I wouldn't 100% rule out the fact there is an institutionalized umpire-based repression of Baltimore success. I never buy into those conspiracy theories, and I'm not saying I believe that it's happening. But it has been a VERY bad season for umpiring for the O's, call on Teixeira at first notwithstanding. I always say these things even out over time. This year they haven't come close to evening out. It's better for baseball to have a bigger-market team play more postseason game, and no team has a bigger market than NY. I guarantee you that the league WANTS the Yankees to win the division. The umps don't care, though, and I THINK Major League Baseball has enough integrity as an organization not to actually tell the umpires "hey, we'd like these teams to win as much as possible, and these other teams to lose." But maybe a hint has been dropped here or there? Again, I don't think anything like that has happened. But I'm not going to absolutely rule it out, either.