True dat, true dat...

I thought this was interesting: The Yankees Didn't Buy the World Series, by Andrew Zimbalist.
Short version: payroll expenditure explains 15% to 30% of the variance in win success, depending on the year.

[2] That is an excellent article. Finally, someone with a smidge of common sense and analytical ability writing about this topic. I've enjoyed Zimbalist's academic work for years.

[2] I already knew these facts, but I found this chilling nontheless:

"Mr. Sabbathia was great in 2009, but he is signed through 2015 when he will be 36 years old; Mr. Burnett through 2013 when he'll be 36; and Mr. Teixeira through 2016 when he'll be 37. Many of the team's other stars are also signed to long-term contracts. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez is signed through 2017 when he will be 42 and catcher Jorge Posada through 2011 when he'll be 40."

[3] Yeah, Zimbalist has always been a kind of breath of fresh air in the smog of sports punditry. And yeah, the middle aged Yankees of the future, that's a sobering thought, I know.