UPDATED: Red Sox-Dodgers Mega Deal is now Official

(UPDATE) According to reports the deal is done (Nick Punto also tweeted this photo of the Sox players heading to LA). Beckett, Gonzalez, Crawford and Punto to LA for Pitcher Rubby De La Rosa, James Loney and prospects Allen Webster (RHP), Ivan De Jesus (INF) and Jerry Sands (OF) are headed to Boston.

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There's a lot in the deal, so here's ESPN for the details if you have not heard them already.

Jon Heyman is reporting that the deal has been agreed upon by the teams and is awaiting approval from the league.

Crazy deal, but one that will help both clubs. The Red Sox get a bailout on all their bad contracts giving them a ton of flexibility moving forward, plus whatever they take back in the deal. On the other hand, the Dodgers probably put themselves at the top of the WS Contenders list. Good for Donnie.

MLB To Test Replay System at Yankee Stadium & Citi Field

From Jeff Passan:

Major League Baseball owners have agreed to test two different advanced replay systems live during games starting next week, and if they prove accurate they could precede an overhaul of the system for the 2013 season, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

MLB will analyze a radar-based system and a camera-based system, both similar to the one used in tennis for down-the-line fair-or-foul calls. Yankee Stadium and Citi Field will be the guinea-pig parks for the systems, which have been installed recently.

The use of the systems will be strictly in the background and for analysis. Because the number of questionable plays during games is likely to be limited, MLB plans to do extra testing on non-game days. Before implementing the technology in its 30 ballparks, the league wants to ensure its accuracy is up to standard.

Because of Armando Galarraga's blown perfect game in 2010 and seemingly nightly missed calls, the outcry for replay has grown loud enough that it forced MLB to at least consider a wide-ranging proposal presented at the owners' meetings this week in Denver. While they have balked at the cost of instituting replay – estimates range from $30 million to $40 million for infrastructure and equipment, plus the salaries for 15 extra umpires if indeed MLB uses one in a replay booth – owners did give the go-ahead to assess the new systems.

Purists may have an issue with more replay being added to the game, and according to the article, even some high-ranking executives "remain dubious on replay," including Bud Selig himself who recently said "nobody is anxious to increase instant replay".

I, on the other hand, see nothing wrong with it. The umpires should never be the story when the game is over, and there have been far too many occasions in recent history where that was the case.

MLB Releases Postseason Schedule

Here's the info via this press release from MLB:

Major League Baseball today announced the schedule for the 2012 Postseason, which is set to open with the inaugural pair of Wild Card Games on Friday, October 5th. Game One of the 108th World Series is scheduled for Wednesday, October 24th in the ballpark of the National League champions.

Changes to the Postseason format include the following:

• Clubs from the same division will be allowed to play one another in either the Wild Card Game or the Division Series.

• Tiebreaker games will be played to determine Division Championships, even if the two tied Clubs are assured of participating in the Postseason. If a Division Championship tiebreaker game is necessary, the head-to-head record between the tied Clubs will determine home-field advantage. If the head-to-head record is tied, then division record will be the next tiebreaker.

• If two Clubs are tied for both Wild Card berths, home-field advantage will be determined by the head-to-head record between the tied Clubs. If the head-to-head record is tied, then division record will be the next tiebreaker.

Following the Wednesday, October 3rd scheduled close to the regular season, any necessary regular season tiebreaker games would be broadcast exclusively by TBS. The new Wild Card Games will launch the Postseason on Friday, October 5th and will be broadcast exclusively by TBS. This marks the second consecutive year that the Postseason will begin on a Friday. Before last year, the Postseason had not begun on a Friday since the 1915 World Series.

Two Division Series will begin on Saturday, October 6th, each involving matchups with two Division Champions squaring off. A full slate of Division Series games — two series openers, each involving a Wild Card Game winner, and a pair of Game Twos — is scheduled for Sunday, October 7th. The Division Series will run from Saturday, October 6th though Friday, October 12th, with two potential Game Fives on both Thursday, October 11th and Friday, October 12th. TBS will air 18 of the 20 Division Series games, while MLB Network will debut its live Postseason game coverage with one telecast on Sunday, October 7th and another on Wednesday, October 10th.

For the 2012 Postseason only, the five-game Division Series will begin with two home games for lower seeds, followed by up to three home games for higher seeds. This one-year change, which eliminates a travel day prior to a decisive Game Five of the Division Series, was necessary because the 2012 regular season schedule was established before the agreement on the new Postseason format was reached. Next year, the Division Series will return to the 2-2-1 format used in previous years.

The American League Championship Series will begin exclusively on TBS on Saturday, October 13th, and Sunday, October 14th will feature Game One of the National League Championship Series exclusively on FOX and Game Two of the ALCS on TBS. A potential Game Seven of the ALCS will be scheduled for Sunday, October 21st, while a potential Game Seven of the NLCS will be set for Monday, October 22nd.

Game One of the 2012 World Series will be scheduled for Wednesday, October 24th. Game Three of the Fall Classic will shift to the city of the American League Champions on Saturday, October 27th. A Game Seven, if necessary, would be played on Thursday, November 1st in the N.L. city. The scheduled off days during the World Series are Friday, October 26th and Tuesday, October 30th. In its 17th season as the official network broadcaster of Major League Baseball, FOX Sports will present exclusive live telecast coverage of the World Series.

So there you have it, the 2012 postseason schedule. Let's just hope the Yankees don't blow this and are a part of it.

MLB to Make Changes to Interleague Play?

From Adam Rubin:

Major League Baseball is working on a scheduling reconfiguration for the 2013 season and beyond that likely will eliminate the Mets and Yankees as well as other "natural rivals" playing home-and-home, six-game series annually, baseball sources told ESPNNewYork.com.

With the Houston Astros moving to the American League West next season and the leagues becoming balanced at 15 teams apiece, natural rivals throughout baseball no longer will be guaranteed six games a season and home-and-home series, the sources said.

That goes for obvious intracity rivals such as Mets-Yankees and Cubs-White Sox, as well as for more-forced natural rivals such as the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.

The Mets and Yankees will continue to play six games a season -- three apiece at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium -- when the AL East and NL East line up for long-form interleague play every three years.

But in the other seasons, a major league source added, the competition likely will be limited to three games at one ballpark, or two games apiece at each ballpark.

Sources cautioned that the 2013 Major League Baseball schedule, and the precise new configurations, are still being discussed.

Can'twe just get rid of interleague play all together? The gimmick has worn off and it's no longer fun. And to be honest, besides Yankees-Mets and the occasional series against the Cubs or someone like that, it was never fun.

The 2012 Postseason Will Officially Include Two More Wild Card Teams

From Barry M. Bloom:

The expansion of Major League Baseball's playoffs with the addition of two Wild Card teams and a one-game elimination in each league will begin this year.

An agreement between MLB and the Players Association, finalized on Friday, adds a second Wild Card in each league, making for a postseason field of 10. The three division winners in each league will await the survivor of a one-game playoff between the Wild Card teams in each league, establishing the Division Series field of four teams in each league. The subsequent Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series formats will remain the same.

For the 2012 postseason only, the five-game Division Series will begin with two home games for lower seeds, followed by up to three home games for higher seeds. This one-year change will eliminate a travel day prior to a decisive Game 5 of a Division Series and was necessary because the 2012 regular-season schedule was announced before the agreement on the new postseason was reached.

Next year, the Division Series will return to the 2-2-1 format used in previous years. Details on the scheduling of the new elimination games between each League's Wild Cards will be announced in the near future.

I wasn't a big fan of this at first, but the idea has grown on me. Now winning the division will actually mean something and those one-game playoffs should be highly entertaining.

Prince Fielder Signs 9-Year Deal With Detroit

There's no doubt that Fielder is going to be a huge addition to their lineup, but it'll be interesting to see what kind of shape Fielder is in towards the end of the contract. For now, however, with the combination of Miguel Cabrera and now Prince Fielder the Tigers are looking pretty damn dangerous.

ESPN: Jose Reyes Headed To Miami

From ESPN:

The Miami Marlins and shortstop Jose Reyes agreed to terms on a six-year, $106 million deal Sunday, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

The guarantee for the first six years totals $102 million, sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The deal includes an option for a seventh year, with a guaranteed $4 million.

Sources told ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas that the option would be worth $22 million.

According to the article, the Marlins, who also just signed Heath Bell, will now turn their attention to free agent 1B Albert Pujols.

Verlander Wins AL MVP

From the NY Post:

Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson did not win AL MVP, but a former teammate did.

Tigers ace Justin Verlander won the award on Monday and became the first pitcher to earn the honor since Oakland's Dennis Eckersley won in 1992 and the first starter since Boston's Roger Clemens in 1986.

Granderson, whom the Yankees acquired from Detroit after the 2009 season, finished fourth in the voting...

...Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was second with 242, Bautista third with 231, Granderson followed with 215, and Verlander's Tigers teammate Miguel Cabrera came in fifth with 193 points.

With a 24-5 record and 2.40 ERA you're not going to find any complaints about this award, even if he already won the Cy Young.

Selig Talks About Baseball's New Rules

From Pete Caldera:

Baseball’s wild card just got wilder, with one more team per league added to the postseason mix.

The new playoff system could be implemented as early as the 2012 season, according to commissioner Bud Selig, who also announced the transfer of the Houston Astros to the AL in 2013 – creating a balance of 15 clubs in each league.

Selig dubbed Thursday as “a very historic day,” as MLB’s general managers and quarterly owners meetings wrapped up at the Pfister Hotel, in the commissioner’s hometown. “[It’s] a monumental day,” he said.

First, baseball’s owners unanimously approved the Astros sale from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane, who paid $615 million according to The Associated Press; that’s a cut from the original $680 million sale price.

For the sale to go through, Crane had to agree to the Astros switching from the six-team NL Central to the four-team AL West, thus creating the balance desired by owners and giving the Texas Rangers a natural rival within their division.

To make the schedule work, Selig said there would be interleague play throughout the regular season beginning in 2013.

In announcing the addition of two wild-card teams, Selig said his panel favors a dramatic one-game playoff to determine which club advances to the division series – a system that puts far greater emphasis on winning the division.

“This will be very good for us,” said Selig, who was optimistic – but not certain – that the new playoff format would be adopted for 2012.

“I say that with some reservation, because we have some work to do,” Selig said. “But I’m hopeful.”

The article goes on to mention that there doesn’t appear to be any opposition on any side and that new system is likely to be ratified.

Jayson Stark also mentioned today that this "is just the beginning. Once the new labor deal gets finished, there's a whole lot more coming -- changes that will affect big-league payroll disparity, revenue sharing, the draft, free agency and the broad scope of the business of baseball." Clearly, none of this will help the Yankees.

The Houston move to the AL makes sense. The leagues should have the same amount of teams. And I guess the new playoff system will help the division winners, so that's probably a good thing. But when it comes to the addition of more interleague games I couldn't be more against it.

Interleague play, as it is now, is unnecessary, boring, and clearly the novelty wore off about 5 years ago. Why add more? Does Selig really think fans are eagerly awaiting another thrilling Indians-Pirates series? Please just admit that interleague play is stupid and let it go the way of the dinosaurs.