What if MLB decided to break its 30 teams into 3 tiers (or classifications) much like the Premier League? The 10 teams per tier would be originally placed pased partly on salary and recent performance, and the top 4 teams per tier would make their respective playoffs. The winners would play for their championship (with Tier A's championship being the World Series). The winner of Tier B and C's championships would move up one tier for the following season. The last placed team in Tier A and B would be demoted to the next lowest tier. Teams (like the Pirates) would get the chance to compete against smaller market teams with similar payrolls. Not only would they compete for their tier's championship, but also a chance to move up and play the slightly bigger boys. Last year's Rays would be a perfect example of a team winning their tier and moving up - hence they have been placed in Tier B, not in Tier C where their salary would have placed them. Here is the breakdown:

Tier A

New York Yankees

New York Mets

Boston Red Sox

Chicago Cubs

Philadelphia Phillies

L.A. Dodgers

L.A. Angels

Detroit Tigers

Chicago White Sox

Atlanta Braves

Tier B

Houston Astros

Seattle Mariners

St. Louis Cardinals

S.F. Giants

Cleveland Indians

Toronto Blue Jays

Tampa Bay Rays

Milwaukee Brewers

Oakland Athletics

Colorado Rockies

Tier C

Arizona D-Backs

Cincy Reds

Kansas City Royals

Texas Rangers

Baltimore Orioles

Minnesota Twins

Washington Nationals

Pittsburgh Pirates

San Diego Padres

Florida Marlins

Draft Year      Pirates' Selection       Players Taken After (1st and 2nd Rounds Only)

1994               Mark Farris                   Nomar Garciaparra, Paul Konerko, Jason Varitek, Terrence Long

1995               Chad Hermansen      Roy Halladay, Matt Morris, Carlos Beltran, Sean Casey

1996               Kris Benson                Billy Koch, Eric Chavez, Jimmy Rollins, Milton Bradley

1997               J.J. Davis                     Michael Cuddyer, Lance Berkman, Adam Kennedy, Chase Utley

1998               Clint Johnston            Brad Lidge, C.C. Sabathia, Brad Wilkerson, Aaron Rowand, Adam Dunn

1999               Bobby Bradley            Barry Zito, Ben Sheets, Alexis Rios, Carl Crawford, John Lackey

2000               Sean Burnett              Xavier Nady, Adam Wainwright, Kelly Johnson

2001               Jon Van Benschoten  David Wright, Bobby Crosby, Casey Kotchman, Danny Harren

2002               Bryan Bullington          BJ Upton, Zach Grienke, Prince Fielder, Scott Kazmir, Khalil Greene,

                                                                Cole Hamels, Nick Swisher, Joey Votto, Brian McCann, Jon Lester

2003                Paul Maholm               Adam Jones, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Carlos Quentin, Aaron Hill

2004                Neil Walker                  Dustin Pedroia, Huston Street, Jered Weaver, Yovani Gallardo, Hunter Pence

2005                Andrew McCutchen (solid)                    Jay Bruce, Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Slowey

2006                Brad Lincoln                 Tim Lincecum, Brandow Morrow, Clayton Kershaw, Joba Chamberlain

                                                                  Justin Masterson

2007                 Daniel Moskos            Matt Wieters, Matt LaPorta,

LF - Barry Bonds/ Jason Bay

CF - Kenny Lofton/ Nate McLouth

RF - Jose Guillen

3B - Aramis Ramirez

SS - Cesar Izturis/ Shawon Dunston

2B - Tony Womack

1B - Sean Casey/ Matt Stairs

C - Jason Kendall/ Benito Santiago

SP - Jason Schmidt

SP - Tim Wakefield

SP - Chris Young

SP - Jon Lieber

SP - Estaban Loaiza

SP - Jeff Suppan

SP - Bronson Arroyo

RP - Jose Mesa

RP - Ricardo Rincon

RP - Damaso Marte

RP - Salomon Torres

RP - Mike Williams

Bench - Xavier Nady

Bench - Brian Giles

Bench - Jeromy Burnitz

Bench - Gary Matthews, Jr.