Ben Reiter of
SI.com pens
a thoughtful article that shows the questionable success of "parity" in baseball. While the expanded playoffs (one-third of all teams make the post-season) and revenue-sharing have expanded the field of playoff participants to some lower payroll teams, the "Final Four" are almost always still the monied elite. Take this year, for example. The Dodgers are #2 in overall payroll, Boston is #4, Detroit is #5 and St. Louis falls just out of the Top Ten at #11. Last year, the Final Four were #1, #5, #8 and #9. So, while Tampa Bay and Oakland and Pittsburgh might titillate their fans with a
taste of October glory, they're almost never there when the rings are won.
