Fortune Magazine reported this morning that the Yankees may be selling their lucrative cable network, possibly for as much as $3.5 billion.

The YES Network, owned by the Yankees, Goldman Sachs and some smaller investors, has been a major source of revenue for the franchise, and a large reason why team owner George Steinbrenner has been content to carry league-high payrolls of more than $200 million. I am surprised that the the Yankees would consider selling the network, but am even more surprised by the possible sale price. If indeed the network fetches $3.5 million, that's more than twice what the Yankees team is reported to be worth.

Consider what this means for Orioles owner Peter Angelos. The Baltimore attorney currently controls about 88 percent of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, with the Nationals controlling the rest. I don't see MASN being worth as much as the YES Network, (one industry sources pegs MASN at about $700 million) but as the new network continues to grow, it will certainly rise in value, perhaps even becoming more valuable than the teams themselves.

Think Peter Angelos or Ted Lerner will ever use lack of money as a reason they can't field competitive teams? They could, but I doubt it would go over too well.

-- Tim Lemke