Looks like there's a chance that instead of the old 2-2-1 format for the first round of the playoffs, the late force-feeding of the extra wild cards will force baseball to go back to a 2-3 format. From Amy K. Nelson:
Both the players' union and MLB are still finalizing discussions, but a source told SB Nation that the 2-3 format has already been agreed upon if there is no way to keep the 2-2-1 format. The change will only be in place for the 2012 postseason, because a National League team is expected to move to the A.L. next season, which will equalize both leagues with 15 teams.
I can't http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1997_NLDS1.shtml think of a reason why http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1997_NLDS1.shtml this annoys me so much, http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1997_NLDS1.shtml but it does http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1997_NLDS1.shtml.
Oh, there were other reasons why the Giants lost that year -- I have a feeling that a big part of it had to do with the Marlins scoring more than the Giants -- but I still would have liked to see what would have happened if the 2-2-1 format were in play.