Selig: MLB likely to expand playoffs

ORLANDO, Fla. - Bud Selig's special committee for on-field matters will assemble in December at baseball's winter meetings to discuss the notion of adding a playoff team to each league.

The change appears extremely likely to happen, although not in time for the 2011 season. It probably will be part of the new collective-bargaining agreement that will begin with the 2012 campaign.

"Change is not a temporary thing," the baseball commissioner told reporters Thursday after the conclusion of the owners' meetings. "If you do something and it doesn't work out . . . that's not smart. It's it. It's a permanent part of our structure. You want to do it right."

There is consensus that the extra playoff team - the second wild card - would play the first wild card in a series while the three division champions rest. What's up for debate is how long that added series would last.

A one-game playoff would add considerable excitement and minimize the downtime for the division champions, but it would mean no extra home games (or revenue) for the second wild card and would turn the first wild-card slot from a comfortable perch into a perilous one.

A "two-of-three" playoff would be fairer and generate more revenue, but it would create a long rest for the division champs.

In either case, the extra spot would create additional excitement during September and also eliminate the current disincentive to win the division, as exemplified by the 2010 Yankees, who arguably got a better ALDS matchup than the first-place Rays did.

Selig also said his 14-man committee, which features Joe Torre, Jim Leyland, Frank Robinson and Mike Scioscia, will talk about expanding instant replay.