My baseball-outrage muscles are tired. After all, there are steroids, and amphetamines, and Barry Bonds evading taxes, and Mark McGwire not here to talk about the past. There are All-Star Games that somehow decide who hosts the World Series, there's the unbalanced schedule, there's the continued albatross of interleague play. There are corked bats, and mushed-up baseballs in Colorado, and Derek Jeter has his own friggin' perfume. Somehow the Yankees trying to buy another pennant just doesn't register quite so high on America's baseball outrage-o-meter.

But it should. Boy, it's frustrating. By purchasing Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle for four non-prospects (okay, C.J. Henry was a 2005 first-rounder, but he's a long way away from the bigs, and has been quite disappointing in his minor-league play to this point), the Steinbrenners have officially ramped up this year's payroll to the point where they're spending more than $100 million more on player salaries than anyone else in the game. Ridiculous, and an utter mockery. Bud Selig is an ineffectual leader, but even he has gotten to the point where he just throws up his hands and shakes his head when the Yankees do this. And hey, I'm not actually blaming the Yanks; they're playing the hand they're dealt. But whereas every other major American sports league has put a salary cap in place, the best baseball can do is a luxury tax that the Yankees don't care about, because it doesn't hurt them.

Football and hockey now have hard caps, which ensure equal opportunity for fans in every city. Basketball could probably use a hard cap to save Isiah Thomas from himself, but at least the luxury tax in the NBA hurts like hell. As for baseball? We're still at the point where New York can survey the league and buy whatever contract they wish, returning nothing but barely-warm bodies, and it's simply not fair, and even worse, it's not fun. Aren't sports supposed to be fun? The Yankee payroll for 2006 now officially stands at long around $220 million. They've got $161 million committed to 11 players for 2007, and that doesn't include the options they hold on Mike Mussina ($17 million; they'll obviously pick it up), Mariano Rivera ($10.5 million; again, they'll obviously pick it up), and Gary Sheffield ($13 million). I thought for sure the robbery of Abreu (who, like Sheffield, plays right field) would mean there was no way the Yankees would pick up Sheffield's option, but now Im hearing they're planning on picking it up, too. (Argh.) So all told, that would make $201.5 million for 14 players. Oh, and incidentally, in case you didn't know, they need 11 more guys to fill out a major-league roster. Which means they could easily hit a quarter of a million in '07, maybe more. Meanwhile the Marlins, Devil Rays, Rockies, Pirates and Royals are all under $50 million for their entire roster. And if you add those five teams?

$185.6 million.

What do you think of the Yankees' acquisitions of Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle and Craig Wilson? Will these players impact New York's bottom line? Are they a lock for the playoffs now?

BoDog Bookmaking Team, BoDog.com: Bobby Abreu is a lifetime .300 hitter and will definitely bolster a depleted outfield for the Yankees; however, the additions of Lidle and Wilson will probably not have nearly the same impact. While Lidle has proven himself to be a competent starting pitcher over the past five years, he still needs to be the Shawn Chacon of '06 (a.k.a. a really big surprise) in order to make any sort of difference, and that won't happen until he gets a few quality starts under his belt in a Yankees uniform. Wilson may have a positive impact for the Yankees; however, it's doubtful he'll have any effect on the line for Yankees games.

I'll ask the same questions for the Dodgers, who went out at got Greg Maddux and Julio Lugo. Does this make them a favorite to win the NL West?

BBT, BoDog.com: It's tough to call a team in last place a favorite to win the West now. However, that division is wide-open, and the Dodgers did more than any other team in their division to improve at the deadline. Since April, Maddux has been very ordinary, but the feeling of being in a pennant race again may turn his season around. Julio Lugo is a really good player and may provide more of an impact than Maddux; it will be interesting to see if hammers NL pitching for the remainder of the season. If the Dodgers aren't the favorite, they are at least on equal playing field with San Diego and Arizona.

How do you feel about the fact that Alfonso Soriano didn't get dealt? Does this help the Nationals against the line for the rest of the year?

BBT, BoDog.com: The fact that Soriano didn't get dealt was surprising. Apparently the mutual wishes for him to stay in Washington were strong enough to keep him there. However, since he has been playing for the Nationals all season long, the non-trade probably won't affect the line much at all. Of course, if he'd been traded it would be a much different story.

What do you think the chances are that Chase Utley gets his streak to reach past 40 games? Do you give him any shot at all at the all-time record of 56? When does Utley's streak become something that the handicapping community starts wagering on?

BBT, BoDog.com: Baseball is a game of inches, and in order to go on a hit streak like this you need to get a couple of breaks to succeed. His work ethic is unquestioned therefore he certainly has a shot at making 40 games. Utley is an old-school, hardworking ballplayer.