Bill Shaikin: Here’s the competitive balance reform MLB barely talks about
LOS ANGELES — Of all the non-competitive nonsense of the last few years, the blatant tanking was not the most odious. Teams such as the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates did not hide their strategy. They were not trying to win, and they were so good at being bad that one player would not have made a difference.
No, the most distasteful strategy went something like this: We could spend some prospects or dollars in trying to win a wild-card spot, but all that for a one-game playoff? Lose, and we’re done. Win, and we face the Dodgers, and
