Poor man's playoffs

The three teams with the highest payrolls are watching at home | Mark Bergin

Associated Press/Photo by John Froschauer

As Major League Baseball's postseason moves through October, the story of those teams absent from the playoff bracket is almost as compelling as the on-field action. What baseball analyst could have guessed last spring that the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets, the three teams with the highest payrolls in the game, would be among those left out?

For the Yankees, the final season in their storied stadium proved a dramatic disappointment due to erratic starting pitching and significant injuries. Despite a roster with 12 players making at least $11 million per year, the pinstriped machine finished eight games back of the division-winning Tampa Bay Rays, a team whose highest-paid player made just $6 million.