2013 MLB Payrolls

[Aquavit]

3. Jeez...if the Twins

Took Joe Mauer's $23 million, Justin Morneau's $14 million, and Josh Willingham's $7 million, and Nick Blackburn's $5 million out of the payroll (Morneau and Willingham are somewhere between likely and certainly out of the 2014 payroll picture, and I'd argue Mauer should be too), they would outspend the Astros by just $2.2. For a team that yapped on as much as they did that the $500M taxpayer contribution to their sterile new stadium would help them become more competitive in free agency, that is just appalling.

God, just thinking about that makes me, as a Twins fan, want to advocate for a FIFA-style re-alignment that much more. The Twins are not a top-flight organization and should really be competing with the likes of the Iowa Cubs or Beloit Snappers rather than the Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago White Sox...