by David Skolnik

Created on: May 27, 2010   Last Updated: May 28, 2010

Baseball salaries, including those mega-superstar contracts, will never buy championships. What they will do is promote attitudes, give birth to prima donas and create headlines, good and bad.

Lofty salaries can put fannies in the seats, increase revenue from yearbook and scorecard sales, stadium food purchases, cups of beer poured. It will even create opportunities for part-time parking lot attendants and folks who must clean the messy bathrooms.

In 2003, didn't the "little train that could" slay Goliath? You remember, the big bad Yankees of Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte, Giambi, Posada, etc. lost to the meek Florida Marlins, those of the lowest payroll in major league baseball. I can't remember one player on that Marlins squad.

Dan Uggla wasn't up yet, Hanley Ramirez was being groomed in the minor leagues and Josh Johnson wasn't even a thought. Yet, the little train "sidetracked" the big bullies.

Flip the calendar to 2006. Remember the high scoring, high payroll New York Mets losing to the mid-west, sleepy town St. Louis Cardinals of Albert Pujols and a cast of up-and-coming characters?

It comes down to game seven, bottom of the ninth, with mega-star Carlos Beltran called out on strike three from unknown Adam Wainwright, who had just been called up to the big team that season.

Sometimes championship are won by team chemistry, determination, guile and the ability to reach into your soul and awaken the giant within.

The 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, with little known players other than Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson and Luis Gonzales, slayed the mighty Yankees. They went down with Rivera giving up the winning hit.

Sometimes teams of destiny, like the '69 New York Mets, are just meant to rewrite the record books. The Baltimore Orioles were not over paid back in the day, but they did have the high profile stars like Frank and Brooks Robinson, Boog Powell and Jim Palmer.

In fairness to the Yankees, I will say that the '09 Bronx Bombers were the exception to the rule. Two powerhouse teams squared off against one another. C.C.. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Texeira combined were worth half a billion dollars, more than the payrolls of all the small market teams.

The Philadelphia Phillies were the defending world series champions, bristling with confidence, big sticks and big attitudes. There was Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez and Brad Lidge. When two behemoths square off against one another, someone has to win.

Teams winning championships based upon high salaries is the exception, not the rule. 

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