Allen Barra (far more elequently) says what I have long maintained - The nonsense about spending in baseball is just that: nonsense.

From Barra's Wall Street Journal column today:

No single team can match the Yankees' revenue streams, but if every team in baseball, regardless of market size, competed for some players, it wouldn't be possible for the Yankees to stockpile talent. If the Yankees have an unfair edge in the competition for talent, it's not because they spend too much, but because so many others aren't spending enough. After the Yankees acquired Alex Rodriguez, Red Sox owner John Henry howled about baseball's need for a salary cap; what he meant was a cap that would keep the Yankees from spending more than the Red Sox.

It's not that the Red Sox couldn't afford A-Rod. Like several other major-league owners, including several in the so-called small markets, the Red Sox bosses have personal wealth far greater than Mr. Steinbrenner's. Unlike Mr. Steinbrenner, they seem loath to risk their own money on their teams.

The payroll figure tells you nothing it about fairness in baseball. All it tells you is how much a team was willing to pay, not what they were able to pay.