ALCS NOTES

DETROIT – Good news for the Yankees. Commissioner Bud Selig said yesterday he would like to see life made a little more difficult for the wild card teams in the first round of baseball’s postseason.

Though Selig wouldn’t get into specifics, this most likely means the two wild-card teams would lose a home game in that first round, giving a possible four home games to the team that plays the wild card.

“I think that’s something we ought to take a look at,” Selig said. “I think we ought to make it even more decisive.”

How would baseball do that?

“We’re not sure yet, maybe less home games, there’s a myriad of ways we can do that, make it even tougher for the wild card,” he said. “I think that is something we’re going to look at right after the World Series.”

All this, of course, will make it imperative for a team to win its division. Common sense also dictates that MLB would have to change the current format and allow the team with the best record to play the wild card, even if that wild card team comes from the same division.

The Yankees were knocked out of the playoffs last week by the wild card Tigers. In 2004 the Yankees were eliminated in the LCS by the wild card Red Sox. Wild card teams won the World Series for three straight years: the Marlins in 2002, the Angels in 2003 and the Red Sox in 2004. The wild card Astros advanced to the World Series last year, before losing to the White Sox.

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Selig said he checked with all four LCS teams before moving the start time up for yesterday’s Tigers-A’s game. The Tigers and A’s had no problem moving up because of the chilly weather here while the Mets and Cards were more than happy to have a night game because rain was forecast for earlier in the day, Selig said. The temperature was 42 degrees at the start of the ALCS game at Comerica Park.

“This was a decision based on weather, not anything else,” Selig said. “The Fox people were fine with it.”