If the season ended today . . . and it did Fan Exhaustion Marlins did not return to NY Gabe Kaplan – too rough for San Francisco Giants  - perfect fit for the AngelsSteve Cohen, Mets, says goodbye to Buck ShowalterDusty Baker was able to meld a fractured Astros teamTony Francona strength - listens & cares for his playersBig Papi meets Tony FranconaMiguel Cabrera retirement – would Miggy have continued his career in Miami sans LoriaJoey Votto ejection statementWorld Series walk begins with Wild Card best 2 out of 33 game competition gives a better sense of a teams’ measureMat would like a postseason without byes for any teams Tampa Bay Rays, Never know what you are going to have at the end of the seriesRays will face weaker pitching with Rangers & OriolesYandy Diaz wins batting average titleNo local Bally Sports in postseasonDifficulty with national broadcasters doing such a poor job on the Rays – John SmoltzMLB beats their chest on increased viewership, however continue blackoutsMLB building revenue base through Repetition, Frequency, GamblingEntertainment shows for Baseball in 7th inning stretch?Tyler Glasnow & Taylor Swift arm in arm promo for the Rays?Cardinals, Adam Wainwright concertsSaint of Second Chances – Mike Veeck – Disco Demo in Chicago & fireworks in the TropPostSeason Rays, Tapia, Aranda, Basabe & Junior CamineroRays Roster Luke Raley & Jose Siri may return.  Who will leaveJunior Caminero AA rookie with veteran performance Basabe will probably not make it to postseasonMat measures the impact of not facing Blue Jays, righties Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios & Chris Bassitt Junior Caminero will bring a lot to the plate facing Rangers leftiesKevin Cash & Wild Card rosterMarlins – how will they fare against the PhilliesLou Schiff’s @BaseballandLaw, Marlins team is building a lot of experienceKudos to Kim Ng for her constructive calls for the MarlinsMat & Mark face off on National League champion choices Atlanta Braves or Milwaukee Brewers3 PM First Pitch starts to Wild Card games MLB should consider NFL model of broadcasting most games simultaneously? How many viewers does MLB lose while fans are at work during broadcast?Mark reminiscences about days of old with newspaper box scores & radio as the only source to track the gameMat likes Balanced schedule but needs consideration of extending playoffs & possibly cutting regular season by 3 games. Also scheduling should consider varying local weather impact throughout the season.Mat’s proposed New MLB format would include:MLB with 32 teams & 5 game playoff & cut regular season to 159 teamsWhat does a 32-team format look likeCreate 4 regional divisions to 8 teams per regionSet number of teams to 2 top per region that enter into the playoffsJunior Caminero from AA skips AAA leaps to Major League Tampa Bay RaysCaminero is mature & methodical with a veteran attitudeRays Bullpen pitching plan, Taj Bradley – a strategy reflects Dodger method with Julio UriasTaj is a cool & fierce competitor   Thanks to Mat Germain. Mat can be found on Twitter @Mat_Germain_   Mark can be found on Twitter @TheBaseballBiz   BaseballBiz can be found on iheartradio, Stitcher, Apple,