baseball should both eliminate teams AND shorten the season.  But you must remember that the Yankees have quite a few players on their team that came up through their own system - Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte, Cano, just to name a few.  Of course, A-Rod, Teixeira, Sabbathia, Burnett and Matsui were purchased, and needless to say, they made the difference.  But as long as it's within the rules, the Yankees SHOULD be trying to win by buying the best (in their eyes) players.  If other teams are willing to let them go, maybe they don't want or care about winning as much.  Your Posada-Mauer example was interesting.  Mauer is better - no question.  Now, when his contract is up, will the Twins keep him, or let him go to the highest bidder?  If they can't afford to keep him, maybe they shouldn't be in the league.  Either that, or change the system.  I would have absolutely no problem if the rules were changed to "equalize" the talent around the league.  But keep in mind that even that won't completely cure the problem, and the NFL is an example.  Things are much more equalized there, but it's not perfect.