprise that if the five-team format comes online in 2012, that those five above teams will be the playoff representatives?

It would an upset if they're not.

Related: You make the call -- how to restore economic balance in baseball

Extra playoff team won't solve MLB's burgeoning balance problem originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 01:12:43.

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It's time for the battle of the Windy City in our All-Time Lineups series, which matches up the best to play at each position in any one season in team history. They are both teams with long histories, but few titles. In fact the White Sox and Cubs have combined for one championship in the last 94 years.

But even without a lot of success, there's still Hall of Famers all over both lineups.

*-And to be fair for the matchup, we added one player to the roster for the Cubs, so they have a DH. (There is no DH on their official all-time lineup.)

Who would win in this matchup? (As always, click the team name for the full lineups, stats and arguments.)

Cubs

1. Rogers Hornsby 2B (1929, .380-39-149)
2. Gabby Hartnett C (1935, .344-13-81)
3. Ernie Banks SS (1958, .313-47-129)
4. Sammy Sosa RF (2001, .328-64-160)
5. Hack Wilson CF (1930, .356-56-190)
6. Andre Dawson DH (1987, .287-49-137)*
7. Billy Williams LF (1970, .322-43-129)
8. Derrek Lee 1B (2005, .335-46-107)
9. Ron Santo 3B

Starting pitcher: Greg Maddux P (1992, 20-11, 2.18 ERA)

White Sox

1. Eddie Collins 2B (1920, .372, 3 HR, 76 RBI)
2. Shoeless Joe Jackson LF (.382-12-121)
3. Frank Thomas 1B (1994, .353-38-101)
4. Jermaine Dye RF (2006, .315-44-120)
5. Jim Thome DH (.288-42-109)
6. Luke Appling SS (.388-6-128)
7. Carlton Fisk C (.289-26-86)
8. Robin Ventura 3B (.287-34-105)
9. Carl Reynolds CF (.359-22-104)

Starting pitcher: Ed Walsh (1908, 40-15, 1.42 ERA)

All-Time Lineups Matchup No. 7: Battle of Chicago originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 15:05:33.

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The Detroit Tigers have one of the best hitters in the league in Miguel Cabrera, a guy whose had his share of off-field problems, has had weight issues, and now will attempt to play a position he couldn't handle when he was 30 pounds lighter.

In 2006 and 2007, Cabrera was the everyday third baseman for the Florida Marlins. In 2007, he was minus-11 in the zone fielding rating, putting him firmly in the bottom 20 percent of third basemen in baseball. He's listed at 240 pounds, but has been bigger. The Tigers tried him at third base in 2008 for 14 games, and he made five errors.

Buster Olney of ESPN.com wrote Saturday that he hasn't talked to a single MLB talent-evaluator who believes Cabrera can play third base regularly.

"I think he wants to show the world he can play third base," Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the Detroit News. "I don't think this is going to be bad. He told me he wants to play there."

Keep in mind that Leyland won the World Series in 1997 with a guy who was a bit overweight: Bobby Bonilla. It seems like the Tigers might be following that similar footprint. But only when they need to. It might take some ego-massaging from Leyland if Cabrera is adamant about playing third.

As the Detroit Free Press' Michael Rosenberg wrote: "Their best team does not include Cabrera at third. Cabrera has great feet and hands and a good arm, but he lacks quickness. Yeah, sure, maybe his bat can make up for his glove. But why do that, then put a parade of light-hitting guys at designated hitter? What is the point?"

Nobody whose in their 20s and healthy wants to be the DH. And it's likely that Cabrera and Fielder will both get some time at DH, too.

So this might be much ado about nothing, at least until Victor Martinez comes back in 2013. Then the Tigers truly have three star players for two spots.

Miguel Cabrera experiment will be interesting in Detroit originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at 23:49:40.

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There were two monster bats in the free agent market, and if anybody out there predicted that they'd end up with the Angels and Tigers, I want to see some time-stamped proof.

It took six weeks after Albert Pujols signed with Los Angeles for Prince Fielder to find his new home, and while everybody focused on the Washington Nationals and Texas Rangers, the Detroit Tigers stunned everybody by signing him.

The 27-year-old first baseman, whose father starred for the Tigers a generation ago (and dazzled onlookers with his potential), is going back to Motown on a nine-year, $214 million contract, the fourth-largest in baseball history. Detroit makes all the lists of cities experiencing hard times, but the Tigers certainly aren't acting like it.

Baseball-wise, it's stunning on quite a few levels. For one, the Tigers already have an MVP-caliber first baseman in Miguel Cabrera, meaning Fielder will either DH or Cabrera will DH or play third base. Last year's DH, Victor Martinez, is out for the season with a knee injury. It also means that the Tigers paying two sluggers with a history of weight issues more than $40 million per year.

The Tigers now have a hammer-lock on the best team, talent-wise, in the AL Central. Wrote the Detroit Free Press' Michael Rosenberg: "Signing Fielder makes the Tigers the most likely playoff team in all of baseball for 2012. The other four teams in the American League Central could merge and the Tigers might win the division anyway."

But with big contracts on big men comes limited flexibility. The Tigers have now locked up three players -- Cabrera, Fielder and Cy Young/MVP winner Justin Verlander -- to roughly $65 million annually for the next three years. That's more than the second-place Indians paid their entire roster last year. And if one or two of Detroit's big three go down with an injury -- especially Verlander --  it would be a disaster, because the Tigers won't be able to stretch much further with their payroll.

The Tigers also play in a pitcher's park. Doug Fister is a ground-ball pitcher, and an infield with both Cabrera (at third) and Fielder won't be pretty at times. Jhonny Peralta at shortstop is no Ozzie Smith. All three might be Silver Sluggers, but they bear little resemblance to Gold Gloves.

So are the Tigers a better team today? Sure they are. Should the rest of the division just hand the Tigers the title because they had a great offseason? Ask the Red Sox how that worked out last summer.

It's Beast Mode in Detroit with a king-sized deal for Prince Fielder originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 01:53:14.

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"Moneyball" was a darn good baseball movie, and it's now in contention for six Oscars.

The adaptation of Michael Lewis' book about the 2002 Oakland A's was nominated Tuesday for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best supporting Actor (Jonah Hill) and for editing and sound mixing.

Like those A's, the movie will be a big underdog in the Best Picture category against "The Artist," "The Descendants," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "The Help," "Hugo," "Midnight in Paris," "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse."

Review: "Moneyball"

10 Best Baseball Movies

'Moneyball' gets six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 11:26:44.

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Even in the American League (starting in 2013), the Houston Astros are probably going to be the Houston Astros for the forseeable future.

But new owner Jim Crane made a statement Monday that perhaps only a new owner would make. In a news conference, he said they will study whether or not to give the team a new name.

That would certainly kick some dirt on the space program, wouldn't it? And of course, fans took to the Internet, some to protest and others to offer their comedic takes.

On the Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News' sites, the Lastros, Disastros, Cosmos (a nod to the fact that we're now hitching rides to space with the Russians), Frackers,  Flounders, We-Have-A-Problems, Mosquitoes, Traffic and Mini-Phillies (the Hunter Pence and Roy Oswalt deals weren't real popular). And forget about the Colt 45s, the original team name, as there's no way that an MLB team would be allowed to be named after a gun/malt liquor these days.

On a serious side, there's the Buffs/Buffaloes (the minor league team in town before the Astros), Roughnecks, Oilers and Commanders.

And, of course, the best name possible for the new Astros: The Astros.  There's history there, even as the team has never won a World Series. Two generations of Houston baseball fans have been Astros fans, and it's a unique name that represents the city well. It's a heck of a lot better than the Utah Jazz.

"Baseball has to approve all of those logos and all of those changes and there is a lot of expense to it. We've got signs here and if we do change it, it's going to be expensive," Crane said in the news conference.

In other words, Houston fans, don't sweat it.

Internet lights up for Astros name suggestions originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 11:12:04.

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Their states are huge rivals in college football, and a little friendlier on the baseball diamond. A little.

The latest matchup in the All-Time Lineups series is the Detroit Tigers vs. the Cleveland Indians, and as two of the original American League teams, both teams have Hall of Famers all across their lineups.

A look at the starting lineups, picking the best at each position in any one season. (As always, click the team name for the full lineups, stats and arguments.)

Indians

1. Napoleon Lajoie 2B (1904, .376, 5 HR, 102 RBI)
2. Tris Speaker CF (1923, .380-17-130)
3. Jim Thome 1B (2002, .304, 52-118)
4. Albert Belle LF (1994, .357-36-101)
5. Manny Ramirez RF (2000, .351-38-122)
6. Al Rosen 3B (1953, .335-43-145)
7. Lou Boudreau SS (1948, .355-18-106)
8. Travis Hafner DH (2006, .308-42-117)
9. Sandy Alomar C (1997, .324-21-83)

Starting pitcher: Bob Feller (1946, 26-15, 2.18 ERA)

Tigers

• Ty Cobb CF (1911, .420-8-127)
• Charlie Gehringer 2B (1937, .371-14-96)
• Alan Trammell SS (1987, .343-28-105)
• Hank Greenberg 1B (1937, .315-58-146)
• Rocky Colavito LF (1961-.290-45-140)
• Harry Heilmann RF (1923, .403-18-115)
• Ivan Rodriguez C (2004, .334-19-86)
• Victor Martinez DH (2011, .330-12-103)
• George Kell 3B (1956, .340-8-101)

Starting pitcher: Denny McLain (1968, 31-6, 1.96 ERA)

All-Time Lineups Matchup No. 6: Tigers vs. Indians originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 at 01:00:47.

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Some sad news about a Hall of Famer: Doctors have found more tumors on Gary Carter's brain, according to an online journal published by his family.

The former Expos and Mets star catcher made an appearance at his golf tournament's charity banquet, but was unable to attend the tournament the following day. The types of brain tumors from which Carter is suffering are inoperable.

"I'm not feeling too good," Carter told the New York Daily News recently. "It's been coming on and coming on. I've had a chest cold. I've got sores in my mouth, blood clots. I get sick. ... There's just so many things. ... It's been nine months now and I don't feel any different from Day One. I haven't been up to doing any interviews."

According to the Daily News, doctors and the family are deciding whether to proceed with further treatment. Carter, who made the Hall of Fame in 2003, will be 58 in April.

Related: Mets all-time lineup, Expos all-time lineup, Top 10 catchers in major league history

Hall of Famer Gary Carter in grave condition originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 14:58:58.

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I remember the first time I saw Fausto Carmona pitch. It was 2003 in Eastlake, Ohio, in the inaugural season of the Single-A Lake County Captains.

He was dominant for that level, a 19-year-old Cleveland Indians ace in the making who pitched with the velocity and temperament of a player who was much older.

And there's now a logical explanation: He apparently was 22 at the time. And he allegedly wasn't named Fausto Carmona, either. Carmona -- or, Robert Hernandez Heredia -- was arrested in the Dominican Republic while trying to renew his visa. He reportedly was 20 when he signed with the Indians, not 17.

Carmona/Heredia is the second big-leaguer arrested this offseason in the Dominican. Marlins reliever Leo Nunez was arrested on a similar offense, with the given name of Juan Carlos Oviedo.

Why do they these players do it? Because a 17-year-old prospect is worth more than a 20-year-0ld prospect to big-league clubs, and tracking the paperwork in a foreign country can be tricky for big-league clubs, so players rarely are caught. Who knows how many other current and former players out there have similar stories? (Maybe some kind of amnesty program can be worked out.)

So Carmona/Heredia is now suddenly 31 instead of 28, and the Indians are on the hook for $7 million this season. The Marlins are paying Nunez/Oviedo $6 million. Looks like they did OK, right? They can change the names on the backs of their jerseys if they'd like, but they'll have to get their paperwork in order first.

Indians' Carmona (or Heredia) arrested in Dominican, charged with using false identity originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 18:33:45.

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One pitcher signed to a contract Wednesday was born on Aug. 16, 1986. Another pitched in 19 games before that date.

It's an odd couple, but Yu Darvish and Jamie Moyer both agreed to pitch this season on separate deals.

The Texas Rangers are paying the most a team has ever spent on a Japanese player through the posting process, agreeing to a six-year, $60 million deal with a 25-year-old potential ace in Darvish. The Rangers also had to pay a record a $51.7 million posting fee. That adds up to $11.7 million, and a lot of pressure, from a pitcher who was no doubt the best in Japan the last five years. He will fill the vacancy created when C.J. Wilson left for the Angels last month.

"The Rangers are getting an exceptional pitcher who has both the physical attributes and the mental makeup to be one of the great pitchers in baseball," said Darvish's agent, Arn Tellem, to the New York Times.

On the other end of the signing spectrum is a veteran with a minor-league deal. The Colorado Rockies signed Moyer, 49, who wants to give pitching another shot coming off arm surgery. It's a low-risk proposition for the Rockies - a minor-league deal with an invitation to the big-league camp in Arizona. Pitchers often see a boost in their velocity after the ligament transplant surgery, but that isn't likely to be the case for the lefty Moyer. No pitcher has ever tried to come back from the surgery at such an advanced age, either.

Moyer has won 267 big-league games. If Darvish wins half of that total, his big-league career will likely be considered a big success.

One day, an odd couple of signings: Yu Darvish and Jamie Moyer originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 00:59:56.

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