it's NOT all about the money

It is really a unique time for baseball.

As a Yankees fan, my whole life I've been ridiculed that "oh, the Yankees only win because they spend so much money." "Yankees play by a different set of rules." "Yankees buy their championships."

For a while, it was hard to argue. Yankees were in the World Series 5 times in 6 years, 7 times in 9, with the highest payroll. And there was a long stretch where 7 of the 8 playoff teams had the 7 highest payrolls in baseball.After 2001 the Yanks continued to sign stars to huge contracts, stealing them from other teams, outbidding everyone, just because they could. And they wouldn't win the World Series, and they became a laughingstock. It was not fun to be a part of. In 2007 I considered renouncing my fandom because I did not agree with how they do business and I did not like their direction. Didn't quite seem right.

Things have changed. Okay, not everything. Yankees still have the highest payroll. And they are in first place. But let's look at the real picture. Check the standings.

- As of this writing, here are the top 10 teams in baseball by record:
1. Nationals
2. Reds
3. Yankees
4. Braves
5. Rangers
6. White Sox
7. Pirates
8. Dodgers
9. Rays
10. Giants

- Compare that to the 10 highest payrolls (division standing in parentheses):
1. Yankees (1)
2. Phillies (4)
3. Angels (3)
4. Red Sox (4)
5. Rangers (1)
6. Tigers (2)
7. Giants (2)
8. Marlins (5)
9. Cardinals (3)
10. Brewers (4)

- Of the six divisions in baseball, only two of the top ten highest payrolls are leading their respective divisions (and the Rangers aren't the highest payroll in their division).

- The Phillies, Marlins and Brewers have 3 teams with lower payrolls above them in the standings. Angels, Red Sox and Cardinals both have 2 above them.

- If the playoffs started today, the Nationals, Reds, Braves, Pirates, Rays and Orioles would be playing. Those teams have payrolls ranked 18 or higher.

- The largest markets in the country are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and Philadelphia. The Mets, Angels, Cubs, Astros and Phillies are not in the playoff picture (the Angels are close).

For the first time in my lifetime, the playing field has evened out. It appears that it is possible for smaller-market teams to win and compete and they are doing so at remarkable rates. It takes more than just buckets of money to build a winning team. Coaching and wise front office decisions have become the hot new trend. And the Yankees can get credit for actually being an anomaly by spending money and still having a winning team. But hey, even they are making more shrewd decisions.