Sports Talk-Yankees win again

It does all come down to money, mostly. The highest spending teams are in playoff contention, but it is not a steadfast rule of thumb.
The Cubs have the 5th highest payroll, and have one of the worst records.
The Diamondbacks are one of the lowest spending teams, and they are right in the mix.
As usual, it comes down to...
preparation, and a hell of a lot of luck.
A high payroll can cover up mistakes, but bad luck- injuries, accidents and such, will wreak havoc with any team.

A good farm system can mean more than mega bucks, also.

Look at Oakland. They are competing because they get good young players, who usually make much less than the veterans teams like the Yankees field. The last great Yankees run, from 1996 through 2000-4 Championships in 5 years had a core group of home grown talent.

Melky Cabrera may be the beginning of another talent explosion in the Bronx.
Hughes is at AA, and nearly ready to come up.

Yankees may be getting ready to go on another run.