There are some great "built from the ground up" stories in major league baseball.

Some "small market" teams like the Pirates in the early 90s and the current Tampa Bay Rays who developed good players and got some great coaching and won some big games.

But so many times, in this era for free agency and multi million dollar contracts, you have to spend money to be a winner.

That's what teams like the Red Sox, Angels, Cubs, and White Sox have done. But no one does it better than the Yankees.

The latest news... they trade for Pudge Rodriguez. He's a future hall of famer and getting a little old for a major league catcher, but he has a World Series ring and can still get the job done. And the Yankees don't care what he does to their payroll. They know they need a catcher because of Jorge Posada getting hurt so they spend the money and get Pudge.

Why can't other teams do this?

I know... the Yankees make millions more than other teams because of New York City. But... come on. There are millions of dollars out there in the major league owners' pockets. Sometimes, you have to spend money to make money.

Let's look at our "local" teams in the state of Texas. The Rangers and Astros are both more than ten games out of first... but a hot streak for either team still gets them in the race, especially for the Wild Card spots.

So... what kind of attitude are you showing your fans if you're already planning for 2009.

Umm... that's next year.

Give us a reason to keep hope alive... this year. Make a deal and hope for something special to happen. Give fans a reason to stay interested in your baseball team and not turn all of their attention to NFL and college football teams.

Make a trade before Thursday's deadline to keep hope alive.

We've never had a World Series title in Texas. Heck... we've only had one World Series.

It's not even August and I hate to think there's no chance this year. Give those dreams that began on opening day... a little more time before they're squashed.

Miracles can happen. Just spend some of your money to give it a chance.