Man I need to get a life. Oh that's right, baseball stats and being a statgeek is my life.

This is my first time doing anything like this. I'm more of a voyeur than a hands-on kind of guy, but because there is a lack of reliable, whole-hearted Tampa Bay Rays' media out there and the fact that my therapist says writing can be therapeutic, I've taken a DIY approach to my one true obsession: Baseball. While I'm primarily a Rays fan, I was a major Atlanta Braves fan prior to the inception of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and still carry a tinge of love for them in my heart. Apart from those two teams, I typically align myself with anyone currently playing the Red Sox or the Yankees, meaning my writings will focus on the Rays, but I can't help


I enjoy teams that play baseball, the right way. The right way is through fostering a farm system which focuses on defense, solid base running, pitching and precision in both the front office and in the dugout. The wrong way would be buying any and every free agent that has a pulse and a high price tag. The wrong way may include pinstripes, curses relating to bambinos or billy goats, and anything to do with being a  New York Met. For your viewing pleasure I have included two lists. While neither list gives any kind of definitive outline on creating a winning franchise, I think that patterns can be seen in the lists of teams that spend and why they are forced to spend. If you do not take time to develop your farm system, you will ultimately pay. The first list is payroll for the 30 teams for 2010. The second list is Baseball America's rating of each organization's farm system after the 2010 campaign.

1. New York Yankees          $206,738,389                     1. Kansas City Royals       

2. Boston Red Sox                160,913,333                      2. Tampa Bay Rays

3. Chicago Cubs                   146,609,000                      3. Atlanta Braves

4. Philadelphia Phillies          142,728,379                      4. Toronto Blue Jays

5. New York Mets                  136,022,942                      5. New York Yankees

6. Detroit Tigers                     122,864,928                      6. Cincinnati Reds

7. Chicago White Sox             105,530,000                      7. Cleveland Indians

8. Los Angeles Angels            104,161,666                      8. San Diego Padres

9. San Francisco Giants           98,586,333                      9. Colorado Rockies

10. Los Angeles Dodgers         95,358,016                     10. Philadelphia Phillies

11. St. Louis Cardinals              93,940,751                    11. Los Angeles Dodgers

12. Houston Astros                    92,355,500                    12. Minnesota Twins

13. Minnesota Twins                 90,309,166                    13. Washington Nationals

14. Seattle Mariners                  86,910,000                    14. Texas Rangers

15. Atlanta Braves                     84,423,666                    15. Los Angeles Angels

16. Colorado Rockies               83,172,000                     16. Chicago Cubs

17. Baltimore Orioles                81,202,500                     17. Boston Red Sox

18. Milwaukee Brewers            81,108,278                     18. Seattle Mariners

19. Tampa Bay Rays               72,323,471                     19. Pittsburgh Pirates

20. Kansas City Royals            71,405,210                     20. New York Mets

21. Cincinnati Reds                  68,200,542                    21. Baltimore Orioles

22. Washington Nationals        62,349,000                     22. Arizona Diamondbacks

23. Toronto Blue Jays              61,484,400                    23. San Francisco Giants

24. Cleveland Indians               60,778,966                   24. St. Louis Cardinals

25. Florida Marlins                    55,239,500                   25. Detroit Tigers

26. Texas Rangers                   55,168,114                   26. Houston Astros

27. Oakland Athletics                50,839,900                 27. Chicago White Sox

28. Arizona Diamondbacks       48,452,166                   28. Oakland Athletics

29. San Diego Padres              38,199,300                   29. Florida Marlins

30. Pittsburgh Pirates               34,933,000                   30. Milwaukee Brewers

The 2010 playoffs provided us with an interesting cross section of talented organizations, big spenders and teams that were able to find the middle ground. Interestingly enough only 3 of the top 10 spenders managed a playoff spot. On the other list, 5 of the top 10 were playoff bound in 2010. Two organizations, the Phillies and the Yankees, made both top 10s, displaying what deep pocketed owners and a savvy front office can bring you. Of the eight playoff teams, only the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers failed to make their way into either top 10, but it should be noted that the Twins were 13th and 12th, respectively. This to me denotes an organization that is balanced. Then there's the AL Champ Texas Rangers, they're champs and they flat out beat my Rays, by playing sound defense, running the bases well and getting excellent pitching an key spots. A large portion of the big spenders have extraordinarily average farm systems, which to me exemplifies the fact that their big spending ways insist upon themselves. Like I mentioned before, these charts are not a predictor of greatness, just something worth wasting an hour of my life on.