If there is one thing that seems like a constant in baseball, it is that the Red Sox and Yankees are contenders year after year. Even in years where neither team makes it to the World Series, it is rare that a season goes by where both teams are near the bottom of the standings. This season, the Red Sox have followed up their World Championship by returning to last place in the A.L. East, a position they also held in 2012. The Yankees, while still in contention, have hovered around the .500 mark for most of the season.
Looking ahead to the next few years, it has actually become easy to picture a scenario in which neither team is a significant player in the playoff picture. Both teams have aging star players, specifically the soon-to-be-retired Derek Jeter for the Yankees, and David Ortiz for the Red Sox. Even with big budgets to spend on new free agent acquisitions, it 
might be tough for either team to assemble enough talent to overcome the shortcomings on their roster.
In the case of the Yankees, the offense has really struggled throughout the 2014 season. The loss of Robinson Cano has certainly hurt their productivity, as Jeter is no longer an elite level hitter or defender. Mark Teixeira has struggled with injuries yet again, and starting pitchers Masahiro Tanaka and C.C. Sabathia are both hurt as well. Over the years, the Yankees have thrived by paying aging star players to come to the Bronx, but it seems as though that strategy is backfiring on them currently.
On the Red Sox side of the coin, the offense is also largely to blame for their problems. Jon Lester and John Lackey have been solid in the rotation, although Clay Bucholz has struggled. Other than Ortiz and Mike Napoli, the Red Sox offense has been severely lacking and help doesn’t appear to be close at hand. With Lester’s future in Boston up in the air after this season, the Sox could soon find themselves scrambling for an identity.
So, does baseball need strong seasons from the Yankees and Red Sox in order to stay relevant and keep ratings high? No – it doesn’t. There are strong fan bases all around the league, and a few down years from two of the more prominent organizations in the game won’t have a significant impact on revenues overall. Baseball, like all other sports, goes in cycles, and we just might be heading into a cycle where the vaunted Red Sox and Yankees aren’t the dominant teams that they have been in recent years.
