Supremacy in sports is cyclical

The MLB playoffs are under way and, surprise, the Yankees are the team to beat. There are words berating the lack of regular season competition, the woes of the game are listed daily and the Commissioner bemoans the lack of parity, even with the Twins and the A’s still on the diamond.

It’s worth considering the state of MLB and assess where it really stands.

Fourteen of the 30 teams finished .500 or better. Yes, there were the dogs, but aren’t there always in any sport in any given year? Tampa Bay, Detroit, Kansas City, Texas, Milwaukee and San Diego are bad.

MLB had great races in the National and American League West. The Red Sox-Yankee thing lasted for most of the season. The Dodger-Giant rivalry, which attracts national attention, went to the final weekend.

The wild card races performed as desired: they kept an interest in cities that otherwise would have been out earlier. St. Louis and Houston battled until the final month in the NL Central.

Minnesota and Atlanta ran away with their divisions. That’s just two out of six and one of those teams, the Twins, were a wonderful story all year.

This is not to negate the money problems that some franchises have. However, after having listened to Commissioner Selig say during the labor negotiations that no one wanted to buy franchises anymore; we now see at least three separate groups ready to open their wallets for the Montreal Expos. Yes, those Montreal Expos.

The Cubs are bad and the fans keep coming. That’s a franchise worth its weight in Wrigley Field.

There is a mediocre middle with the White Sox, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Colorado. That just means they are a break or two, a player or two away from realistically competing for the postseason.

What rankles the baseball world the most, unless you are a Yankee fan, is that the Yankees are still the heavy favorites to win it all, again. However, in all sports, for all time, there have been teams that get good, get real good, and stay that way for years.

That winning cycle is part of sports. Teams amass talent, they win, they make money, they keep their talent, and they win some more.

With the expansion that has happened in all sports, it is inevitable that there will be a top, middle and bottom group of teams. With the financial structure of teams largely dependent on winning, cycles of teams at the top will last longer than when baseball had 12 teams.

From the inside out, MLB is not falling off the wall. The game’s ability to attract younger viewers is an issue, but it’s not from a lack of competition within the game. The sourness derived from the money issues is there, but so is the money. Let the millionaires fight it out off the field while fans demand the game retain its integrity on the field.

The playoffs will be exciting and there will be some tensions, stories and top-flight baseball games. What happens on the field this time of year is still pretty good stuff.

Yeah, the Yankees win.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.