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Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti used his league's current labor strife to hammer the Yankees for not winning enough:

"I think it's a disgrace they only beat the average team by 10 games in the standings with three times the money," Bisciotti said "I'd fire that GM. You don't need a GM. All you have to do is buy the last Cy Young Award winner every year."

So which is it, Yankees fans, has winning lost its charm? Are you furious about not winning every year? Are you feeling guilty for destroying baseball? Or are you happy to do your part to lift the sport when you succumb to short-series playoff odds as you did from 2001 through 2007?

No one is ever going to get tired of winning. Advantaged people always manage to figure out a way to give themselves credit for their station in life. Likewise, Yankees fans will always find a rationale to feel the full rush of victory. The point that no one has made is that the playoff failures actually fuel the pleasure that Yankees fans feel when they survive October and November.

Yankees fans take their cue from Derek Jeter and focus on the intangible shortcomings of the 2001 to 2008 teams. The four-time champions from that 1996 to 2000 era are revered for their fortitude not for the statistical supremacy. Since money can't buy mettle, most Yankees fans falsely rationalize (as they must) that there's little correlation between payroll and winning.

Bisciotti's specifics, of course, were foolish. You can't go out and "buy the Cy Young Award winner every year." And you can't express your physical dominance in baseball as efficiently as you can in football or even basketball. But his broader point about Yankees fans being angry when the team falls short of its perennial championship goal is spot on. It's not easy being the Yankees manager and general manager because if you get unlucky in a best-of-five or best-of-seven a few years in a row, your head is on the chopping block. There is no joy to be found in regular-season excellence, which is rightfully demanded.

The "destroying baseball" argument assumes there's been a recent radical change in how the Yankees utilize their wealth to build their roster. But this isn't so. The accounting is just more clear today.

First, the Yankees bought Babe Ruth. Then, before 1947, they had more scouts throwing more money at the best amateurs from coast to coast. Amateur players were free to sign for whichever team offered them the most money.

In 1947, Major League Baseball implemented the "bonus rule," which sought to place a strict limit on amateur contracts. The Yankees violated the rules then with under-the-table payments and downright collusion. New York famously had the Kansas City Athletics sign Clete Boyer for an over-the-limit amount, forcing Boyer to be carried on the Major League roster for two years. Just as he was eligible to be sent to the Minors, the A's traded him to the Yankees.

So for the entirety of those great Yankees eras spanning four baseball decades, they won because they spent the most money -- just like they're wining now. It's no more destructive now than it was then.

The Yankees were really set back when the current draft rules were implemented in 1965. But free agency saved them and now many premium players (like current top Yankees prospect Jesus Montero) are not U.S. residents and therefore not subjected to the draft. These players can be signed by the Yankees in the manner that existed before 1947, de facto free agency. Inevitably, this team with even only competent management was going to rise to power -- playoff appearances in 14 of the last 15 years. During this time, they've won "only" five championships.

So, is this the best of both worlds for baseball -- having a great New York team that usually is not the champion? The ever-growing legion of Yankees haters would take satisfaction from the team either losing (sub-.500 record) or at least failing to make the playoffs (like in 2008). From 2001 to 2007, Yankees fans got to strut their stuff for six full months before being ultimately thwarted. That gave their haters a brief rush of pleasure, but then it's on to football.

The best thing for baseball right now is that the Yankees are in the same division as the Red Sox. This means that they either have to beat Boston or the field of non-division winning teams. It's easy for them to do this. It should be expected. But it's not a slam dunk in the way their recent playoff streak implies.

Cot's Baseball Contracts has the ankees' 2010 payroll obligations at about $211 million vs. about $166 million for Boston. (Note these totals include pro-rated bonuses and obligations to departed players.) That's significant. But the utility value of payroll above a certain amount is significantly diminished. So while the first $125 million or so might be optimal, the remainder is less so because you invariably take on a lot of bad contracts (for example, this year, Andy Pettitte, Kei Igawa, Damaso Marte even $33 million for Alex Rodriguez) simply because you can.