by By Andy Martino; Inquirer Staff Writer , The Philadelphia Inquirer

Lee and Sabathia have sent one another text messages in recent weeks, anticipating just such a meeting. "It's never anything super important; I don't even remember exactly what we said," Lee said. "We texted when I got traded. We joked about hitting [in the National League] a little bit."

Sabathia was happy to see Lee pitch well after being traded to the Phillies in July. "He throws the ball where he wants to, using both sides of the plate," Sabathia said. "He's a tough pitcher, and I'm happy to see he is doing well."

Phils manager Charlie Manuel is eager to see the two face one another.

"We've got two Cleveland Cy Young Award-winners going against each other," said Manuel, who managed Sabathia in Cleveland. "That's a pretty good matchup. Both of them are good pitchers. I had CC when he was a rookie. CC loves to pitch and he's very competitive, and Lee has that kind of makeup, too, so it has the chance to be a pretty good game."

But beyond the nice subplot their friendship creates, the two lefthanders represent the persistent issue of competitive imbalance in Baseball. This year's postseason further underscored the problem. The World Series will feature a showdown between two teams wealthy enough to acquire players that the Indians could not retain. (The Yankees once again had the highest payroll in Baseball this season, approximately $210 million; the Phils had the fifth highest, about $130 million.)

Lee and Sabathia each won a Cy Young Award in Cleveland. They could have provided that city with an era of classic starting pitching, but the Indians were to deal both stars in their prime. The team traded Sabathia to Milwaukee last summer for top prospect Matt LaPorta. Spurning a lesser offer from the small-market Brewers, the lefthander signed with New York during the off-season for $161 million, the richest-ever contract for a pitcher.

"They can't be feeling too good about it, two guys that used to be on their team facing each other in the World Series," Lee said yesterday.

This July, Cleveland dealt Lee - set to become a free agent after next season - and talented outfielder Ben Francisco to Philadelphia for a package of minor- leaguers: pitchers Jason Knapp and Carlos Carrasco, catcher Lou Marson, and infielder Jason Donald. None of those players is considered a can't-miss prospect. Cleveland also dealt star catcher Victor Martinez to Boston.

Indians president Paul Dolan said in July that his team expected to lose $16 million last season, and needed to shed payroll. "The reality is we were suffering financially before we made these deals," he told reporters in Cleveland.

The most extensive information available about the impact of market size on competitive balance in Baseball is somewhat dated, but telling nonetheless. A study conducted by Major League Baseball in 2000, "The Report of the Independent Members of the Commissioner's Blue Ribbon Panel on Baseball Economics," concluded that "large and growing revenue disparities exist and are causing problems of chronic competitive imbalance."

The report claimed that "local revenues" - all the money that teams make in their home market, like ticket sales, cable rights, ballpark concessions, parking, suite rentals, and more - are the most significant source of revenue in the game. According to the report, in 1999 the Yankees' local revenue was $176 million. With the Phillies' recent success, their local revenues have surely seen a significant uptick. Regular home sellouts lead to greater revenues in concessions, merchandise, and other areas.

This problem of haves and have-nots in Baseball creates a vicious cycle. It forces teams like the Indians to settle for lesser players, which alienates fans and drives down revenues. Widespread disenchantment plagued Cleveland over the last two summers, as fans saw a potentially great team slowly dismantled out of financial necessity.

The problem threatens to undermine Baseball's popularity in all but a few fortunate markets. When smaller-market teams like Cleveland, Minnesota, Milwaukee, and Tampa Bay make the playoffs, they face a far smaller window for success than richer teams like the Yanks and Phils.

After years of drafting, acquiring and developing talent like Lee and Sabathia, small-market teams quickly face decisions on whether they can afford to keep these players. The Brewers, for example, must already ponder whether to trade all-star first baseman Prince Fielder before he becomes prohibitively expensive. The Rays already parted with pitcher Scott Kazmir and are surely wondering whether they can retain cornerstone players like outfielder Carl Crawford.

Unlike less privileged teams, the Yanks and Phils can afford to absorb ill-advised and expensive contracts. New York paid pitcher Carl Pavano nearly $40 million over four seasons, and Pavano won just nine games in that span.

The Phillies , too, can compete despite expensive mistakes. This year alone, they released pitcher Adam Eaton with $9 million still owed to him, and outfielder Geoff Jenkins, despite the $8 million owed to him. Add the $3 million paid to Jim Thome, long since traded to the Chicago White Sox, and the Phils swallowed approximately $20 million this season.

It has been an entertaining October not only for Lee and Sabathia, but also for fans of the Phillies , Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, and Los Angeles Dodgers. The four teams that advanced to their respective league championship series all ranked in the top 10 in payroll this season. For fans of the Indians and many other clubs, the year was not nearly as much fun.

Contact staff writer Andy Martino at 215-854-4874 or amartino@phillynews.com.

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