Tony DeMarco

If you liked the 2009 World Series — and apparently, a lot of people did, as ratings were through the roof — we've got good news.

It wouldn't be a surprise if both the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies made return trips to the 2010 Fall Classic.

The newly-crowned and always-spendy Yankees have returned to prominence, and you know that with increased revenue streams from their $1.5-billion version of Yankee Stadium, the rich have gotten richer.

At just over $200 million, they already dwarf everybody else in payroll, and have some wiggle room in the form of the expiring contracts of Hideki Matsui ($13 million), Johnny Damon ($13 million), Xavier Nady ($6.55 million), Andy Pettitte ($5.5 million) and Chein-Ming Wang ($5 million.

So expect another starting pitcher and star-caliber corner outfielder to be added to the current mix. As George Steinbrenner said in a statement released on Thurday: "We'll enjoy this win, and the quest for (World Series championship) Number 28 begins.''

The Phillies have two pennants and one world title to their credit in the last two years, and core talent in their primes and locked in for at least another couple of seasons.

During the World Series, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel celebrated the fifth anniversary of his hiring. When asked about it, what he said revealed a lot about his team and the idea of an NL pennant three-peat:

"I don't know if you guys were there or not, but I said I took (the job) to win,'' Manuel said. "I think I knew more about it than people have realized.

"I knew the players we had in our minor league system. I knew (Ryan) Howard was there. I knew (Chase) Utley was there. I could see if we tweaked our team and got the right pieces, we definitely could have a winner.

"I'm sitting here today talking to you because I've got good players. I always give them the credit. I've been in baseball a long time, and they have the best attitude, the best chemistry that I've ever been around.''

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Jimmy Rollins will be in the last guaranteed year of his five-year, $40-million deal in 2010, but the Phils hold a 2011 option for $8.5 million.

Howard and Raul Ibanez are signed through 2011. Including a 2012 option, Brad Lidge could stay put for three more years. And Utley's seven-year, $85-million deal takes him through 2013.

But the Phillies are finding that success doesn't come cheaply. Their payroll jumped precipitously from 2008 to 2009 — $98 million to $113 million — and to keep most of this team intact, it's going to have to climb again in 2010.

Substantial built-in raises are due to a handful of key stars on long-term deals:

Howard: $4 million increase to $19 million

Utley: $4 million increase to $15 million

Ibanez: $5 million increase to $11.5 million

Cole Hamels: $2.3 million increase to $6.65 million

Jayson Werth: $5 million increase to $7 million

Ryan Madson: $2.5 million increase to $4.5 million

Picking up Cliff Lee's option is a no-brainer, as his relatively modest salary will rise from $5.5 million to $8 million, and Shane Victorino is arbitration-eligible and will get a similar raise from his $3.15-million base salary.

So that's somewhere between $27-$30 million in salary bumps, just to keep eight players.

The payroll wiggle room will have to come on the pitching staff, as Brett Myers ($12 million in 2009), Joe Blanton ($5.5 million), Chan Ho Park ($2.5 million), Pedro Martinez ($2 million), Scott Eyre ($2 million) and Chad Durbin ($1.64 million) are potential free agents. The likeliest departure from among that group is Myers.

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The Yankees' roster is significantly older, but when it comes to their superstars, they have money committed to them for several more years.

All the way through 2017 in Alex Rodriguez's case, 2016 for Mark Teixeira, 2015 for CC Sabathia and a cool $92.9 million to five players in 2013. In fact, they're already at $166 million guaranteed for 2010 salaries — and that's only to 10 players.

That's not to say changes won't be made for 2010 — although the eventual move of Derek Jeter off shortstop remains a few years down the road after his renaissance 2009 season. He and Mariano Rivera will be in the final year of their deals in 2010, so look for contract extensions to be signed in both cases.

But Matsui may have played his last game in pinstripes, as Damon and Jorge Posada also are better-suited at this point to be designated hitters rather than regular position players.

It's also quite possible that Pettitte could retire, leaving a rotation spot to Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and perhaps even Wang if a key free agent isn't signed.

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