The New royalty Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies are in the playoffs, again. The Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates are not, again.

Same teams, aforementioned bounteous money, aforementioned Oct story?

Not so fast.

The Arizona Diamondbacks meet went from terminal to first. The Detroit Tigers won a sectionalization title for the prototypal instance in 24 years, the Milwaukee Brewers for the prototypal instance in 29 years.

This is a bounteous care to the fans of those teams, perhaps a large care to a commissioner who has worked toward weakening the reciprocity between contestant section and postseason participation.

Of the figure teams with the maximal payrolls this season, sextet will set bag in October, and the collapsing Boston Red Sox could attain it seven. Of the figure teams with the maximal payrolls terminal season, heptad are not in the playoffs.

"That could not hit happened in the '90s," Commissioner Bud Selig said.

In the prototypal fivesome eld of the wild-card epoch (1995-99), digit of the 40 playoff symptom was won by a aggroup in the lowermost half of contestant payroll. That team, the 1997 Houston Astros, was sweptwing in the prototypal round.

In the fivesome eld foregoing this one, 12 of the 40 playoff symptom were won by a aggroup in the lowermost half of contestant payroll, with the Brewers and Diamondbacks senior in the lowermost half this season.

In threesome of the quaternary most past World Series, digit of the entrants was a aggroup that hierarchical among the lowermost fivesome in section — the Texas Rangers terminal year, the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 and the Colorado Rockies in 2007.

"I utilised to say, my employ is to try to attain the note inferior essential than beatific management," Selig said. "I conceive we hit finished that."

Selig isn't senile. The Yankees ever will hit an scheme advantage, and a Brobdingnagian one.

But the New royalty Mets deal the maximal mart in the field leagues with the Yankees, and the Mets hit been discover of the playoffs for fivesome serial years, despite never senior modify than ordinal in the association in payroll.

And the Rays, perhaps the most underprivileged aggroup in the majors, rest aware for what would be their ordinal playoff bed in quaternary years.

The Rays substance Selig the amend salutation to cries of scheme wrongdoing from some another precinct in the majors.

The Rays and Oakland Athletics are the exclusive teams in stadium purgatory — and the A's hit a resolution upon which Selig refuses to act. The Rays, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays are the exclusive teams that staleness vex discover the Yankees or Red Sox to remember for the playoffs.

The Yankees, favored with the most resources in baseball, hit won the American League East twice in quaternary years.

The Rays, maledict with the poorest resources in baseball, also hit won the AL East twice in quaternary years.

"What the Rays hit finished is null brief of extraordinary," Selig said. "They've played in the World Series. They're battling for the playoffs. They forfeited a clump of players [last winter]. Everybody intellection they were feat to hit a intense year, and here they are.