The shortest measurement known to man is "the New York minute."

        So, it should come as no surprise that, to a Big Apple denizen, nine years equals "a long time."

        That's how long it's been since their beloved Yankees won a World Series, the drought ending Wednesday night when the Pinstripes finished off the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

         It's no secret to anyone who follows the game that Yankees fans consider the championship a birthright, not a privilege.   A season that doesn't end with a champagne shower in the New York clubhouse is a waste, requiring the gnashing of teeth, the rolling of heads and the expenditure of even more cash.

        Last season, when the Yankees didn't even make the playoffs, a fleet of Brinks trucks was dispatched to the hinterlands, arriving in Milwaukee with enough cash to lure C.C. Sabathia from the Brewers.    Also answering the siren song of the samolian was A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixiera.    With three swipes of a pen, New York secured 40 per cent of it's starting rotation and arguably one of the game's premier first basemen.

        This is the game, people--not between the lines, but in the front offices where most teams have to abide by spending limitations.     The affluent, like the Yankees, pay the penalties that come with exceeding the salary cap and refurbish their rosters with the game's top stars.     Bottom-feeders are left to hope that the Yankees are tossing more good money after bad.   

        Unfortunately for them, it didn't work out that way.  

        What happened in those nine years since the Yankees won?    Here's who made it to the Fall Classics in between:

 2008: PHILADELPHIA/TAMPA BAY

2007: BOSTON/COLORADO

2006: ST. LOUIS/DETROIT

2005: WHITE SOX/HOUSTON

2004: BOSTON/ ST. LOUIS

2003: FLORIDA/YANKEES (THE MARLINS WON)

2002: ANAHEIM/SAN FRANCISCO

2001: ARIZONA/YANKEES (THE SNAKES PREVAILED)

       The Yankees beat the crosstown Mets in 2000 for their last title.

        No one complained about baseball's salary structure when the D-backs, Angels, Marlins, White Sox, Cardinals and Phillies won.    The Red Sox are considered a big money franchise but get a pass because their World Series success is relatively new-found.    Tampa Bay's pennant in '08 was seen as a validation of the current system, proving that a team doesn't have to buy it's way in.    Houston's appearance was the first in Astros' history.    Anaheim spends, but like the Red Sox, the Angels were considered a cursed franchise before winning it all in 2001.   Florida?   The Marlins shelled out huge bucks on the first championship in '97, disbanded the team and have become a factory for the discovery and refinement of good, young talent.

       What's my point?

       Yankees fans are impatient.    And, while flawed, MLB's financial set-up is fine.     Yes, the team that spent the most won the most in 2009.     That hasn't been the case for nine years, which is too long for Yankees fans but a nice window of opportunity for more fiscally prudent teams to prove their worth on the field.    Minnesota still trots out competitive rosters.    The Brewers have had a decent run of late, thanks to a new owner who started allocating limited resources better while honing a farm system that provided the team with most of it's starting eight.    Those who have...spend.    The Yankees do, with success.    The Cubs have, and still falter.   The Orioles went on binges and haven't been to a World Series since '83.   

       A level financial field would be nice, but I don't see it happening.    Big market teams cultivated their competitive advantages through sheer numbers and media opportunities.      There may come a day when the smaller markets who can't come up with talent of their own have to fold.    Baseball is nothing if not a free market.   No one is guaranteed a place at the table.    

       Racing is having it's problems--the Milwaukee Mile can't even find a promoter.    The GMO had to fold it's tent--can you name a game that was more flush with cash than golf a few years ago?    The Wave almost tanked.     Yet the Brewers drew 3 million fans, even though the team was no longer competitive after the 4th of July.    MLB is still a hot, affordable ticket.    Well-run teams will survive.     The ones with money just have more wiggle room.

       The Brewers weren't, and wandered around baseball's desert for some 26 years before getting another playoff shot.  

       If nine years is "forever" to a Yankees fan, how would they have ever coped with that kind of wait?     We'll probably never know, so long as New York pockets remain so deep.