Dave sent along ESPN the Magazine’s “Ultimate Team Rankings,” and though usually I try not to get worked up over something so obviously arbitrary, it’s notably random even for this type of exercise.

The magazine ranks every major sports franchise in “Bang for the Buck,” “Fan Relations,” “Ownership,” “Affordability,” “Stadium Experience,” “Players,” “Coaching,” and “Title Track,” based largely on polls, then weights each category by its importance to the fans polled to create a master ranking of sports franchises.

“A more detailed breakdown of the rankings” is available to subscribers, but a visitor need only sort the baseball teams to note that something is probably a bit wonky. Predictably, the Mets are last — but that seems rather justifiable compared to some of the other placements.

The Red Sox, who play in a historic ballpark that sells out all the time, spend tons of money on payroll and make the playoffs almost every year, are ranked 24th — just below the Washington Nationals. The Yankees are 22nd, closely trailing the Marlins and Pirates.

Probably the polls say a bit more about the attitudes of the respective fanbases than the relative fan experiences.