Going back to 1998 - a stretch of 16 World Series - the team with the highest payroll in baseball has won the Fall Classic only three times. No surprise that it would be the Yankees in all three years, 1999, 2000 and 2009. However New York also lost twice while paying out the most money in 2001 and 2003. I chose 1998 as a point of reference since the Blue Jays won 88 games that season, their high water mark since winning their second of back-to-back World Series in 1993. Eighty-eight is also a number they havent been able to match since. In 1998, the Blue Jays payroll was 19th highest in the Majors at $34,158,500. The Yankees had the second-highest player overhead in 98 at $65,663,698 and swept No. 9 San Diego (at $53,066,166) four straight in the World Series. There are those who believe you cant win the World Series unless you spend your brains out. Well that has not always been the case. In 2003, the Florida Marlins had the 25th ranked payroll at $49,050,000, less than a third of that of the Major League-leading Yankees who clocked in at nearly $153 million. The Marlins won that World Series, their second in seven years. The Blue Jays payroll that year was actually higher than the Marlins at $51,269.000. In 2007, Colorado was ranked 25th at about $54.5 million, and played No. 2 Boston. The Red Sox rolled to victory in four straight with a cash outlay of nearly three times as much as the Rockies. Perhaps the most extreme example was 2008, when Tampa Bay made it into the Fall Classic with the 29th-ranked payroll at $43,820,597 and ultimately lost to the 12th-rated Phillies, who shelled out just over $98 million. The Blue Jays incidently that season paid out just a shade less than the Phils at $97,793,900. If you go back and look closely over the 16 World Series that have been played since 1998 and then throw in this years match-up the Blue Jays have actually outspent one of the two World Series participants five times. In the last two years, the Jays have actually set franchise records for how much they have spent. In 2013 they laid out the ninth-highest total of $117,527,800 and though they dropped a notch to 10th in 2014, they set a new franchise mark at $132,628,700. Now dont get me wrong, it hasnt always been onwards and upwards in terms of the Jays spending. Seven times in the past 17 years theyve cut payroll, sometimes significantly. Their highest ranking going back to 1998 was ninth in 2013 and their lowest was 25th in 2005, but generally they are on the fringe of the upper third of clubs or in the middle of the pack. The most interesting year in terms of numbers was 2002. The Giants and Angels met in the World Series, with the Halos defeating Barry Bonds and company for their first and only World Series victory. The Jays payroll was $76,864,333, more than $15 million more than the Angels spent and about a million and a half less than the Giants. Heres another one to think about. In that last 16 World Series, the team that has spent the most has won 11 times and lost only five times. That brings us to this season, where the Giants are playing the Royals. San Francisco has the seventh-ranked payroll at just over $154 million. The Royals check in at 19th-highest at $92,034,345. Im still picking Kansas City in six games because of that great bullpen, all that speed and defence and the home park advantage. The off-season activity will really start to percolate soon. The General Managers meetings run November 10-12 at Phoenix, then the Winter Meetings take place in San Diego from December 8-11. Two of the biggest names who could be on the move include Colorados star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who wants to play for a winner, and Yoenis Cespedes, who apparently doesnt want to sign long-term with the Red Sox or play right field at Fenway Park. San Diego Padres Store . The Red Wings hadnt played the night before. The Boston Bruins had. A month from now, or two months from now, it doesnt matter. But right now it does matter, when you start and you play back to back, its wear and tear on you for sure, Babcock said. Custom San Diego Padres Jerseys . - Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis said Wednesday hes "nodded off" during meetings, but he said its something every player does. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/. Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. San Diego Padres Shirts .com) - Sixth-seeded Feliciano Lopez was a first-round winner on Monday at the Delray Beach Open tennis event. Padres Jerseys 2019 . - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards.SEATTLE - The Seattle Sounders announced a multi-year contract extension Tuesday for forward Obafemi Martins with the striker coming off an MVP-calibre regular season.Terms of the deal were not announced by the club, but Martins said after practice Tuesday that he was excited to stay with Seattle and hoped to play with the Sounders for three years as the contract says. According to the Major League Soccer Players Union, Martins made slightly more than $1.75 million in guaranteed compensation this past season with Seattle as a designated player.Martins is among the favourites for league MVP after scoring a franchise-record 17 goals and adding 13 assists as Seattle finished with the best record in the league and won the Supporters Shield for the first time in club history. Martins assisted on the game-winning goal in Seattles 2-0 win over Los Angeles last weekend that clinched the regular-season title.Oba has been an integral part of our team on and off the field, and has established himself as one of the premier players in MLS, Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer said in a statemment.ddddddddddddHe was a monumental signing when he first joined us last season, and we are thrilled that he will continue his career with Sounders FC.Martins, who turned 30 on Tuesday, came to Seattle from Spanish club Levante. Martins also played for Internazionale in Italy and Newcastle United in the Premier League, before bouncing between a handful of European clubs prior to his arrival in Seattle.Im very happy to have signed a contract to be with this team and these players for multiple years, Martins said. This season is not over yet, so Im excited to do more and score more goals, but its nice to know Ill be here going forward.Martins has paired with Clint Dempsey to form one of the best scoring duos in the MLS and seemed to be at his best when the games meant the most. He had two goals and two assists in a 4-2 win at Portland in August. He recorded two assists on Oct. 19 when Seattle rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 2-2 tie at Los Angeles, and then capped his standout regular season assisting on Marco Pappas first goal in last Saturdays win over the Galaxy. ' ' '