"so its fair when the yankees get everybody and their moms, but unfair when somebody decides to put a stop to it?"
Look, for better or for worse, the Yankees have a NATURAL ADVANTAGE over every other team. They have enormous revenue streams playing in the best baseball city in America, and the largest media market in the world. Televised New York Yankee baseball is worth $150+ million a season to a television network, while the Pirates may be worth $30 million to a Pittsburgh sports network. Its simple supply and demand: John Meynard Keynes, Adam Smith, yadda, yadda ..
Is it unfair? Maybe. But is it morally wrong? No. Does it violate the rules or the spirit of the game? No.
Being the Montreal Expos or the Boston Diamondbacks and COLLUDING to keep the best players away from the Yankees IS against the rules, and COMPLETELY VIOLATES the spirit of the game. The Cleveland Spiders were disbanded because they were owned by the owner of the Indians: he shipped all of the Spiders' best players (including Cy Young) to the Indians and left the Spiders with a Minor League team.
And all these violins I'm hearing is crap. All of you cheered your asses off when the Red Sox won. The Red Sox are as much IF NOT MORE SO, ARE COMPLETELY BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. So if you're waxing poetic and on your high horse about how all this is soooooo "bad for baseball," then I want to hear outcry when the Red Sox win. Your favorite (insert team here) was outbid for ManRam, Pedro, Schilling, etc. So lets hear the outcry, minus Yankee-jealousy.