October 18, 2007. The Cleveland Indians held a commanding 3-1 series lead on the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS and entered Game 5 with CC Sabathia on the mound. Indians’ fans know all too well what happened from there. 

Fast forward to September 2009, and the team has been dragged from the pinnacle of prosperity to the doorstep of a probable 90-loss season after a massive sell-off. Who is to blame for this abomination?

Most fans look to the Dolan family. While it is true that the family overpaid $320 million for the team in 2000 and is projected to lose $10-20 million this season, they have never meddled in baseball operations.

Also, despite complaints that the Dolans are spendthrift, the team entered the 2009 season ranked 15^th out of 30 teams in payroll. In addition, the two highest payrolls in the franchise’s history came in 2000 and 2001, the first two years the Dolans owned the team.

Instead, Major League Baseball is the real culprit. If the season ended today, it is not coincidence that six of the top nine payroll teams would be in the playoffs. The payroll structure of Major League Baseball prevents small and mid-market teams from resigning their star players, turning them into farm teams for teams in New York, Chicago, Boston, and Los Angeles. Realistically, only teams in those four cities can afford $20 million per year free agents like CC Sabathia or Mark Teixeira.

Teams in small markets are also hurting more from the “Great Recession.” There are simply fewer corporate dollars for suites and sponsorships, and the Browns and Indians have even formed a partnership to sell suites in these tough times.

A salary cap is the only way to give mid-market teams a chance at sustained success. Bud Selig and his fellow owners need to follow the example set by the NBA, which gives teams with star draft picks the ability to offer them the most money in free agency. This may be a hard sell to the players’ union, but if no changes are made, Jerry Jones or George Steinbrenner could own the Indians, and they still wouldn’t be able to sign big-name free agents.