I think it’s well past time we asked a question that’s been bothering baseball fans for a long while: name the best team in the MLB? It seems like an easy one. Ask ten people on the street and nine are bound to say “Yankees.” But is that really true?

The Yanks and their obscene $203 million payroll are out of the playoffs, victims of aging staff aces at the tail end of their careers. Mike Mussina debuted in 1991. He’s 37 years old. Randy Johnson is 42.

The Yanks are still one of the more formidable offensive teams in the MLB, but we’re at the point now where they’re going to be buying bullpens and rotations every year. Still, they’ve got the cash. And $203 million does go a long way. But are they the best? Yankee wins are rarely pretty anymore. We usually see a glut of offense erasing bad pitching and below-average defense. That’s not the way to win championships.

The Anaheim Angels, with a $95 million payroll, are one game up in the ALCS. Their 95-67 regular season record paid off at a cool $1 million/win. Despite the seemingly high cash outlay this is a team that’s been built the right way.

Vlad Guerrero is the exception. He was a Labor-Day sale. But Garret Anderson is a home-grown product. So are Erstad, Molina, and Kennedy. Their bullpen features a couple of guys in Scott Shields and Frankie Rodriguez who were Angels draft-picks. This team was built, not bought.

But the Angels are, in many ways, an NL team masquerading as American League contenders. They rely on pitching and defense. The bottom of their lineup (Erstad, Rivera, Finley, and Kennedy) is pretty devoid of punch. Juan Rivera looks good at times, but Erstad, Finley, and Kennedy are all singles hitters.

But, like I said, the team is built properly. Chone Figgins, a Colorado Rockie draft-pick (and Angels steal), is a great lead-off man, and Adam Kennedy is a good #9 hitter. There’s no overkill on this Angels squad: they do enough to win.

In many ways the White Sox are an identical team. They’ve got the same mediocre offense with one big bat (Konerko) in the middle of the lineup. They’ve got the same top-notch bullpen and rotation. They play decent defense. They somehow stole Bobby Jenks in the Rule 5 draft.

As pitching becomes tougher and tougher to find I think we’re on the cusp of a new era in the American League. NL ball has invaded AL parks and it seems like it’s here to stay. Low-scoring, well-pitched games with role-players and slap hitters filling lineups can generate Ws.

The Angels have a few great prospects coming up the pipe in Dallas McPherson, Casey Kotchman, and Jeff Mathis. Coupled with Ervin Santana and Shields/K-Rod I think we’ve got the AL’s newest dynasty team on our hands. They’ll score 5+ runs/game and give up 3.5. And they’ll do it by playing smart baseball.