Both dolfan and cba have made valid points regarding whether the yankees are good or bad for baseball. I think that the yankees have aspects to their organization that are both GOOD AND BAD for baseball. However, for someone to try to say that their opinion is simply a fact is incorrect as everyone has a unique viewpoint regarding them.
I am in the group that believes the negatives of the yankees outweight the positives. That being said, as dolfan pointed out, the yankees do help produce revenue for other teams since they sell out the majority of their road games. On the other hand, the yankees do have many advantages that other clubs don't possess when it comes to fielding a competitive ball club. IMO, the way they use these advantages is wrong and in the end hurts baseball. Now, I am aware that there is no salary cap, so by the book they are not breaking any rules. But just because there is not rule against a certain action, does not justify carrying that action out. For example, has anyone ever seen the NBA game, when Bill Walton throws his shoe into the air in an attempt to block the other team's shot? While the wasn't a rule against this, it was against the spirit of the game.
Dolfan, your point that everyone has the same oppurtunity to sign FA, is not entirely true. Teams that are run by coporations, such as the braves(AOL), have no interest in their team. Their only goal is to cut payroll, and they will simply not even think about signing the top dollar FA. You say that the yankees are willing to pay out of their pockets, but being located in new york presents them with a way to put that money and more into their pockets.
As to whoever said that yankees front office and owner are shrewd when dealing with their organization, that statement is ludacris. When was the last time the yankees had a significant amount of players that came up in their farm system contributing? I am so tired of hearing about their overrated prospects like Drew Henson. How hard of a decision is it to bring in players like AROD from other teams when you have unlimited cash? An idiot could run the yankees with the kind of cash Stein fronts. Giambi, Sheff, Matsui, Arod, Mussina just to name a few are all players that the yankees took from other teams who couldn't afford them after huge yrs. How hard is it.... any team would want these type of players if they had the cash. I can just see the yankees front office losing sleep deciding between vlad and sheff.
Just my two cents