Los Bandidos Yankees!

Sports journalists have devoted quite a bit of space to the Yankees' already-bloated payroll ballooning to a ridiculous $207 million. But George Steinbrenner hasn't been the only one busy buying up baseball's biggest names. The defending MLB champion Boston Red Sox haven't been standing pat, shedding clubhouse cancer Pedro Martinez and upgrading at shortshop from Orlando Cabrera to Edgar Renteria. And while the Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers have also made some interesting moves, this year may be remembered as the year of the 'other' teams.

In Anaheim, the Angels are vying to become Los Angeles' other team -- proposing a name change to The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. While they weren't busy befuddling fans with their thinly veiled marketing ploys, the Angels found time to bring Steve Finley and Orlando Cabrera on board what is already a talented offense. But third base will be a question mark after the departure of Troy Glaus.

In Chicago, the Cubs may find themselves the second-best team in town. Their Southside counterparts have bolstered their picthing staff in a big way. The rotation now looks like this: Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, Orlando Hernandez, Jose Contreras and Jon Garland. The Sox also added the bats of Jermaine Dye and Scott Podsednik, though giving up Carlos Lee in the bargain.

Over in Queens, the Mets have been trying to steal headlines from Steinbrenner, signing two of the biggest names in free agency this year -- Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. Many of you remember when new manager Willie Randolph got a lot of good ink in the Bronx, now he'll be trying to do the same on the other side of the Queensboro.

And here in the Bay Area, Billy Beane has once again succeeded in striking fear into the hearts of opposing managers while trading away three of his biggest-name players, including two perennial Cy Young contenders. His young and talented squad should be exciting to follow in the coming years.