Thoughts on Potential Realignment

First, I must admit that I am a rabid opponent of Bud Selig. I think that he has done more during his tenure as Commissioner to harm baseball than anyone since Kennesaw Mountain Landis actively sought to maintain institutional racism in baseball. This is a commissioner who has already realigned divisions once to ensure that the team he once owned and which was still in his family (the Milwaukee Brewers) could have what he viewed as a more reasonable shot to win the World Series. As such, Selig moved the Brewers to the National League Central, which is the reason why we have unbalanced leagues in baseball today. That being said, I was 100% opposed to the Wild Card and interleague play when it was introduced, yet I'll be the first to admit today that they have done much to increase interest in and excitement in the game. I'm sure it's really neat for players who are career AL players to get to play in Wrigley Field and NL lifers to play in Fenway and so on. However, this new realignment is an abomination. From what I understand through what has been written, the major momentum behind the realignment talk comes from those who want to see the Rays succeed in Tampa (i.e. Selig and his cronies). The idea is that smaller market teams like the Rays have no chance to succeed against teams who spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year in order to chase World Series championships. First, my objection to this is on a competitive level. Granted, the Yankees and Red Sox - to name the two most commonly-cited antagonists - do have huge wealth reserves which allow them to sign free agents. My first argument is that free agency signings do not guarantee a World Series championship. Look at the Yankees from 1996 - 2000. While they did have deep pockets and free agent signings were important in their championship runs, the core of those Yankee teams were developed by the Yankees through their farm system. Jeter, Posada, Williams, and Rivera all came up through the Yankee system and have been - more or less - the core of the team ever since. The Florida Marlins in 2003 are another team that won the World Series through player development, creative trades, and free agent signings that strengthened their club. In the last two years, the Phillies have gone to the World Series behind the offensive prowess of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley - two players the Phillies drafted and developed. If the Rays are serious about contending perennially in the AL East, then they should work to develop their scouting and player development. Secondly, the argument that the Rays can't compete in the AL East is ludicrous. The Rays are all but one full season removed from a World Series appearance (2008 against the Phillies). Without spending ungodly amounts of money, they have succeeded in developing elite talent such as Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, and B.J. Upton. Third, while I must admit I do not follow the negotiations between the players' union and MLB as closely as I should, it seems that if MLB is so concerned about financial balance between clubs then serious, productive negotiations concerning a salary cap should begin. There are many creative, intelligent people who work both for MLBPA and MLB, and if they are honestly concerned about competitive financial balance enough to begin to explore realignment than I believe that a solution could be found which would not upend a system that already seems to be working. One of the greatest things about baseball, which differentiates it from other sports, is that over 162 games there are no flukes. The teams that best develop their talent, collect the missing pieces, and inspire them to perform at the highest possible levels earn their way into the postseason. Divisional realignment to give some teams a perceived "better" chance to gain a postseason berth only rewards organizational mediocrity and outright ineptitude rather than rewarding teams who consistently draft, nurture, and develop major-league talent and augment that talent with prescient free-agent signings.