What about knocking 3 games off the regular season (meaningless interleague series) and having two seven game sets.
I'm not a traditionalist in the sense I think more in teams in the playoffs is better for baseball, but let's be realistic. Baseball isn't decided in a few games, it's a marathon to prove who has the best team over the long haul.
But, Bud Selig in his infinite wisdom says "hey, we only need a five game set in the first round."
Want proof? Both the Braves and the Giants were knocked out in the first round last year. They were the number 1 and 2 seeds.