The Playoffs. Its why we play the game. For the chance to play into October. For the chance to be crowned champs of our league.
Here's what you need to know about the CSFBL playoff model - tie-breakers, how the playoffs work, and everything else.
The top two teams from each of the four division make the playoffs - the division winner and the runner-up. Tiebreaker rules are based on the following:
1) Overall record
2) Division record
3) Head-to-head record
4) Run differential
5) Coin flip
In the caseevent of a 3-way tie, the list goes from division record straight to run differential, skipping over head-to-head.
CSFBL uses a three-series playoff model. Each round is a maximum of 7 games, in other words, first team to win 4 games wins the series. There are "travel days" in between Games 2 and 3 as well as between Games 5 and 6. The team with home field advantage hosts games 1, 2, 6 and 7.
* Division Championship: The four Division Championship Series (DCS) each feature the division winner playing the runner-up from that division. The division winner has home-field advantage. Game 1's are held each season on September 30th.
* League Championship: The two League Championship Series (LCS) each feather the winners of the first round with divisions 1 and 2 matched against each other, and divisions 3 and 4 facing each other in the other LCS. Home-field advantage goes to the team with the best won-lost record. In the event of a tie, home field is determined by the head-to-head record in the 9 regular season games between these two inter-division opponents. Game 1s are held each season on October 10th.
* World Series: The two winners of the League Championship Series are pennant winners of their conference and heading to the World Series. Home-field advantage goes to the team with the best won-lost record In the event of a tie, home field is determined by the head-to-head record in the 3 regular season games between these two inter-conference opponents. The Fall Classic kicks off each season with Game 1 on October 20th.
With extra days off and a long off-season to rest, managing a pitching rotation in the playoffs is different than managing a pitching rotation in the regular season. Here are some suggestions for managing your pitching staff in the postseason.