Must Be Nice

It's about time! The New York Yankees have finally won another World Series. All of you poor Yankees fans who have stuck by your beloved Yankees throughout this decade-long period of Gotham City mediocrity, finally have your championship. It must be really difficult to be a Yankees fan though. I mean they have only won 27 World Championships, and it seems every season that they don't win the Series they are at least in the playoffs. Oops, sorry, they didn't make it last year. Pain, suffering...

It is a sad day in Baseball my friends. When I was growing up, I remember watching baseball, and loving it for it's purity, for it's excitement, for the hope that no matter what, any team has a shot. Now, things are quite different. It doesn't matter who has the best farm system, or who is better coached or managed. All that matters is who has the fattest wallet. The New York Yankees payroll this season was a ridiculous 208 million dollars. That number is 63 million dollars higher than the next highest team's payroll, which happens to be the other New York team...what are they called again? Oh, yeah, The Mets. Isn't is weird that you never meet any Mets fans, but the world is polluted with Yankees fans? Even the people I meet that are actually from the Tri-State area always love the Yankess...hey, fugettaboutit! And go ahead tell me that there is competitive balance, and that "hey, look at the Rays..." Blah, Blah, Blah. There is always a possibility of a fluke, but nine times out of ten, it's the same eight teams in the playoffs, and honestly, I'm getting tired of it.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates, a once proud and competitive franchise started this season with a payroll of nearly 49 million dollars, placing them third lowest in the league, just in front of Florida and San Diego. If you break that number down on a per season basis, Alex Rodriguez "earns" 8 million dollars more per season than the entire Pirates ball club...hey, fugettaboutit!! Big Markets earn more money, enabling them to spend more money. Small markets make far less money, allowing them to spend NO money. If you think that there is a competitive balance, call me when Pittsburgh and Kansas City meet in the World Series after a tough playoff run that didn't include them pulling off gigantic upsets over the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, Mets, or Phillies.

I may sound like a bitter fan, and as a proud Baltimore Orioles fan, I might be. But first, and foremost I am a baseball fan. The game that I grew up loving is slowly dying, losing fans by the second. The only way to fix this is to install some sort of ceiling on every teams spending ability. This will create an environment in which ANY team truly has a shot. We will see fans return to their seats, more revenue for the game as a whole, and this once great game return to its rightful place as our national pastime. But until that happens....HEEYYY, FUGGETTABOUTIT!!!!