Cubs' Epstein says best-of-3 series has been proposed for wild-card round

Despite having the fourth-best record in the majors, the Chicago Cubs are likely to have their season hinge on a single game: a wild-card matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

But as Cubs' president Theo Epstein told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, there have been proposals for changes to the wild-card round - including the possibility of a best-of-three series.

"It’s come up, a lot of different scenarios (have been) bandied about," Epstein said. "I know the one game is really good for TV, but maybe there are other ways to appeal to TV and give a little more substance to that round in the playoffs."

A two-time World Series champion as general manager of the Boston Red Sox, Epstein was then asked if he would prefer a best-of-three over the single-game knockout currently used.

"It depends on whatever our self-interest is, honestly," he said. "We threw out something a few years ago about making it a two out of three, but with a doubleheader the first day because days are at a premium that time of year, and you don’t want the teams that win the division to have to wait too long and then get cold. It's not fair to them. That didn't pass. It got rejected."

Epstein went on to say that the format is fine the way it is now, but it is hard to imagine a wild-card doubleheader would be a tough sell for baseball fans.

The Cubs sit two games behind the Pirates for the right to host the NL wild-card game in October.