The Yankees have taught you well, but I am your father. (Getty Images)

Remember this gem?

"The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America."

That was the reaction of Red Sox president Larry Lucchino in 2002, when the Yankees outbid the Red Sox for the services of Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras.

The moniker has stuck as an Internet meme -- in fact, I'm guessing many Yankees fans wear it as a badge of honor -- and the Yankees have routinely fielded a roster with the highest player payroll in baseball since.

Now it appears the Dodgers are going to go above and beyond anything the Yankees have done. Thanks to truebluela.com's payroll worksheet, we can see the Dodgers are right now looking at a payroll for the 2013 season in the neighborhood of $240 million. Quite a neighborhood, eh? And let us note that this was before the Dodgers agreed to terms with Korean left-handed pitcher Ryu-Hyun-jin.

The highest payroll in baseball history was boasted by the 2010 Yankees, at a figure of $213,359,389, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. So these Dodgers aren't going to just make history, they are going to blow by it.

I certainly don't think it's "evil" for clubs to spend revenues on the players -- I've never come close to hating the Yankees as much as many others -- but I'm betting some fans of the Padres, Diamondbacks, Rockies and Giants are ready to start applying the "evil empire" tag to their despised foe in Los Angeles.

The 2013 Dodgers prepare to take the field. (Getty Images)

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