The playoffs are in action, baseball is as popular as it ever was pre-strike, and this summer I finally got to the point where I could stand watching the occasional baseball game (thank you fantasy sports, thank you): sounds like the perfect time to write another baseball article for the rejuvenated Village Tavern!

Last year at about this time, I wrote about how baseball had it all wrong when it came to individual awards. This year, I’ll tackles a different problem facing America’s Favorite Past-time. As the playoffs have started, one team has arisen as the over-whelming favorite to win it all. The New York Yankees. On top of that, the New York Mets are the odds-on favorite to win the pathetically weak National League. Once again, the larger the market team, the more likely they are to succeed.

It seems every year the Yankees or Red Sox are able to make an extra move at the trade deadline (which somehow passes, and 5 moves are still made in the following 3 weeks, could someone please explain this to me?) to put them over the top. This year, once again, it was the Yankees getting Bobby Abreau. The Yankees went from being in a tight race with the Red Sox, to the dominating Division Champs. They also went arrived as having the most dominating hitting lineup in baseball (history?), whereas before they were… well, still really freakin’ good! But still, it was a move that helped secure their spot as the odds-on favorite to win the World Series (which, by the way, happened before the MLB season began. It was called the World Baseball Classi, and Japan, not the US of A or any south American country, won it).

I’ve always hated the Yankees. Hate the New York hype, hate any team that seems to always win (unless it’s my team of course), and even before I had any other reason I always hated that stupid logo with the pin-striped top hat and baseball bat. It’s the most retarded logo in sports, at least until the 90’s hit and we were blessed with the Grizzlies, the Orlando Magic, and the Washington Wizards…


But don’t blame the Yankees for winning, and don’t blame them for the fact that when the MLB season starts, there are only a small handful of teams with a real chance of winning. In an age where parody has made the NFL far and away the most popular professional sports league in America, MLB is insulting its fans every year. Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Colorado and many others; what chance do they have? Why should their owners spend as much money as possible, to maybe, just maybe, finish around .500 and still out of the playoffs? Look at Toronto. They’re spending money, but does anyone really think they can outspend the Yankees or Red Sox? They might make the playoffs here or there one year (especially if the Red Sox don’t shape up), but it won’t be because they spent more money. If it happens, it’ll be because they got more bang for their buck.

If you were a major league team in a sport with no salary cap, would you pass up on a player you could pay a little extra to get at the trading deadline if it guaranteed you a playoff birth and World Series contention? I wouldn’t. If you’re honest with yourself, neither would you. Don’t blame the Yankees, this is Major League Baseball’s problem. They need a salary cap, revenue sharing, and regulations that require small market teams to spend a certain amount of money (I’m not oblivious to the fact that teams like Pittsburgh turn a huge profit every year and refuse to spend enough to be competitive). It’s not going to be an easy change, but it’s a necessary one. But until it happens, don’t blame the Yankees. Don’t hate the player, hate the game…