The first step...

I saw this bit in an AP report.

New baseball players' union head Michael Weiner may speak with management officials during spring training to discuss possible changes to the postseason schedule.

Following criticism by Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia and others last fall, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he would like to tighten the schedule. Four extra days off were added in 2007 at the request of baseball's television broadcasters.

"I expect that we'll have discussions at some point during the month on that," Weiner said Friday after meeting with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, the start of his first spring training tour since replacing Donald Fehr in December.

Adjusting the postseason schedule is -- in my mind -- the first step.

The next step is adjusting the regular season schedule.

Does this mean adding in a few regularly scheduled doublheaders? Do they shorten the season?

Here are the dates of Opening Day for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000:

April 7, 1970

April 10, 1980

April 9, 1990

April 3, 2000

Opening Day, 2010 is scheduled for April 5.

I realize that the LCS moved from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven games in 1985 and the divisional round -- which started in 1995 -- added to the number of postseason games, but here are the dates that the last game of the season was played in each of the above seasons:

October 15, 1970 (Game Four Orioles v. Reds)

October 21, 1980 (Game Six Phillies v. Royals)

October 20, 1990 (Game Four Reds v. A's)

October 26, 2000 (Give Five Yankees v. Mets)

And -- for comparison:

November 4, 2009 (Game Six Yankee v. Phillies)

What does this tell us? That -- if the pattern holds -- the Reds are going to be in the World Series this year? That -- and this is just a guess -- I am using dashes too much in my writing today?

The Union and the Owners need to come to an agreement that will be mutually beneficial for both sides, makes the fans happy, and ends the postseason about two or three weeks earlier.

Stay tuned for my next article titled 'How Peace in the Middle East CAN Be Achieved'.