There's only one team in baseball projected to pay the new luxury tax. You guessed it -- the New York Yankees. Following last week's acquisition of reliever Armando Benitez from the Mets, the Yankees' payroll comes to $180.3 million US for their 40-man roster, including benefits. The updated figure compiled by the commissioner's office translates to a projected tax bill of $10.8 million that will come due Jan. 31. No other team is above the threshold of $117 million established by baseball's new labour contract. "Winning is the priority here," said Yankees manager Joe Torre "They generate a lot of revenue here and there's a lot of pressure. I know George Steinbrenner made a commitment to this city that we've won and we're going to continue to try to keep winning. If that means he needs to spend more money than he planned, then he's willing to do it to plug a hole."

Collision forces Prior onto DL

The Chicago Cubs placed pitcher Mark Prior on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with a right shoulder contusion. The right-hander injured the shoulder in a collision with Atlanta Braves infielder Marcus Giles on July 11, falling over the top of the second baseman and landing hard on his throwing shoulder. Prior, 8-5 with a 3.01 ERA, is the first Cubs starter to miss a turn this season.

All-star game big in Japan

Baseball's all-star game was more popular in Japan than in the U.S. It received a 9.8 television rating in Japan, the commissioner's office said yesterday. That means a higher percentage of households watched the game there than in the U.S., where the rating was 9.5 on Fox -- tied for the lowest in history. In Canada, 336,000 viewers watched on Rogers Sportsnet, more than triple the number of people (106,000) who watched the game in 2002 when it was carried on The Score.