I think sports are always and inherently political. I mean, anytime we talk about salary caps and small market vs. large market, we're talking about ideology and economic theory. I suppose you could argue people are fed up with ESPN being "partisan," but it seems to me that, with a few exceptions, most of their partisanship is pretty shallow anyway, and they did just cancel Around the Horn, which, despite its absurd format, was the closest thing they had to The Sports Reporters. I love E:60 and would watch 30 for 30 and a new-style sports reporters all day, so, IMO, the trouble with the channel is mostly that the analysis is way too heavy on Crossfire, Stephen A. Silliness, and too light on actual sport and society thoughtfulness.
As for baseball in particular, I think the rule changes have helped. I also think this stuff goes in cycles, and when you've got really good teams in LA, NY (x2), Chicago, and Philly, that's just really going to jam your numbers, especially when most of those teams also have national appeal. You could call that superteams. I am glad for the sports increased popularity. I also have some concerns about what kind of behavior might be incentivized if that is indeed a big part of the driving force.