Fair enough, but putting a competitive product on the field year in and year out certainly helps to increase the fan base and jack up ticket and merchandise sales.
The Red Sox do so well financially because they field a contender every year and they have a very loyal and passionate fanbase. The O's, not so much.
The Yankees do as well, but they also have YES Network revenues, which helps tremendously.
I'm simply saying that the O's have enough money to compete in that division if the right personnel moves are made and fans come to trust the front office again and start buying tickets.
There are plenty of mid-to-low level teams that still sell a lot of tickets because their fans trust the team and its business dealings and remain passionate (or they're disillusioned fools, like Cubs fans
)