I can't say I am a fan of it either.

Did anyone catch this at the end?

Two-time Main Event champion Doyle Brunson would prefer each player to be allowed an alternate, "somebody that's not considered to be a player with abilities above their own."
That's an even more terrible idea than moving the final table 4 months down the road. You just can't measure someone's abilities objectively.

Also, what if some member of FTR made a final table and then "fell ill"? What would stop them from allowing someone like johnny_fish to sub in for them?