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The Detroit Tigers are actually getting a lot of airtime this year. Actually, they got a lot three years ago, when they were one loss away from tying the all-time MLB record for futility. But this year, now that they're the best team in baseball, ESPN seems to have noticed "Oh, hey! They play baseball in places other than Yankee Stadium and Fenway!"
A big part of it is money, though. The reason certain teams always win is because their ownership is willing to pay a lot of money to get the best players. It's why the Yankees are always near the front of the pack. They have no minor league system to speak of, but it doesn't matter since Steinbrenner will just buy anybody he wants.
MLB has a salary cap that's supposed to even the playing field, but the big-market teams (like the Yankees and the Sox) can afford to sign anybody they want since they have more than enough money to cover the penalties they incur by going over the cap.
It's also why teams in smaller cities (Kansas City, Milwaukee, etc.) don't do so well. There just isn't the money to support expensive free-agent spending.
Detroit's owner (who also founded the Little Caesar's pizza chain, iirc) finally opened up his wallet over the last two years or so to bring in some talent: Rodriguez, Magglio, Kenny Rogers, Guillen, Dmitri Young, and now Sean Casey. And now all of a sudden, they're among the best teams in baseball.
So, long story short, if you want a small-market team to do well; become a billionaire, buy the team, then start blowing tons of money on free agents.
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