As per Ronald Blum of the Assoicated Press, and courtesy of Yahoo! Sports, we learn that “the Yankees did finish first in something last year — spending.”  The Yankees did not win the AL East for the first time in 10 years, but did finish 1st in payroll, with an absurd $218.3 million.  No surprise, but the Yanks also have the highest revenue in baseball, which sits at $415 million for 2007.  They do however, pay around $100 million a year in revenue sharing.  The Yankees will receive another revenue boost (as will the Mets) when they move into their new stadium in 2009. 

The Boston Red Sox, who took the division crown and won a World Series title, finished second in payroll, coming in at $155.4 million.

The Yankees had been set to finish the 2007 season with a payroll under $200 million, but then they threw a ludicrous deal at Roger Clemens, which increased their payroll by $17.4 million.  Clemens rewarded the Yankees by going 6-6 with a 4.18 ERA, and failing to complete his start vs. the Indians in the postseson.  And who could forget Suzyn Waldman’s call when Clemens announced he would be returning to the Yankees…

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