Why is there so much news on the Yankees. They're mediocre this year
Cause they're the Yankees. They spend more money than any other team and put guys on the field that everybody knows and loves to BOOOOOO!! They have a long winning tradition that has been evident in almost every decade in the last 100 years (except, curiously, the 80s, which was an era where no one team truly dominated). And like a typical reality TV program, the spectacle of failure by famous faces makes for compelling drama.
For so long we've associated "biggest payroll" with "success" and that's certainly what the damn Yanks have done, reaching the post-season every year for well over a decade now. Did they have the biggest payroll in the mid-to-late 90s when they won four out of five Series titles? I'll have to check...
Also helps to play in N*E*W Y*O*R*K, home to perhaps the most spoiled fans in baseball, save for maybe Atlanta (where some playoff games aren't sold out) and Boston (still gotta get that Bill Simmons book in paperback). This is a town that crucified Alex Rodriguez for his 2006 season: .290/.392/.523. Huh?