Yankees fans are a determined lot. They are tough, loud, passionate, interested and totally in a dreamworld. Once again the Yankees have the highest payroll by far. This year the team clocks in at about $195,000,000, by far the highest. Mentioning this fact to a Yankees fan is the equivalent of declaring war. You can make fun of his mother, father and girlfriend, but never say anything about the beloved Yankees is the logic. Especially if what is being said is totally factual. Then we are hitting too low.

The Yanks find themselves chasing Boston at the half-way point but of course are in the thick-of-things. George Steinbrenner would fire his whole staff if the team were not. This is certainly the reason behind the Yankees' outlandish team salary- George will not stand for it. But this problem will never go away until dealt with in a real way. At some point, the payroll disparity between teams must be dealt with. Sure, it's fun being a baseball fan in New York with the Yankees and finally, the Mets, doing well. The Mets have the highest payroll in the National League but a check of their payroll is not nearly as disparate as the Yankees to the American League.

The Boston Red Sox clock in at number two on the payroll chart but are still an incredible $75,000,000 short of the Yankees. This despite the fact Boston clocks its fans with the highest ticket-prices in the game with an outrageous $45 average ticket. Yikes. I guess the "family sport" is taking a toll on Bostonian wallets.

As usual, we have the teams no New York or Boston fan likes to speak about: the Royals, Athletics, Indians and of course, D-Rays. All are American League teams with payrolls not in the area of either the Yanks or Bosox, but especially New York. The Royals check-in at about $47,000,000 this year. The Athletics? About $62,000,000. GM Billy Beane with a Yankees or Bosox payroll would be scary. Indians? $56,000,000. Those annoying D-Rays? About $36,000,000. So the Yankees spend about four times the Royals; about three times the Athletics, 3.5 times the Indians and about five times the Rays. C'mon. How can this be good for the game?

It is quite hysterical when debating a Yankees fan on this. Answers like, "So what?" or "The other team owners are putting the money in their pockets" are often the answers you will hear. The worst is, "Payroll has no affect on team performance." Yeah, and air has no affect on human beings.

The big question is, "What is the big fear if baseball tried a salary-cap or at least have a league maximum and yes, a league minimum? It would give every city hope the way the NFL does now. Isn't that what a true baseball fan should be all about instead of some greedy child excited about his latest toy? The Royals, D-Rays, Pirates cannot be ignored forever. Is this Major League Baseball or Major League Baseball for some teams?

Most interesting is the fact the Yankees won their latest string of World Series when their payroll was far closer to the rest of the other teams. According to USA Today, the Yankees had a payroll of about $52,000,000 in 1996. The second highest team-the Orioles-clocked in just four million under. In 1998, New York was actually number two in payroll under Baltimore. Again, the rest of the teams were far closer. Around 2000 is when the Yanks started to "head for the hills" in terms of payroll at about $97,000,000. IT has not stopped since.

A large payroll does not guarantee a World Series, but it does get you heading in that direction. Mistakes can be covered-up in salary. Low-pay teams cannot do that. If a guy gets hurt or is having a bad year, there is no other star to step-in and take the place of the other. Basically, a team with a large payroll is like a Heavyweight moving down to Light-Heavyweight in boxing but staying at the Heavyweight status. He may not become a champ but there is a darn good chance he can. That is what the Yankees situation is all about. Anyway, one would think Yankees fans would look to the day they would not have to hear this anymore. What a feeling it would be to "kick butt" the way they did not too long ago with a payroll in the stratosphere. Until then, whack those New York payrolls.

Robert Carberry is a freelance writer from New York